Retire@50

I just finished re-reading this book for the umpeenth time. It was just as good as the first time. I like to reread my financial books every other year or so. Rereading this reinspired me towards watching my money more closely. After awhile you get slack and start doing silly things, letting money fritter away.

One of the main take aways this time was to recreate my price book since I'm buying different food than I used to, plus prices have gone up so much. I used to know what things cost, anymore I'm off by about 25% or more on many things. I don't know what good prices are for some of the things I'm buying now and I need to find out, so I can stock up when I see those good prices.

Out of curiosity I did a search on Amy Dacyczyn and found some interviews I hadn't seen/read. And in one of the interviews she admits she was totally wrong about her take on the internet in her books. One of them shows the farmhouse she bought, it's really nice. Here's the links if anyone else is interested.

Last night I turned my oven on to fix a mushroom pizza. The heating element started sparking and caught on fire. I tried to put it out with water, but the spark just moved along the coil and wouldn't go out. It finally burned thru the element in 2 places. Anyways, I called the fire department, but the fire went out right before they got there, about 5 min. It was ridiculous. First came a square truck, then 2 fire trucks and an ambulance. I know they don't know ahead of time what kind of force they will need, but it seemed like overkill.

They were really nice, but basically the fire was over by then. They checked the wall and stove and made sure it was all cool and left within 10 minutes.

After they left I went online and started researching new stoves. I found what I wanted at Home Depot, Lowe's and Sears. Sears had the best price, but Home Depot has their price match policy + 10% lower and they had free delivery and haul away. So I thought I had done pretty well at $450. I called my dad and asked if he would go with me because he's the big negotiator. He came over this morning and looked at the stove and told me he could just replace the heating element in the oven, if I wanted to do that, or I could buy the new stove if I wanted to. I didn't know you could do that, he said he's done it several times on stoves in rentals he owns and did it 3 times for my grandparents. Cool! I decided to go that route. We had to drive into the next town to get the replacement element and it cost $75 after taxes, but that's a lot better than $450.

It took him about 20 minutes to replace it and it seems to work fine. I haven't actually cooked anything yet. I took him to Village Inn for lunch as a thanks. Spent $19.10

I finished reading my book Alector's Choice by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Sci/Fi - very good.

I added $20 to my Amazon account using gift cards I got from Swagbucks. I ordered 4 books for me. They had a sale buy 3 get 1 free, plus free shipping. I spent $23.97 on 4 books. Most won't be shipped until next year because they don't officially release until January.

I cashed in some bonds from my IRA to cover my next 6 months of expenses. I usually sell stocks, but this year the stocks didn't do so good, but that's why I have some bonds to provide income when the stocks don't go up. I will have to pay some of the 10% penalty because I cashed in before I was 59 1/2, but most of it is offset by my medical costs.

Occasionally I get in the mood for something crunchy to eat with my protein and veggies, (although veggies can be crunchy). I like to get plain pork rinds and put them in a baggie with some cinnamon and 1 packet of Splenda. Shake them all together and eat. Very good.

I finished reading The Next Always by Nora Roberts. Romance - excellent.

I find the Game On Santa commercials from Best Buy to be mean-spirited. The mom's are trying to outdo Santa by buying gifts from Best Buy. But when they confront Santa, they are actually mean about it. I already don't care for Best Buy, but these commercials make me even less likely to shop there. I don't care for the message that giving gifts is a competition and I don't care for the idea of being mean to Santa, because he usually gives better gifts than you do.

I got several free trial size items from Walmart yesterday using coupons. 3 bottles of shampoo, 1 body wash, 1 deodorant and 2 packages of Tide.

I used the last of my RX reward money at King Soopers today - approx $18. I transferred another coupon but they said I had met the max and they wouldn't give me another reward - bummer!

When I was at Walmart I saw the classic xmas DVD The Year without a Santa Claus. That's my favorite xmas movie, I never see it played on TV anymore, so I bought it for $10. The only problem is that after watching it I have the 'heat miser' song stuck in my head for 3 days afterwards.

I finished reading my book Eternity by Jude Devereaux. Romance - pretty good.

I used another of my free Redbox codes to rent this movie today. I thought it was good, not great, but good. Worth watching and it's something I can recommend to my mom, who wanted to see it. No nudity, or cursing that I remember.

I took all the coins I've collected for the last year and went to Coinstar today. The last few years Coinstar offered a $10 bonus when you cashed in $40 in coins on Amazon gift cards. Doesn't look they are going to do that this year, so I cashed them in anyways. I got $53.30 on an Amazon gift card.

This is the last day King Soopers is having their promo of giving 4X gas points when you buy gift cards. I got $115 in gift cards and 460 gas points. I got a $15 gift card to Cold Stone to give to youngest niece to tie her up with amount I spent on oldest. As long as I'm within $10 or so I don't fuss about what I'm spending on each one, but I like to keep it generally even. With the purchase of the book for the oldest, it made it too lopsided so I got the gift card to even it up some.

