Frugal Felines

New family addition

2011-02-18T23:25:00.001-05:00

DH went last Friday to pick up some cat food. There was a cute one-eyed kitty at an adoption table. He tortured me with pictures. So we went back Saturday, and met him, and filled out an application. And as of today, the spare bedroom is the quarantine zone.

His name was Xander, but we're trying to settle on a name that is more in keeping with the family theme, as he only had the name for about three weeks.

He's a huge boy, supposedly about 6 years old, and neutered, though we're not 100% sure from his paperwork. He goes to the vet tomorrow. He is already purring, and calls for us when we're not in the room. Quite a vocal boy. He seems to have lost his eye as an adult, because you can tell there is a deficit on the left side, he's a bit shy of handling on that side. We'll give everyone a few days to acclimate, then start introductions.

Meow!

My biggest frugality

2011-02-12T19:04:00.000-05:00

This post comes from a realization I made after a conversation I overheard while eating out, and getting ready to do our taxes.
DH and I file jointly. On Monday, there was a couple next to us on either their first date, or one of their first. The topic of conversation during a large part of their meal was whom they each come out to in their families, how it has been received, and who they have not come out to and why. As you can guess, the couple was gay.
So, I realized this week, my biggest frugal measure is not eating at home more, or purchasing fewer books, or having a vegetable garden. The frugality that makes the largest impact in my life is being a married, heterosexual. We can file jointly federally, my medical benefits, through DH's company are tax exempt, if one of us dies, the transfer of estate will not be subject to a host of taxes it would be otherwise. I can go on, as there are a number of other benefits financially.
A sobering thought for me.

Spoilt brats

2011-01-16T20:03:00.000-05:00

Give them an inch and they'll take a yard!

They even take my spot on the bed! :-o

Special needs humor

2011-01-10T20:38:00.001-05:00

Or, "heard on the way to the veterinary opthamologist".

When we moved to our house in 2008, visiting the vet went from 20 minutes to 45 minutes without traffic. Given that our felines are 'special needs' to put it nicely, even with the best cat, this isn't a picnic. However, with our cats' medical issues, we have been reluctant to change vets - we trust our vets and our vets trust us. One of our girls however, decided at the same time, to vehemently dislike the carrier and the car trip - she paws and bites at the entrance to the carrier.
There is however, an emergency vet five minutes from our house, and they also have specialists. So on Saturday, our two opthamalogically challenges beasts of purr-den (including the carrier-phobic girl) were trundled off to the kitty eye doctor. Two blocks in she voiced her displeasure, but thankfully did not start biting the carrier.
This led to a discussion of our vets refusal to prescribe sedation when we bring her in.
Me - What about hypnosis?
DH - Do they even have cat hypnotists?...
DH again - How would you hypnotize a blind cat!?

That pretty much ended the discussion as we were too busy laughing.

Majic box instructions

2011-01-08T14:16:00.000-05:00

This is a prime example of why I love my husband.

Thursday, I had to work late, and DH was on kitchen duty. Both of us cook, so this is not an unusual occurrence. A half hour before I was due to leave, I got a text that almost made me fall out of my chair laughing. "Mongo need guidance. Is bread machine set for pizza dough? Need instructions for majic box"
Mongo is a reference to a character he played in a Role Playing Game - a very large, very strong and very dumb character. The dough required two attempts, and that meal was shelved for the next day in favor of scrambled eggs. He makes me smile. :-)

I need more apples!

2010-10-31T23:44:00.000-04:00

I made some amazing apple butter this weekend. A-Ma-Zing! Sadly though, 12lbs of apples produced only 6 pints of butter. :( So I'm going hunting for more apples. It was so simple to make too. I peeled the apples, cut them with the corer-slicer into 8 slices, and dumped them into the slow cooker. When the cooker was overfull, I turned it on low, and put the top on, venting it after the first hour or so. When the apples were soft, I mashed them and added brown sugar (2c for a 4qt cooker), and cinnamon and cloves.
Continued cooking it down, stirring and venting. When there was about half in the crock, I pureed it with an immersion blender, and let it cook down a little bit more, adding a teaspoon or so of vanilla near the end. I had to cook two batches to get the 6 pints (and a tablespoon more). This one is going to be popular, I can tell. Yum yum yum!

