Frugal, er, Saturday

The snow is finally all melted and the green is just barely starting to poke through.  I'm so excited about this, I can hardly stand it!   The sunshine, after such a gray and dreary winter, is marvelous and

I'm really happy with our quieter schedule right now - we're all done with swimming classes (they passed through the top level) and we rearranged our schedules a little bit so we don't have so much running in the evenings.  I'm hoping to use that time to get the garden going and spend some time outside, which I think my brain just desperately needs.

This week I was also diagnosed with bronchitis and we have friends coming for dinner tonight so I wanted to really take it easy and not do much "extra" so I can get well.  ICK.  Feeling much better today but still just dragging. Hopefully I can hold out until after our friends head home tonight!

Anyway, frugal stuff?

Some things from the last few weeks when it's been so quiet here:

* John brought home three bags of chips, a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, salsa, a bag of baby carrots, a jar of peanuts and a box of raisins from the confirmation retreat.

* Attended several meals hosted by other people: several dinners at church, a banquet for Scouts, a friend's Ordination.   We even brought home leftovers from the Scouts banquet (fruit, veggies, and cupcakes!). The only down side? No leftovers for lunch the next day.

* Made from scratch: sugar cookies, biscuits, sandwich bread, cornbread, waffles, pancakes and two apple pies. 

* Watched several movies/shows on Netflix, YouTube and PBS.org.   Love that!

* Checked out several books and two books on CD from the library as well as downloading a few books free to my Kindle for PC.

* The battery for our iPad died and I was concerned about having the ability to videotape my Jazzercise class for evaluation.  Instead of buying a new battery, I used the built-in camera on my laptop and it worked better than the iPad did last year!  It has a larger range of view so I was happy with it.

* Signed our daughter up for softball through the school - cheaper by far than the city league and better coaching.  I still had my sold softball gloves from when I played in school - my smaller one from when I just started out and the larger one I use now - and my daughter fit the smaller one perfectly!  So we don't have to buy any equipment except good shoes, which she needs for summer anyway.

* My mother sent two new summer dresses than she had made our daughter and two polo shirts for our son to wear to church this summer.  She also sent me a skirt for me that I need to take in because the waist is way too big. 

* We used our Minnesota Zoo membership to take a advantage of a few indoor things when the weather was super cold a few weeks ago.   If we go twice a year, the membership has more than just paid for itself.  We try to go more than that to get our money's worth.

* I ordered two dwarf blueberry bushes so we can plant them in pots.  These are hardy to zone 3 and we're zone 5a, so we should be fine.  Won't get berries for a year or two (most likely two) but I consider them an investment. 

* Signed up for an inexpensive class through community education that gives us a guided visit to 5 different ethnic supermarkets in the area here.  I'm excited to see what I can learn and where some unknown deals are!  My mother will attend with me since it will be while she's visiting us. I'm excited about that too because she has such good ideas.

* We've been continuing to clean out - I'm so much happier with clear space than with all the clutter we've had for so long.  I keep telling myself 'slow and steady wins the race' but I feel like this part of my life is taking way too long to get through!  I guess being sick for so long just means I have more catching up to do.

* We're making significant progress eating down the freezer and I'm happy with that.  It means we've been able to use our grocery money to stock up on other things and our pantry is now full to bursting!  So blessed!

* We've done our 'usual' taking of lunches and eating leftovers as well as washing plastic baggies and other containers for taking them. 

Frugal hopes coming up:
* Make a new Easter tablecloth from fabric I already own.  If I have fabric leftover, I will make napkins to match.
* Finish the mending pile - this always seems to grow on it's own!  There are a few pieces that we really need soon so I have to get hoping on this!
* Finish cleaning out the family room and the living room.  Sell some of the extra furniture we have and get the rocking chair in the living room fixed (we have a friend that offered to help us re-staple the two springs that have pulled loose).  I'm hoping to have time this summer to refinish the other rocking chair and sew new cushions for both rocking chairs. 

Those are my frugal hopes for the rest of the month.  Oh, and recover from this Bronchitis so I can function properly. 

What's on your list coming up? 

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