I finished reading my book Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole. Paranormal - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,428.31
RX total = 388.06
Discounted Gift Cards = 211.05
Total = 2,027.42

My mom is 72 today. Dad took my sister, niece and me out to Outback yesterday to celebrate her bday. Today he wanted to go to lunch again to celebrate her bday after we walked at Walmart so we went to Village Inn. I spent $8.62 at Village Inn.

Village Inn had a deal buy $25 in gift cards and get a $5 bonus card to use between Jan and March next year. I got 2 $25 gift cards and paid using my CC that gives 5% back on restaraunts this quarter.

I gave mom the flower arrangement thingy she picked out when we went to the craft show last month. She had forgotten about it so it was as good as being surprised

When I saw my niece yesterday I gave her 2 of the free Redbox codes I got at Thanksgiving to use.

I thought I was all thru with xmas, but my oldest niece sent me a request for a book today. Mom is going in town tomorrow so I asked her to pick it up for me. Books are one of my favorite things to give. The youngest one doesn't like to read anymore, so I don't give them to her now.

I made my last drop off of the year to the food pantry. During the year I gave 889 items, for a retail cost of $1,328 and my cost was $490.57. Not as good as last year, but still respectable. I also donated $200 in cash.

I also went to Walgreens today where I got two Olay moisturizers for $16 after coupons and 2 free Olay body washes. I will give the body washes to my nieces. I also got 4 free chocolate covered Peeps to give the girls. I spent over $50 before coupons so I got a $10 RR to use next week.

I finished reading the library book Scepters by L. E. Modesitt Jr. Sci/Fi - very good.

I got this recipe from Slow Carb for Life, but made some changes to it. It turned out really well, I loved it. The original recipe used a bunch of individual spices and I substituted 2 tsps of Pumpkin Pie spice mix. It originally called for rum extract and I used caramel instead and it originally called for 1 cup of the pumpkin, I used the whole can before I saw it was just the one cup, I liked it as is, so will continue to use the whole can.

Pumpkin Custard - very good

1 ½ cups heavy cream
12 packets Splenda
2 caps Caramel extract
4 large egg yolks
1 can pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
¼ tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. In a large saucepan, whisk together the cream, caramel extract, spices and Splenda. Heat over medium heat until steam rises and bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat, whisking every minute or so to keep blended.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and whisk to blend. Very slowly add the warm cream mixture to the egg mixture until well blended.

4. Pour into 8 small ramekins or individual custard cups. Fill a large roasting pan with ½” of water and place the 8 dessert dishes in the water bath. Put the roasting pan in the oven and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until just set. The mixture will appear slightly soft in the middle.

5. Carefully remove ramekins from pan, making sure not to get any water in the custards, and place on a wire rack to cool. Place in fridge for 2 - 3 hours before serving.

6. Serve with a small dollop of whipped cream.

Totals don't include the whipped cream.

Calories: 207
Carbs: 8
Net Carbs: 6.5

I tasted it when it came out of the oven to see if it was good and I liked it so much I didn't wait for it to cool, but ate the whole ramekin while it was hot and almost soupy still. I had another one that had been cooled today and I think I may like it warm better, either way it was very good.

I used the Kroger brand of pumpkin. It was only $1.25/can. It's very hard to find anything but Libby pumpkin around here, which I don't find as good. I tried the Farmer's Market organic brand, but thought it was really loose and not as firm as I liked. So far this Kroger brand is the best I've found, and it's the cheapest too. I'm hoping they still have some next time I go to King Soopers and I'll stock up. For some reason after it's very hard to find canned pumpkin around here except during the fall/winter. I like pumpkin year around.

I finished reading my book Hunting Julian by Jacquelyn Frank. Paranormal - good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,406.34
RX total = 388.06
Discounted Gift Cards = 211.05
Total = 2,005.45

for easter candy to be out in the stores. I went to Safeway this morning for $5/lb turkey breast lunchmeat and $1.27/lb on the vine tomatoes and I saw a big display of the Cadbury easter eggs. I used to love those things and I probably still would, if I tried them, but I wasn't even tempted, just disgusted that they are displaying them already. It's not even xmas, let alone New Year's, Valentines, etc. I think the way the make every thing perpetual takes away the specialness of things. It used to be you looked forward all year to xmas or easter, when you would have a special item you only had that time of year. Now it's kind of 'eh' nothing special, I can have that any time. I especially dislike the perpetual campaigns. Enough is enough already. Let's keep them down to 6 months at most.