Am I the only one?

2010-09-23T23:04:00.000-04:00

I was paying some bills tonight, and calculated the balance that will be left in our checking account when they are all processed. It is not a bad number and October's money is being deposited next week, but it is much lower than it is during most of the month. It makes me feel broke. I know we have a good amount of savings, and we won't even spend what is left in checking but there was still the momentary 'eek!' Am I the only one this happens to?

That brings me to my second thought tonight - I debated discussing the paragraph above in several forums, but rejected them because I felt that discussing both feeling broke, and the knowledge that we have a secure amount of savings would make others uncomfortable, especialy since I know that some of the people who might have read it are making do on less, for a variety of reasons. Why does having savings make us feel bad at times? Or reluctant to discuss it? I'm not talking about the fear of someone asking for assistance, just the possibility of it causing someone to feel bad because their circumstances are different. I think we have a weird relationship with money as a culture.

head-desk

2010-09-20T21:06:00.000-04:00

We have two bags of coffee beans in the freezer - both free trade, one more expensive, one less. So what is in my freezer when I come home tonight? A container of Folgers grounds. Why? My husband wanted to be able to make a cup of coffee in the morning without having to grind the beans. Why do I bother?

9 Year Rant

2010-09-11T22:38:00.000-04:00

I'm angry today. It's been building. People are upset right now because a group wants to build a mosque and community center in downtown NYC, nearby the WTC. Personally, I couldn't give a flying fuck. Just because the people who decided to hijack planes and fly them into buildings on 09-11-01 happened to be of the same religion doesn't mean every muslim is evil and dangerous. There are thousands of extremists living in the US today, and guess what? I'm willing to bet most of them are NOT muslim! They are probably Christian. Muslim, Christian, Jewish or other, they have more in common with other extremists than with others of their main religion. 9 years ago, our country decided to forget our differences and band together against a threat that shook all of us, everyone regardless of race, color or creed. Today, the loudest of our citizens are more interested in pointing out each others differences and placing blame than working together to find solutions to the problems our country faces. So it makes me angry to hear people pausing to remember the victims of the 9/11 attack today, when these memories are certainly not being honored in daily practice. If you want to talk about the problems and discuss them rationally, if you have a solution and are willing to sit down with those who may disagree with you and calmly discuss possibilities, let's go, I'll even provide the table and the refreshments. If not, if you just want to shout as loud as possible, and point fingers, then I'm tired of listening, so STFU! Thus endeth the rant. Good night.

Successes and failures

2010-08-23T22:43:00.000-04:00

Fail - pear butter - I scorched it trying to cook it down overnight in the big crockpot instead of cooling it then possibly reheating it the next day, or putting it in a smaller crockpot.

Successes - made and canned peach jam, blueberry-mullberry jam, and Family Secret Tomato Sauce which was yummier than I thought it would be, happily.

Next up - dilly beans, more cucumber pickles, jalepeno jam, and freezing diced peppers. Phew, I'm tired just thinking about it all!

A little laugh

2010-08-22T22:27:00.000-04:00

I've been canning today, with the sound of the sealing jars as my background music. So, I posted 'plink plink plink' on Facebook. A friend commented "huh?". I shall not explain, and just keep it a canners secret. HA HA HA!

Free is best!

2010-08-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

In addition to the pears off our neighbor's tree, she told me I could take tomatoes from her garden, then told me later, I can have all the green beans as they are overgrown, oh, and the butternut squash that escaped into my yard! We're awash in free produce! They have an apple tree too. So of that produce, my only cost will be the energy to process it, and the jars to put it in. Sweet! And the loss of whatever we give her in canned/prepared foods. I plan to make dilly beans with the beans, possibly tonight. Stay tuned.

