Thrifty Thursday!

Despite a shocking sit-down with $790 worth of bills that are due by the fourth of February, and knowing I only have $485 coming in, I'm feeling a little triumphant over this economic battle I'm facing. My first "score" occurred at Walgreen's, while mother was picking up her medication. I needed to pick up some hair color, since getting my hair done was immediately cut out of the budget in April. I was hesitant to buy because I didn't have a coupon with me... but low and behold, it was on clearance! Instead of paying $15.99 one box of my standby Revlon Colorist 40 Dark Brown, I got three boxes for $20.70! That oughta cover my few (but pesty) grays for the next six months! What a bargain!

My next big win was a very thrifty, and very tasty sandwich for supper. I had one small barbequed chicken breast left over from Sunday night. I hate wasting food, and now, I can't afford to. So what to do with this little chicken breast? Make a sandwich! I found one Kaiser roll at the back of the second shelf of my very empty refrigerator that remained from my December 13th graduation party, and a slice of provolone cheese. I cut up the barbequed chicken breast, cut a slice from the onion from God-knows-when, and topped it with the provolone cheese. Zapped that little snack of a sandwich for 45 seconds... and mmmm was it good! Think of pulled pork, only more like pulled poor.

Thrifty thrill number three: (WARNING: Serious coffee drinkers might find this offensive!) pouring my 12 hour old and lukewarm coffee onto my left over ice cubes from my water for an unplanned "iced coffee" treat.

Struggling through this tumultuous economy, isn't that fun. I won't lie! But, with a little creative thinking, and adding an "I will survive" type attitude, you can do it! My only real bitch right now is that I don't have any more stamps to send out Thank-You cards in a timely fashion. I don't have enough cards, but, if I am going to claim to be an artsy gal, I've got to be happy, and comfortable making my own. It's springing for stamps that is stinging my ass. Gratitude is very important to who I am, and who I want to be, so they must be sent... just perhaps a little later than "Miss Etiquette" would like.

Pulled Pork and Back!

What a crazy week! My anticipated two-day remodel is now in day FIVE. Good news is: I'm in the home stretch, the client loves it, and has offered me more work. Bad news: my poor back and legs hurt like hell!

I've managed to make it this far through the job with only a few bruises, cutting my fingernails to a more work friendly length, and one chemical spill! I was using a corrosive concoction for professional use to eat layers of paint off of the antique hardware. My goal was to keep the cost down for the client and to make use of some character-filled antique hardware. As I was trying to fish the last hinge out of the toxic jar, it tipped over! Right onto the brand new, although very ugly, counter top and flooring! I risked permanent disfigurement of the skin to clean up the spill before anything was damaged; successfully.

After returning home, I ate a pulled-pork sandwich, on an onion bun! I had made the pulled-pork in the crock pot before leaving for the job site. I used "McCormick" brand pulled-pork seasoning, according to the directions. Okay, so I didn't use the "right" amount of pork, and added a little extra brown sugar... Delicious I say! Delicious! But, instead of sitting down and enjoying the fullness of my stomach, I jumped right into some housework. What? Am I crazy? I have the biggest slave-driving boss ever! Me!

But, the pain may be well worth it. A new friend of mine has offered to massage my aches away when he gets out of work. I met him when I was applying for a job. We got along right away. He's quite a funny fellow, and humor is one of my toppers on the wish list for future companion characteristics. We've been talking for a few days, and so far he's on the up and up. Good family. SINGLE. No children. Never married. Teaches Sunday School. Home-owner. College educated. Lovely eyes and dark hair. Very complimentary and sarcastically flirtatious. I'm thinking I might give him a small chance.

Honestly, I've been thinking about C.F. the last few days. I have not heard a word from him in about two weeks. And that's fine, but it leaves me wondering if I truly meant anything at all to him. Was I just a temporary indulgence of his hereditary male horn-dogginess? Our conversations were very in-depth and definitely not just of an adult nature... but was this just part of an elaborate scheme? I may never know. I just get caught up in the wondering sometimes.

Tonight I plugged in my small potted Christmas trees that sit on each side of the door, and hung my garland around the doorway. My house looks like the entrance to a holiday Heaven. Warm and inviting...

Now let's see who crosses the threshold!

Blueberry Corn Muffins in a Jiffy

Through random grocery donations, I acquired four boxes of corn muffin mix. I had pulled a 3-cup bag of frozen hand-picked blueberries from the freezer the other night, in the hopes that I would eat those instead of some other sugary junk. For some reason, I had thought about making blueberry corn muffins. I looked up recipes on the Internet, all of which sounded delicious, but also required ingredients I didn't have. So... I made two boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix according to package directions, dumped in about 2 cups of blueberries... and Voila! Blueberry Corn Muffins, in a literal Jiffy!

Mona Lake's Frugal French Toast

It's no secret that I'm broke, so I'm doing my best not to waste food. I had some sourdough bread about to go bad... so I made my french toast with it! Pretty tasty!

So here's my "Frugal French Toast" recipe for you...
(breakfast for ONE of course!)

2 slices of sourdough bread (mine was bakery style, donated by my dear mom, as were the eggs and milk)
2 eggs
1 splash of milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dashes to taste of cinnamon

Mix eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla in bowl. Whisk for about 2 minutes.

Soak bread slices in mixture. Individually if necessary.

Place bread on buttered skillet warmed at medium heat. Brown well on each side.

Butter to taste.

Cover with your $1.99 Target brand syrup... (or Mrs. Butterworth's if you are lucky enough to have a job!)

Savor your breakfast for one; and fantasize about...

bacon.

ENJOY! I did.

Food; Critic-al!

I've been up all day... no naps! That's good; and bad. It's good because it means I still have a chance at surviving a work day if I find a job, but it's bad because that's a lot of time to have nothing to do! So what does one do when they are bored?

EAT!

What does one eat when they are broke?

LEFTOVERS!

I've had a grilled cheeseburger seasoned with garlic, fresh ground sea salt and black pepper on an onion bun with Miracle Whip, horseradish mustard, ketchup and a fresh tomato slice, a few scoops of baked beans and my delicious potato salad. I also finished the rest of the tomato salad. Ate a Caribou caramel-something bar. Ate two servings of peach cobbler. A few handfuls of ridged potato chips and french onion dip and half of a sliced cucumber with sea salt sprinkled on it. Drank 2 Diet Cokes. OH... forgot... for breakfast, I had a fried egg, over-easy, two slices of bacon, and a piece of toast with honey.

And, I keep going back into the kitchen!!! Only this last time, I just decided to make something. I am an excellent cook. No recipes or cookbooks... just creativity. Only problem with that is: I don't measure anything so I can't pass along a recipe. My concoction tonight consisted of diced tomato, onion and diced cucumber. Season with fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix with Miracle Whip (or mayo if you prefer) and add a little sugar and apple cider vinegar. And since you just can't stop there... add some freshly cooked maple bacon... finely chopped. Mmmmm! Relax. I only ate a spoonful!

Maybe I'll add Food Critic to my resume as a current position... since my newly found "obsession" with food, may be becoming critical!