Even though I'm eating low carb I'm not depriving myself of treats, they just need to be no sugar and low carb treats. I really like the no sugar Reese's mini peanut butter cups, the Dove chocolate and peanut butter bites, the Werther's cinnamon and caramel hard candies and several of the Atkins bars are very good. The nutty fudge brownie, the peanut butter cups, the nougat, chocolate and nut bar are all very good. I just don't have them that often. I try to keep it to twice a week, but some weeks it's more

I also went to King Soopers and transfered another prescription for another $25 in groceries. I spent $2.44 on the prescription. I got $12+ in groceries, mostly produce.

I told mom I would meet her at Home Depot today to walk, since I figured Walmart would be really busy. We've been walking there on the weekends since Thanksgiving to beat the crowds. Well she forgot and dad dropped her off at Walmart, which is across the street. So I waited about 15 minutes and was about to drive over and see if maybe she forgot where we were supposed to meet and here she comes walking across the parking lot with no coat in 33 degree weather. She didn't have a phone or her purse or anything with her so no way of contacting dad. She tells me it's not good to ask old people to change their routines, they can't think So we walked and I drove her back to Walmart where dad was waiting for her to finish her walk. I bet he heard an earful, since he knew he was supposed to drop her off at Home Depot too, she blamed it on him, since he knows she has a lot on her mind right now getting ready for xmas. It's a good thing I waited as long as I did because I might not have seen her walking across the road if I went back to Walmart.

I finished reading the library book Night Watch by Suzanne Brockmann. Romance - excellent.

I used one of the free Redbox promo codes I got at Walgreens on Thanksgiving to rent Conan yesterday. It was ok, not near as good as the original with Swartzenager, in my opinion. My oldest niece had told me it was 'awsome' and she wanted it for xmas. I guess are tastes have changed I gave her 3 of the promotion codes and will give the other niece some when I see her next.

I got some free snickers xmas candy at Walgreens yesterday to add to the nieces xmas pile. I also got 5 boxes of sugar free Royal gelatin for .20/each. Good price.

I've finished all my xmas wrapping so that's done now.

I finished reading my book Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs. Sci/Fi - very good. Also finished the library book Blood Sacrifice by Maria Lima. Paranormal - pretty good.

Before Thanksgiving I got two sacks of cranberries on a BOGO sale. Cranberries are a low carb fruit that I can have as long as I don't have sugar in them. I decided to try drying one sack using Splenda instead of sugar. It was super easy and worked great. Just 1/2 c splenda dissolved in water. Heat cranberries and sugar water in pan until cranberries pop. Spread on cookie sheet on silicone baking mat and bake for about 8 hours at 150 degrees.

I made a chicken salad today using the dried cranberries. Leftover roasted chicken, celery, walnuts, hard-boiled egg and dried cranberries mixed with mayonaise. It was very good.

I cashed in 20 Discover card points for a $25 gift card to Staples.

Christmas ended up costing $498+ this year. I'm not planning to buy anything else unless it's free.

I got 3 bottles of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce at Safeway today. I'll donate all of them.

I finished reading the library book Foundation by Mercedes Lackey. Sci/Fi - good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,386.30
RX total = 375.50
Discounted Gift Cards = 211.05
Total = 1,972.89

Yesterday I got 3 Walgreens gift cards from Gift Card Rescue that were discounted for 3% off. That's not much, but I use them all the time so I might as well have the $3+ in my pocket. I get another 1% for using my credit card to purchase them.

I went to Staples today and got a $50 gift card that came with a free Sharpie pen, plus a $10 bonus card that can be used the first 2 weeks in January. I paid for the card using an 8% discounted Staples card. So no out of pocket money.

I went to Safeway and Walmart this morning. At Safeway I got 3 free travel size boxes of Tide, some celery and some coleslaw mix. I looked at my receipt when I was done and saw I was only $4 away from another .10 off in gas. Since I was going to get gas next I went back and got $4 of tomatoes on sale for .99/lb.

I got gas and saved .70/gal. Paid $2.59/gal and spent about $48+ to fill up my tank and two 5-gal gas cans.

At Walmart I used a bunch of coupons and got several trial size items for free. 2 Herbal Essences shampoo, 1 Pantene shampoo, and 1 Old Spice body wash. I'll donate the body wash but can use the shampoos.

When I got home there was a call from my credit card company wanting to know if I made a purchase from match.com. I definitly haven't signed up for any dating services, so I called them back. They are cancelling my card and sending me another one tomorrow. What a pain. I have to call the 3 utilities that I have set up for automatic deductions and give them the new number, but at least I don't have to pay for someone else's charges. I have no idea how someone got my number and I don't know why if you stole someone's number you would use it to pay for dating services... As much as I hate credit card companies tracking my every move, I'm glad it was caught so fast. The purchase was made this morning.

I finished reading my book Drink of Me by Jacqueline Frank. Paranormal - pretty good.