Dear Cat,

2010-08-21T09:46:00.000-04:00

Your breath stinks
Your world will not end if you cannot be on my lap 24/7/365
I do not put my feet on my kitchen table, what makes you think you can put yours there?
Your breath really stinks
Please do not knead on my chest, especially since you are not declawed
If you insist on sitting on my lap, I reserve the right to attack your eyeboogers
See numbers 1 and 4
Just as your feet to not belong on the table, neither does the rest of your body, and using my lap as a conduit to the table does not negate this rule
Purring at me and acting cute does not change any of the above
OK, I give, yea, it does
Damn

The canning

2010-08-21T09:28:00.000-04:00

Continues. Last night, I knew some of my pears were getting bad, so I pulled up the first 10lbs or so, and peeled and chopped them while I watched True Blood from netflix. <3 Netflix. Popped them in the slowcooker as I went, then added about a 3/4c of honey, cinnamon, cloves, a scraped vanilla bean pod and some orange juice. Stirred it up, set it to low, and stumbled into bed. It is very liquidy still this morning so it needs to cook down a lot, but it smells devine. I had some recently picked pears that were a little soft, so I peeled them up this morning, and added them to the pot. I might add some apples later, but I might just leave this as is. I will post how it came out later. I plan to can it in my small batch basket, which should be able to go into our smaller stockpot. Yum.

Party party

2010-08-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Two friends came over today, and together we processed and canned 22 quarts and 29 pints of produce - peaches in syrup, dill pickles, salsa, pickled bell peppers and relish. Plus, I have cut peaches, blueberries and frozen mulberries to process into jam and can this week, as well as more peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini and cucumbers to process between this week and the next weekend. Oh, and about 20lbs of pears to do the same with! Oy oy oy! Still, enjoyable.

Old vs New

2010-06-24T23:27:00.000-04:00

September 26, 1999 I drove a silver 2000 Honda Civic EX Coupe off the lot. I had graduated college the previous May and worked three jobs to put the down payment on the car, and researched for months to determine the best car to fit my needs, economic and material. For the next 10 years, 6 months, it was my baby. I treated it well, but wore it in. It was stolen and recovered and repaired. I didn't care that it was dirty, and it had it's issues, but I knew every sound it made. The CD player didn't work, the driver side visor was worn and it's clip was broken, and there was a serious ding in the trunk where our basketball hoop fell over onto it. So it was creaky and had issues, but I could treat it like a car, drive it how I wanted, be assertive without being afraid of a few scatches. It was an extension of me. It had a date in the spring with a detailing inside and out to freshen it up, and I needed to get an oil leak fixed. Then I came up an entrance ramp onto a roadway near home late on a rainy night, and realized too late that the cars in front of me had stopped. Saionara Civic. I drove a spare of my parents and we started researching. I had some ideas, but we started from scratch and asked all the questions - new/used, small/large, makers, car/suv/minivan.... We settled on the Toyota Camry or the Honda Accord, new. New gave us the warranty and newer used of both were close in cost to a new since both hold their value very well. We had the cash but it would drain our savings too much, so we used the financing offer. I fell in love with the Accord after test driving it. We bought it on Saturday. I love it. It makes me smile. But it comes with all the worries of a new car - getting used to how it handles, worrying about every situation that could put a scratch or ding into it, keeping it spotless.
I miss my old Civic. There is value in older stuff - it's lived in and well loved. I just miss my baby.

How much is too much?

2010-06-09T19:21:00.000-04:00

This article was in the NYTimes today, on the Well blog. Pet care can be expensive. Between well visits and care for illness and chronic or congenital conditions we have spent between $10,000 and $15,000 on our 5 cats in the almost 7 years since I first adopted A. We give them the best care we can, but we also keep the cost in consideration. We didn't hesitate to pay $2,000 to freeze the hair off H's eyelids so he could see better, but since S was already blind, and she was the second blind one, we didn't take her to the eye doctor - we knew how to handle it, so why spend the $200? We chose to euthanize M because of her suffering, and despite treatment her condition was worsening, not because we could not afford to continue treating her. That said, we would not have considered a transplant (yes it was mentioned) due to the cost, though the thought of putting her through that was also a factor - how do you explain major surgery and recovery to a blind cat who is already skittish? I thought the article was interesting, but I question how much you can really get from such a black or white question.

Memory

2010-06-01T21:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Memorial Day. In honor, thepioneerwoman.com is showing photos of "Coming Home" that her readers and followers have sent in - of service men and women coming home after serving their country. Most are of people lucky enough to be arriving on their own two feet, but there are also many, too many photos of coffins, graves and memorial markers. I don't have any family in the service, so it is easy sometimes to push this very real part of our lives into the background. Looking at these photographs made me realize the first time I understood war and military as something personal, rather than a news blurb or lesson in history class. When I was eleven, we went to Washington, DC. I think it was my first time. As we strolled about the National Mall, we paused here at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was the first time my mother had been in DC since it was erected. She didn't gaze around like we all had at every other stop. She walked with a purpose, eyes flickering through the years until she found the one she was looking for. A piece of paper and a pencil were pulled out, and as I watched, she silently made a rubbing of one name, then another. "Why did you do that?" was my 11yo question. "I knew them in high school" was all she replied. Suddenly the concept of war was made so much more personal - someone my mother had known had left to fight and not come home alive.

Easy peasy

2010-04-25T17:53:00.000-04:00

Our bank account is thanking me. I finally made a new batch of laundry detergent. In the past I'd made a liquid detergent, which is why I tended to put it off and DH would pick up a bottle of regular detergent in the meantime. So I dug up a powdered recipe, so I just had to grate the Fels Naptha soap, then measure out the washing soda and borax and mix it all together. We also needed dishwashing detergent this week, so I went online and found a recipe for that. DH pronounced the results acceptable. Wha-hoo! So four years after I bought the first box, I actually need to pick up another box of washing soda. I doubt the next box will last as long, but it's still a lot cheaper than buying detergent every few weeks. :)

I also wonder if this is easier on the environment. Definitely less packaging.

Me time

2010-04-18T13:02:00.000-04:00

I got up way later than I intended, but I did waht I planned and went for a walk anyway. 30 minutes. This is the first time I have deliberately exercised since early November. Go me!

No-spend outing

2010-04-11T20:03:00.000-04:00

Today, I went with my friend, his two kids and his late wife's parents to Rutger's Gardens. We packed a lunch, ate as a picnic, and enjoyed the gardens, which are free to enter and enjoy. My friend and his wife spent many days there, and he knew a lot about them, and all the trails meandering through. I had never been, and hope to go back and explore the grounds more, especially with DH, and possibly our friend and his kids. Though tinged with bittersweet memories of my friend, it was a fun day.

Unfrugal week

2010-03-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

How not to be frugal - let your husband crumple up his suit and leave it in the dry cleaning bag for four months. Then have a friend die suddenly causing said spouse to need a suit in 24hrs. Two suits plus accessories and rush alterations later, and we are $1000 poorer. The second suit was only $100, and I have no idea why he felt the need to purchase shirts and a tie as well, but at that point, I wasn't arguing. Rest assured, the crumpling will no longer be tolerated. Sigh.
That was the worst of it, but it was an expensive week all around. We sent our friend and his children and family an Edible Arrangement, which we split the cost of with my parents. Then we purchased the posterboards and photo corners to put together photo collages for the funeral. Our food costs were much reduced, since we ate at their house most nights. Oh, and I bought pants since I didn't really have a fancy enough pair that fit and wasn't too worn, but they were only $35.

Dear G-d

2010-03-16T00:31:00.000-04:00

I know we plan and you laugh, but I think you're a sadistic sonofabitch for this one. You had to take one of my closest friends on the first day of her new job, her dream job? You had to take her and leave her two children motherless, her husband without his other half, with no warning. I've seen him sleep deprived, juggling four things at once - work, home, school and squad, but I have never ever ever seen him lost like he is right now. They asked for nothing! I'd say let us in on the joke, but I don't think I want to know this one. You suck!