I went to the library yesterday and picked up some back issues of the Food Network magazine. This is food porn to me, the pictures are so beautiful and it makes you want to make the recipes. I love to look at the magazine.

I finished my xmas shopping yesterday. Mom and I walked at Walmart and got the iPod and accessories for my youngest niece and I went to the bank and got the cash to give my oldest niece. So all done except for the wrapping. Although if I find free personal care items or candy between now and xmas I'll probably add that to the nieces pile.

I dropped off all the toys I got to the local Food Pantry for their xmas program yesterday, so that's done too.

My sister wants me to go in with her on a Costco membership. Spend $55 and get $55 in coupons. I told her I would. I've been reading that Costco has good prices on organic meats. It's a ways from me and I probably would only go every other month or so, but if I stock up the $27.50 should be worth it, I hope.

I finished reading the library book Promises Reveal by Sarah McCarty. Romance - very good.

I finally got around to fixing the Shirataki noodles I got from Amazon. I wanted to do something simple the first time to make sure I like the taste of the noodles and don't need to cover them up. I made a simple butter and garlic sauce and sautes some shrimp in that. I seasoned the shrimp with salt and pepper and a touch of red pepper flakes. Then I rinsed the noodles and boiled them for a minute in hot water like the package said. I tasted them before I added them to the butter and shrimp and they basically had no taste. After adding them to the shrimp mixture, they tasted like butter and garlic. It was good, it had a pasta feel if not necessarily exactly the same. I can see using them for spagetti or chicken noodle soup, so I plan to use these in the future when I feel like a pasta meal, but want to keep low carb.

They did have a faint fishy smell when you first opened the pack, but it wasn't bad.

It's freezing today and the wind is blowing hard. Mom and I didn't want to walk at Walmart today so we went to Home Depot instead and walked thru it twice. It was interesting because we at least got to see different things than we usually do on our walks and it wasn't too busy.

I finished reading the library book Night Lost by Lynn Viehl. Paranormal - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,355.85
RX total = 375.50
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,938.54

I went shopping at both the Walgreens near me on Thanksgiving morning. I ended up doing 8 transactions, though I had only planned on 4, but a couple transactions got messed up and I had returns and redo's. Because I did 8 transactions I have 8 free Redbox codes to use between now and xmas. I'll probably give a couple of them to my niece.

I ended up using $73.25 in coupons. I spent $33.82 out of pocket and got enough RRs (register rewards) to have one $4 one left for next week and $45 on a Walgreens gift card. So I made $15.18 for all my shopping + add $1.20 per Redbox rental and I 'made' $27.18.

I got the following items. FP = food pantry donation

4 tubes Crest 3D toothpaste - FP
4 tubes Colgate toothpaste - FP
4 packages DenTek floss pics - FP
4 packages Preperation H wipes - FP
4 boxes Culturelle probiotics
4 tubes Cortaid anti-itch cream
2 3 ct packages Bic razors - nieces
9 Scotch mailers
9 Speed Wheels - FP toys
5 cans Libby pumpkin - donated 2 cans

On one of my transactions I got an MP4 player for $19.99, which mom paid me for and will give me for xmas.

I had lunch at my parents with my sister and her new boyfriend. After they left my parents and I played cards for several hours. I actually won a few games for a change.

I was very tempted by the Walmart ads for a new HP computer for $289 or the laptop for $248. I decided I would drive by Walmart on my way home at 10:30 and see how busy they were and then decide if I would go back at 12. They were swamped. I've never seen so many cars in their parking lot. I just turned around and went back home. I've been watching computer prices in the sales ads for a month or so now waiting for a deal. But I can wait a little longer, that was nuts.

I finished reading my book Navarro's Promise by Lora Leigh. Paranormal - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,282.60
RX total = 375.50
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,865.29

I did some more xmas shopping today. I ordered the last 2 books I wanted for my niece and friend from half.com for $9.30

I liked the toys I got at Walgreens so much I went back and bought 4 more today. They were buy 1 at $6.99 get 1 free. I got a plastic tool kit with about 10 tools and a case, 5 medium size diecast trucks, a plastic tonka dump truck and a tractor that lights up and makes noise and comes with a farmer and some other stuff. Nice toys. I also got 3 more of the speed wheels and 5 boxes of crayons to donate also.

I got 3 boxes of sugar free cherry jello for .21/each after coupons and 4 cans of Libby pumpkin for $1.25/each.

I went to Safeway to spend my $15/$50 coupon. I saved 69% on my groceries there.

2 large Symphony candy bars for nieces for xmas - $3
2 packages Wacky Mac for .45/each - Food pantry
1 carton SW low carb butter pecan ice cream $3.99
4 lbs lucerne butter - $2.49/each
3 doz eggsland best eggs - $1.49/each after q's
2 Nature Made vitamins - bogo - $2.99 after $8 in q's
4 packages Hormel pepperoni - $2.49/each after q's
2 bags coleslaw - $1.49/each
1 bag organic celery - $2.29

Spent $25.32 after all coupons.