Grounds for divorce

2010-03-12T20:10:00.000-05:00

I just watched my husband make himself spaghetti. He doesn't put in enough water, he doesn't stir it, and he re-covers the pot - now I know why half of it is still stuck to the pot when he's done. And he puts ketchup on it! UUUGGGHHHH. I informed him he is not allowed to teach this to our children. He is now torturing me by insisting he will do so. Eek!

The biggest advantage of frugality

2010-02-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

It gives one options. We do not live a spartan life. Far from it. However, we spend less than we earn and we examine our spending periodically, in all categories. This has afforded us the ability to spend when it is truly important, such as when our cars have needed surprise repairs, and our cats developed sudden illnesses. The relief of knowing the money is in the bank, and the card I'm handing over at the vet hospital is paid off and won't be rejected for being over the limit is immesurable. It allowed us to focus on our animals and make decisions based first on what would be best for the animal and only next on the cost of the treatment or test. We have lost two animals in the past six months - one in August after discovering in June that he had a benign but rapidly growing mass in his chest. The second we lost this past Thursday after she suddenly developed acute kidney failure following about two years of kidney infections. We're still reeling from that loss, along with still grieving the first loss from August. In each case, the costs were in excess of $2,000 incurred for diagnosis and treatment, without trying any really heroic measures. However, the reason we chose both times not to persue more invasive and expensive measures was first due to the trauma those measures would cause the cat. The cost was considered mainly in relation to the benefit from the treatment vs the cost, rather than affordability.
We personally know people who have not been able to afford to do the same, and it is heartbreaking for them. Having the piece of mind to pay the bill regardless of the number? Priceless.

Note to self

2010-02-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

Do not start a baking project at 9:30pm. I just put the zucchini bread in the oven. It takes 55-60min to bake. Oh well. I think I know what we're having for breakfast. :) I'll report back on the results at a later date.

Technological arms race

2010-02-02T17:29:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about my desire for a Kindle this afternoon, which got me thinking - if I buy a book, I have that book for as long as I want to keep it. I do not need anything but my eyes and hands to read it. If I purchase a Kindle, then purchase books to read on it, it can break or need to be upgraded and/or replaced eventually in order to continue to be able to keep reading anything purchased for it. That seems to be the way with most technology. In order to listen to music, we need some sort of purchased equipment - a phonograph, then a record player, or radio, then a tape deck, then a CD player, and now a computer AND an MP3 player. Oh, and the time it takes to have one of those break is getting shorte and shorter. I'm sure there are record players still out there from the 70's and 80's that are working perfectly. We have CD players from more than 10yrs ago still playing fine. But 4yrs seems to be the life span of an iPod. Computers are similar - My first was from January of 1996, and by January of 2000, I desperately needed a new one because my old one couldn't run 50% of what was available. I upgraded, and 6 years later was in the same position again. Planned obsolecence I think it is called. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of technology sitting in our household. But we consider a lot of angles before making a purchase, including our need for the item, how it will change our household (including making other unnecessary upgrades more wanted), and if there are other options. Consequently, while we have two laptop computers (one each), we do not have a flat screen TV, or Blueray DVD player - our analog TVs and regular definition DVD player work fine for now, thanks. We also purchase the best technology for the money when we do buy, so we're not in a position of needed to upgrade again as fast. Some may not, but we consider this a form of frugality

Kindle

2010-01-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

I'm hearing more and more about Amazon's Kindle. I've been getting Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks at the rate of about one a month. They are $5 a card, but I'm not in a rush. I just used my last $25 to buy two books I wanted, but I think I'm saving the rest towards a Kindle. I'm curious as to whether, once I get one, I can put gift cards towards 'e-books'. I have a long way to go before I really need to worry though. :)

Love the farmers market

2010-01-30T14:36:00.000-05:00

There is a year-round farmer's market about an hour from our house. That may seem like a long distance, but it is within the area we frequent on about a bimonthly basis (we go into the area at least once every two months), so it's not that far to travel every two weeks or so. All the produce stands must grow their food within NJ. They often have baskets of various sizes, so you can get a lot or a little of what you want. In the summer, the place is overflowing with farms, literally. Even now, there was a nice selection - various apples, local honey, all different colored sweet potatoes, onions from itty bitty to giant, and potatoes, from small baskets to 50lb bags! There are also meat stands which range from local to imported items, and a Mennonite 'grocer' with fresh squeezed OJ, and an Amish luncheon spot on one side. All in all, it's a place one could spend the day. Plus, there is a local dairy next door. They truck in the milk, but it's all processed right there, and cheap! Not organic, but no hormones or antibiotics. Yay! So we got a 20lb bag of potatoes, ~15lbs of onions, 5-10lbs of sweet potatoes, bread, a gallon of milk, 3or so pounds of fuji apples, some ground flax, dried pinapple, dried ginger, an oatmeal mix, and 2 dozen eggs, one farm fresh. All for $35. I might have been able to get some of this more cheaply at one of those 'produce' places that gets the cheapest produce they can, from whereever they can find it. But for fresh, locally grown and processed produce and other products, it was still cheaper than the grocery store, and I'm happy with results! Starting in March, we might see spring onions and other early veggies. We get veggies and fruits during the summer from our garden and the CSA we buy into but I'll sometimes still go down to round out our supplies or get more of something we eat a lot, like onions, or strawberries. They also sell seconds for good prices, so I got apples and tomatoes there last year for processing into apple butter and puree for canning. Yum!

Car woes continued!

2010-01-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

Something that I have avoided for 10+ years has happened. My windshield has a crack. Not a chip, no, we didn't start small. There is a great big jagged crack. I scrapped the ice off the windshield Wednesday morning, no chip, no crack. We got in the car that night, DH commented that I had a crack, a 4in long crack. This is two days after I got her back from the mechanic with the news of an oil leak that got upgraded to 'needs to be taken care of' status. I was hoping the crack would stay 4in long, so I could ignore it for a little while, but that is not to be. It's spreading. I'm still going to just keep an eye on it for now, but I don't have much hope. I will be taking a look at the budget and upgrading the amount we put into the New Car fund next month if DH agrees. In the race to the grave, my car seems to have pulled ahead. :(

It's that time again...

2010-01-20T22:46:00.000-05:00

The seed catalogs have started rolling in. This weekend, I will assess our stock of seeds and materials, check the gardening books and get ready to start our seeds. We did OK last year, but lost a large number of seedlings, so I'd like to do better this year. My goal, besides getting the tomatoes and beans we got last year, as well as other veggies, is to successfully grow onions. Will post more goals after I go through everything this weekend.

Car woes

2010-01-20T22:41:00.000-05:00

My car seems to be going through an attention phase. I'm hoping and praying this is not the beginning of the end. In December, the window wouldn't roll up, and the hood wouldn't open. Between those two issues, and repairing another nagging issue that turned out to be bigger than we thought, we plunked down a serious chunk of change at the mechanic's. Then, brought the car in to fix the hood latch, which had been on back order. They did an oil change while it was there, and what was a minor oil leak in April, is now more serious, as it is leaking onto the timing belt. Then today, I got a crack in the windshield. I swear, it wasn't there this morning, was there this evening. WTF!? I count myself lucky the windshield went almost 10.5yrs w/ no issues, but really wish it wasn't RIGHT NOW. It is a 4-5in crack, so I will keep an eye on it for the next week and see how it goes, then take it from there. Phoo!

My husband, the coupon king

2010-01-19T21:58:00.000-05:00

We went out tonight and did our first coupon run of the year. We scored 8 yogurts, and 4 boxes of pancake mix for free, two loaves of bread and two packs of english muffins for $8 (WW brand), and 4 packages of No Yolk noodles for $2. The main objective was the freebies, which the noodles were supposed to be, but we misread the coupon as $1 off one, when it was $1 off two. Oops. The bread and english muffins were a find, and it was a good price for the brand, which we like, but it's usually uber expensive ($3.99 for one loaf of bread!). Yay. Tomorrow or Thursday, we will go out again, for more freebies and some reduced items. Time to stock up the pantry again, and get some nice donations for the local food pantry.