Last stop was Walmart where I picked up the Conan movie for my oldest niece for $15.

I'm down to just needing the iPod stuff for my youngest niece, some candy for nieces, and the cash for my oldest niece. Then I think I'm done.

I'm making my crustless low-carb pumpkin pie with cream cheese whipped cream today to take to dinner tomorrow. It smells wonderful in here.

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

I took my youngest niece to see Puss N Boots yesterday. I didn't think it was as good as the other Shrek movies, but she really liked it. Spent $12 on my CC that gives 5% back on movies this quarter.

Since I knew we were going certain places today before I picked her up I went to Safeway and used one of the $50 SW gift cards I got a couple weeks ago to buy 2 $25 GCs. One for Red Robin and one for Barnes and Noble. I got 2 more gas points for doing this, because they have a 4x gas point promotion right now. That will save me $4 on gas when I go to fill up.

I met mom at Walmart to walk first. She showed me some facial stuff she wanted for xmas and I got that for @ $42.

We went to Red Robin, which is her favorite place to eat besides Taco Bell and I used the whole $25. And I got 2 more burgers put on my loyalty card towards and eventual free burger. I got a mushroom burger and side salad and took the bun off my burger.

We went to the Dollar Store after that and I got 5 large coloring books and 2 gift bags. I'll donate the coloring books to the local food pantry. They give out toys in the community. Spent $7+tax.

Next was Best Buy where I got an XBOX connector set for my niece for xmas - around $33. My sister won an XBOX for something at her office, so that's a nice thing for them.

At Barnes and Noble I got a book for my oldest niece and a $10 gift card for the daughter of a friend. Spent aroung $18, so still have a little on the gift card I got at Safeway.

Elephant Bar was next, I got $100 in gift cards for my dad for xmas and I got a free $20 promotion card to go with that. I paid using one of the credit cards giving me 5% back on restaraunts this quarter.

I picked out a nice stainless steel mandolin with 5 blades, adjustable, removable and with a safety guard for my xmas present at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I knew I wanted one, but not exactly the brand etc, so mom asked me to go look and pick it up and she would reimburse me for it. I gave it to her to wrap this morning when we walked. It was around $25 after the 20% coupon discount. Paid for with a discounted gift card.

The next stop was Walgreens. They have a sale if you buy a toy for $6.99 you get one free. They had some really nice dollhouses with accessories and dream castle with accessories for 3 - 8 year olds. I got 2 of each. 4 total for @ $14, which will go to the toy donation. They also had speedwheels cars for .49/each and I got 3 of those. I got 3 mailers for .49/each and 3 bags of sunflower seeds for $5. Spent around $23 and because I ran my AARP card I got an RR for $5 OYNO. This has paid for my AARP card now, all the free orders till next Sept will be bonus money for buying the one year prescription for $16.

Last stop was Walmart again. I got a large can of Planter's macadamias, almonds and cashews for $7 and the movie Fight Club for $10 for my niece. She also showed me the new iPod she wants for xmas from my mom and me as well as 2 accessories she wants. I tried to get 5 packages of crayons to go with the coloring books I got at the Dollar Store, but they were out of all but 1 of the 24 ct and all of the 48 ct. They had some of the 16 ct, but I wanted a larger size. Hope they get restocked soon, because I would like to give all these toys at once the first of December.

Last year King Soopers had Hot Wheels on sale for .50/each. I'm hoping they do that soon and I can pick up 20 or so of those to donate also.

I was pretty tired by the time I got home after all that walking around, but pretty happy I got so much xmas shopping done. The hard part is wrapping it now.


I still need one more book for my oldest niece, and one for my friend. The Conan movie for my oldest niece. The iPod accessories for my youngest niece. Give mom $50 toward the iPod and get $100 from the bank for my oldest niece and then I think I'm done. Whew!

I finished reading my book Shadows Fall by Simon R. Green. Sci/Fi - good, very different though.

A week or 2 ago I bought $75 in Safeway gift cards and got a coupon for $10 OYNO. I spent the coupon, but still had several of the Safeway cards since I did the deal 4 times.

Today thru Wednesday Safeway has a deal if you buy $100 in certain gift cards you get a coupon for $15 OYNO when you spend $50. Gift cards include Kohl's, Penny's, Lowes, Outback, Sears, Macys and others. I used the Safeway gift cards I already had and bought a $100 Sears gift card. I buy walking shoes at Sears and jeans at Kmart, so I can use this card eventually.

Now I have to figure out how best to use the $15 off of $50 coupon. I think I'll go back on Wednesday and use it then. They have shrimp on sale that day only and I can stock up on that. So for the same $100 I got $25 in free groceries. I also got 4x gas points on the gift cards so another .40 off gal of gas or for me, buying 20 gals, I will save $8 in gas too.

I'm only going to do this deal once though because it's too hard to come up with $50 in groceries to buy at Safeway in one trip.

I finished reading the library book Tears of the Sun by S. M. Stirling. Sci/fi - very good. Good series.

I love pumpkin pie, however I don't eat flour anymore and I'm trying to keep my carbs down to control my diabetes, so I found a crustless low-carb pumpkin pie recipe that turned out really good. I made some changes to the spices and I tried it last night and added a cream cheese whipped cream on top - yummy!

Crustless low-carb pumpkin pie

15 oz can pumpkin
3 eggs
¾ cup Splenda for baking
½ tsp salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tsps ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tablespoon maple extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup cream

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Pour into well-sprayed pie pan
3. Bake at 350’ for 40 minutes

Cream Cheese wipped cream

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

Place the cream cheese, Splenda and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat on high speed 2 minutes until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. With the mixer on low speed, gradually pour in the cream while beating. Once all of the cream has been added, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn the mixer to high speed and beat until thick and fluffy. The cream cheese helps stabilize the whipped cream and it should stay fluffy for a couple days or more. The cream cheese also prevents the cream from splattering all over the place while beating it.

Makes about 2 cups
Do not freeze

I finished reading the library book Prey by Linda Howard. Romance - ok. This was disappointing to me, because I usually love her books, this one was not on a level with many of her others. I own all her others, but don't think I will buy this one when it comes out in paperback.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,249.40
RX total = 375.50
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,832.09

I got a message from the food pantry that they fixed thier website and I was able to go in and make my donation this morning.

I got anther $43 in free groceries from King Soopers, using my RX rewards. Mostly produce, but also 6 pounds of unsalted butter on sale for $2.50/lb. 2 lbs of center cut bacon for $3.99/each and 2 bags of cranberries - bogo. I've never fixed these, but was thinking about trying to dry them using Splenda to use in salads. I also went to Walmart and got a free box of Idaho potatoes to donate and 4 pouches of the potatoes for .25/each to donate.

Mom went in town yesterday to Target. I asked her to pick up an Archer Farmer sliced ham for me. It's about 1 1/2 lb. I gave her $5.50 for it today. They have very good ham. I like to chop it up in salads.

I only had one book on hold at the library, so that gives me some time catch up. It was an interlibrary loan and it's due back the 22nd. Some of the ILLs let you keep them for a month and others only a few days.

I finished reading the library book The Hot Gate by John Ringo. Sci/Fi - very good.

I wanted to donate online to my local food pantry in time for Thanksgiving. I've done this a few times before so know it works. They have a new website, and obviously someone didn't test it very well. Since that was my job before retiring, I know about testing websites.

I went to the new donation page and clicked on the button that says 'Click Here' to donate. A new window opened using the same URL with the same 'Click Here' button - sigh.

I sent them an email telling them about the problem, but haven't heard back yet. If they don't get it fixed I will give extra for xmas. I usually give for both xmas and thanksgiving.

My Dr gave me a prescription for Niacin because she thought it might be cheaper going thru my insurance to get it, although she said over the counter would work just as well. I took it to Walmart yesterday and they said insurance didn't cover it, but they would fill it for $5 something. I said go ahead and I would pick it up today. When I got home there was a message saying the prescription had been filled and I owed $56+ - I went in today and asked about it, she said they changed the prescription so the insurance company would cover it. It was actually $117 but after insurance it was $56 for one month! I said thanks but no thanks, I would get it over the counter, so I got 2 months for $12. Talk about price gouging.

I finished reading the library book Quatrain by Sharon Shinn. Sci/Fi - pretty good.

When I walked at Walmart today I noticed the price of paperback books has gone up from $7.99 to $8.99. That's a pretty good hike - 12.5%. I buy fewer books every year, but I still prefer to own my favorites.

The food pantry was swamped yesterday when I dropped off some food. Churches and organizations were dropping off their collections.

I finished reading my book The Search by Nora Roberts. Mystery - very good.

I've been stalled on my weight loss for a couple of months. I've lost a few pounds but really was hoping to lose more by the end of the year. I'm not giving up and I'm not changing the eating plan, because it's improved other areas of my health so much - diabetes and high blood pressure. However, lately I am getting a little tired of my choices, so I'm making an effort to look for new recipes and try new things that are within the plan to make it more interesting, hence the mushroom pizza the other day

Yesterday I used some of my swagbucks to get 2 books at Amazon and some Miracle Noodle Shirataki Fettucini. It's a pasta made from the knojac root, so very low carb. Hoping it tastes somewhat decent, that will open up several recipe options for me if it does. I looked for it in the health food store and couldn't find it. Maybe next time I'm in town and near the Whole Foods store I'll see if they carry it - that's if I decide I like it.