As for the felines, today was a loss in the battle to frugally care for our special needs guys. Their food went up in price again, from 82c/can to 99c/can at the cheaper of the two stores that carries it. We could switch to a different food, but we like this food, they like it, and it has a high protein content. It's probably at the top of the midrange or bottom of the high end cat food brands. They are on all wet food (they get dry as treats) to keep their weight down, per vet consultation, which is important for their health, especially with their medical issues. We are going to write a complaint to the store, look for coupons, and price out other brands with comparable nutritive value. Life was so much easier with one cat. :(

Food use challenge

2010-01-02T18:01:00.001-05:00

Several months ago (but I'm pretty sure it was 2009), lobster was way cheap, and we got four - two for us, two to bring down to my in-laws as a treat. Those were cooked and frozen. Then they never made it down to the in-laws. Oops. I found a Crockpot Lobster Bisque on A Year Of Slow Cooking. So I tried it with a couple of minor adjustments, mainly to use the 'non claw and tail' parts to flavor the stock, and to throw in a bit of dry wine for the 'bisque-y' flavor I like, and to account for cooked meat rather than uncooked. This is either going to taste good or be an epic fail. Stay tuned.

ETA: Well, the verdict is, it's OK. I had a small bowlful, and DH had a larger bowl. The lobster was fishy when I was pulling the meat out, and finishing preparing the soup. So, it tasted fine, but I was so sick of smelling it after preparing it, I didn't want much. I'll try it again in a couple of days. If I still don't like it, it was still better than just tossing them unused.

Crackpot

2010-01-01T21:42:00.000-05:00

I'm addicted to crockpots, or 'slow-cookers'. I have three currently. Technically WE have three, but I think DH has used them 5 times in the past 5 years. I use them probably twice a month, minimum. We have an 8qt, a 4qt, and a 1.5qt. After twice needing a second 4qt, I have decided it's time to get one. It's not a pressing need, as I mainly need one when we're having a party, to hold a hot drink, or a dip. So I'm putting the word out, and I will be perusing thrift stores and yard sales. I hope to spend less than $5 for it. Free would be best. We'll see. I might also invest in an inexpensive one for the family house in Rhode Island, as I keep lugging ours up there. It's a pain. We'll see.

Two years!

2009-12-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

This time two years ago, I was getting my hair done and sipping hot chocolate at my parent's house, preparing to say 'I DO'. Part of me can't believe we've been married for two years, together for almost 7, because it feels like yesterday, all of it. Another part of me feels like we've been together for so long I can't imagine life any other way. He has his quirks, as do I, but truly I have been blessed with one of the best people on this planet as a husband. Here's to two years of blessed marriage down, and hopefully many more to go.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-27T21:08:00.000-05:00

Almost over, and we made it through the holidays. We got people a mix of frugal and not-so-frugal gifts. My parents received Harry and David's 12 months Fruit-of-the-Month, just like last year. There is very little they need so we got them something they'll enjoy the whole year. They liked it last year, all but one month. We got my father and his wife the 3 month of the same. But before I got a job, I spent several days canning a variety of items, so we are also giving those out. And we have two more gifts to get - gift cards for two people. I had wanted to make a jam as well, but the job has taken too much time. I also have been spending a good portion of time helping to support my grandmother in the hospital and rehab. While it doesn't take all day, it precludes any baking or canning projects as they take a large chunk of a day to do them right.
We have spent more eating out than we'd like, but we are still eating a fair amount of home cooked meals, even if they are simpler than at other times - grilled cheese and soup is still better than take-out. :) As is pasta and jarred sauce. As I have told others, it doesn't have to be complex to be homecooked - mac and cheese with peas and hot dogs is still a home-cooked meal. I wouldn't want to do it every night, but it's decent food.

Grinchy or just simplicity?