So I was reading an article about a new diet and of course there is the usual claim, you can eat anything you want and lose weight. So I think to myself, "yeah if the only things you want to eat are fruits and veggies and not a lot of other things." But then I thought, that really is the trick, to get to the mindset where you only want to eat food that's good for you and all the unhealthy stuff no longer screams your name. I'm getting much better at that, the unhealthy food only whispers now and usually it's fairly easy to ignore. I'm still not losing weight fast or easily, but it's easier to eat right.

That's the same trick for saving money. The easiest way to save money is to not want things. I've reached that stage in my life, where I have enough and don't want very many new things. Because I want few things, those things are easier to supply. I'm not depriving myself and it doesn't take willpower to deny myself, I just plain don't want them. I'm waiting for the day when that's true with food.

I finished reading the library book New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb. Mystery - excellent.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,245.15
RX total = 332.17
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,784.51

I had 4 $10 OYNO coupons from buying Safeway gift cards last weekend. They could only be used one per purchase so I made 4 purchases the last 4 days to use them up.

Purchase #1

1 3lb bag Safeway tilapia fillets on sale for - $7.99
1 bag coleslaw mix - $1.49
celery - .40
1 bag sunflower seeds - .99
----------------------------
10.87
-10.00 q
------
.87

Purchase #2

2 120 ct bottles Nature Made fish oil BOGO - $12.39
2 onions - 1.33
-----------------
14.57
-3.00 - Nature Made coupons
-10.00 - SW coupon
------
1.57

Purchase #3

1/2 lb Kerrygold butter - $4.49
2 SW string cheeses - .80
2 travel size Tide detergent - 1.98
2 doz Eggsland eggs - $4.98
2 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese BOGO - 2.19
tax - .07
--------------------------------------------
14.51
-1.98 - Tide coupons
-2.00 - Egglands coupons
-10.00 - SW coupon
------
.53

Purchase #4

2 packages Bakers unsweetened chocolate - $6.18
1 gal apple cider vinegar - 4.49
----------------------------------
10.67
-10.00 SW q
-------
.67

Total spent $3.64 for $43.64 in groceries.

I input the codes from the Nature Made fish oil into the Nature Made reward program and had enough to order another $7 coupon.

The wind is blowing like crazy today, it's driving me nuts. Over 60 mph and gusty.

I finished reading the library book How Firm a Foundation by David Weber. Sci/Fi - excellent.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,235.15
RX total = 332.17
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,774.51

Last night I had pizza for the first time in 7 months and I didn't cheat on my low-carb/paleo/primal way of eating. I got 2 large portobello mushrooms and brushed them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in 400 degree oven for 5 min, cap side down. I made a pizza sauce from a can of tomato sauce, some finely diced onions, pizza seasonings and salt and pepper. After the 5 minutes turned the mushrooms over and spooned in the pizza sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, added sliced pepperoni and topped with shredded mozarella, cooked for another 5 min. They were so yummy. I got a couple more portobello mushrooms to make them again tomorrow. This will become a staple at my house.

I went to King Soopers this morning and transfered another prescription and got another $25 put on my King Soopers card. Spent $7.32 for the prescription. I've gotten 5 RX rewards in the last couple weeks and spent $75.85 of it today in free groceries.

$40 of that was on macadamia nuts. This is the time of year to stock up on any kind of nuts, but they had 1 lb of macadamia nuts for $10.99, which is very good. They are normally $7 for 6 oz. I got 4 lbs and will freeze them.

I also got 2 packages of bacon for $3.88 each. Best price I've seen in a while. I got 10 cans of green beans for .49/each - another stock up price. I got 2 cans of Muir Glen organic tomato sauce for .25/each after coupon. I found a can of organic pumpkin in the clearance section for $1.79. Most of the rest of what I spent was for produce, romaine, spinach, radishes, mushrooms and tomatoes. I still have almost $50 left to spend on my RX savings. I need to stock up on walnuts, almonds and pecans. Maybe next week

I wanted to get 10 packages of bumbleebee tuna to give to the food pantry - on sale for .40/each, but they were all sold out. I'll try again before the sale ends next Tuesday.

I finished reading my book Breaking Loose by Tara Janzen. Mystery - very good.

I had my dr appt after all my labwork finally came in yesterday. Good news and bad, or less good

The good news is she is taking me off one of my diabetes medicines - woohoo! She was very happy with my A1c number. The bad news is I have some odd test results on my thyroid. The reverse T3 number is high, which basically means my tyroid is messed up. But this test is new so insurance companies don't go by the results. I have to be refered to an endocrinologist to get this treated. So I need to wait for that.

I've had horrible itching on my legs and a terrible rash so the dr had me tested for allergies and the number came back very high. She put me on prednesone for 3 - 5 days, gave me a cream to use and sleeping pills. All of that cost $33.96, however I got my prescriptions filled at King Soopers and they put $75 on my card for filling there and I got 150 gas points. So I came out ahead. I started the prednesone yesterday and had a horrible night. Don't know if it was coincidence or what, but I had diaharria and a sinus headache, didn't get to sleep till I gave in and took a sinus pill at 6 this morning. I didn't want to take the sleeping pill she gave me, because I felt like I might throw up and this pill supposedly knocks you out, didn't want to take the chance of not waking up. Because of the lack of sleep, and taking the meds my BP was high this morning and my Blood glucose was 191! Way too high. I got it down to 74 after breakfast, supplements and walking. My BP is back to normal also.

My last issue was my cholesterol. Good news and bad again. My HDL was up to 56 and my trigs where down to 105. Both improvements. My LDL was higher, 189, but it is the Pattern A type LDL, which means it is the large fluffy kind, which is mostly benign. However, they always want to put you on statins when your LDL is high, regardless of the pattern. I refused. I did agree to start taking Niacin though. So I got rid of one prescription and added another one. Still I'm down from 6 prescriptions to 3 now, and Niacin is really a vitamin and not a drug.

I finished reading the following library books.

Silk is for seduction by Loretta Chase. Romance - very good.

Taken by the Prince by Christina Dodd. Romance - very good also.

Safeway has a deal going on right now. If you buy $75 in groceries get $10 coupon to use on your next order. I like to buy Safeway gift cards to use to buy my groceries when I have only a few dollars to pay. So on Friday I had $5 of groceries and picked up a $100 Safeway gift card. I was surprised when the $10 coupon printed out. But I got another $100 in gift cards and got another $10 coupon. This morning I went and bought $75 in gift cards and got another coupon. I'll try again tomorrow, but I might get other gift cards and get 4x gas points along with them. Maybe Target and Subway cards. We'll see if it works for another day.

I needed to pick up a prescription at King Soopers this morning. This was a transfer and they went back to giving you $25 in groceries for transfers so I got that put on my card. I spent $1.60 on the groceries.

So far $55 in free groceries coming up, with maybe another $10 tomorrow.

I finished reading the library book Home Improvement the Undead Edition. Paranormal short stories - very good.

The lab called yesterday and said some of the lab work ordered for me last week didn't get done so I have to go back in to get more blood drawn. What a pain. I went back this morning and did that and picked up the results from the previous tests.

My A1c was 5.7 down from 6.1 in August. This is great! A1c is used to measure blood glucose over a 3 month period and is used to diagnose you with diabetes. Over 6.0 is considered diabetic. I want to get under 5.5 which is not diabetic although close. I would actually like to get under 5 eventually, but I've improved a lot this year from 7.3 at the beginning of the year down to 5.7 now.

My mom got copies of her blood work today and her cholesterol and trigs are bad, but her A1c is 6.2. I'm surprised the dr isn't talking to her about diabetes meds or changes in lifestyle. She was mad because they know nothing about her and all the health people tell her she should exercize. She's been exercizing since she was 16. She walked almost every day for 40 - 45 min and does Curves 3 - 4 times a week, plus she does stuff at home too. She's always done a lot of exercize. So it makes her mad when they tell her she needs to exercize.

I finished reading the library book Dark Predator by Christine Feehan. Paranormal - excellent.

I got a letter from the health insurance company in the mail. Another increase of almost 10%. It will be $510/month in Jan. When I started in March 2010 it was $375 so it's gone up $135/month in less than 2 years. It's ridiculous.

We got about 4-6" of snow last night, so I'm not going anywhere or walking today. Just a nice relaxing day.

I got a call from the lab and I need to go back to get more blood work. Apparently even though they took 7 vials of blood and ordered the tests, 2 of them didn't get done. That stinks. So I'll see how the roads are in the morning and try to get it done so I have results before my Dr. appt next Wednesday.

I finished reading the library book Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff. Sci/Fi - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,196.15
RX total = 256.32
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,659.66

I took my youngest niece to see The Thing yesterday. Very gory movie. It was good, but I liked the first version better with Kurt Russell. Spent $13.50

We went to SmashBurger for dinner afterwards. She had never been. She loved it. I wanted the fried so bad. That's the first time in awhile I've had a craving for anything not allowed. I managed to resist, but it was difficult. Spent $15.24

I got a really good sample pack in the mail today. It came in a makeup bag, that I'll five to one of my nieces. It also came with $29 in Target coupons.

L'oreal Youth Code moisturizer
Tresemme shampoo and conditioner
John Freida shampoo and conditioner
Garnier Fructis shampoo and conditioner
Ponds face wipes - 5 ct

I also got a package of $70 in P&G coupons

I finished reading the library book Darknesses by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Sci/Fi - very good.

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.

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.