2009-12-13T21:02:00.000-05:00

For the holidays, my family does gift exchanges - the 'adults' each pick a name and give a gift of a certain amount, the 'kids' do the same, to a lesser amount, and the adults also pick kids and give - they pick the same # of kids as they have. Last year, I tried to bring up that, given the stage of life DH and I are now in, should we really be considered 'kids'? We are the oldest of the kids, the only ones w/ a house, marriage, etc. I was resoundingly shouted down. This year, when my aunt texted me and DH who we'd be giving to in teh kid exchange I asked back the same thing, given our circumstances, aren't we a little old to be doing a kids exchange. I was counting the kid exchange w/ each other, and the adult-to-kid gift together, since they'd started at the same time. Now I found out, they are separate, so while I really wanted to be excluded from the idea of being given a gift b/c 'I'm a kid', I kind of got us out of the wrong one. But I really don't care to exchange anyway b/c in the last two years or so, aside from my parents, I think I've gotten two useful gifts from the family. Either the clothes are the wrong size and/or aren't my style, or it's something I won't use. I'm at the point where I don't want extra stuff cluttering our house and I don't tend to get around to returning stuff for refunds (I know that's bad). I'm OK with not getting something if it means no one had to waste time and money on something that won't get used. My cousin says it's about someone thinking of me enough to get me a gift, not that I got what I wanted. So now I'm torn. Sigh. I'm starting to understand why people hate the holidays.

Snow, sort of

2009-12-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy time in the land of the frugal felines. Two of our kitties went for bloodwork last week. Both have slight issues, but nothing of concern, thankfully. Wasn't a cheap visit, but better than having to treat a crisis. We're due for a 'wintery mix' today, snow and rain. It's above freezing so I don't expect anything to stick, just make it icky out. We have to make a small grocery run, just for milk since we're out, and a couple of other small things. I have to make cookies for a swap I'm going to tomorrow. The biggest hole in the budget right now is the expense of going to see Grandma, as she is still in the hospital, and we wind up parking in the hospital garage as we have zero luck finding on street parking. At $29 for 4-8hrs, it's horrid. Plus the $8 bridge toll and the highway toll. Yuck, but it happens. We expect her to be discharged this coming week. Physical therapy is helping immensely, and medically, she is stabilized, so the PT can be done at a rehab facility, she doesn't need to stay in the hospital. It's now a matter of getting her a bed at the facility the family has chosen. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers going that we can get her a spot ASAP.

Make It Stop!

2009-11-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

In the past 5 days, the following has happened - my grandmother had a stroke, my dad was hit by another vehicle, totalling his car (thankfully not him!), our neighbor's truck's windows were smashed, and my brother-in-law's grandmother died, after suffering a stroke the week before. Yikes! So ready for 2010. Officially requesting we fast forward and it arrives Tuesday. We and our friends and family have suffered too much loss this year. We have lost count of the number of people who have died, plus job losses, and other tragedies. We continue to count our blessings, but it gets overwhelming.

Seriously!?

2009-11-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

We are looking at florists to deliver some roses to my cousin on Saturday for her 16th birthday. She was supposed to have a party, but cancelled it because our grandmother had complications Wednesday following her surgery last week. Given everything going on, I thought she would enjoy this. So far however, I can't find a dozen roses for less than $65 before delivery! Nevermind if they can deliver that soon. Yeesh. I was thinking up to $50. I will call a few places tomorrow. Otherwise, we'll find a place nearby, have it made up and deliver it ourselves. She's about 45minutes from us, but even with gas, we'll probably save money. Crazy! It's been a while since I bought a bouquet of just roses, but even then, 3 roses was like $6, which would make 16 $32, and it's usually not that much for a dozen plus. So I'll do some hunting. I just want to cheer her up. Our family is close, and Grandma's stroke is a big blow to all of us.

Cranky pants

2009-11-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

I should be happy to have a job. I should I should I should. But I just cannot get excited. It's a contract position and the conditions are, well, very disorganized and backwards from what I experienced at my old job. This is not a new company, so this is a surprise. For example, there is no formal training program. They are just getting one off the ground. Their documents are not secured, and there is no way to prove you are using the most recent version. SOP's are used more as suggestions than documents that should be followed to the letter. It's disheartening, and it turns out that people remain temps for 18-24months before being hired permanently. Ugh. Part of me thinks this could be an interesting place to work, and a chance to really get involved and help effect change. Part of me wants out of there, either to another place that has their head on straighter, and will hire me permanent from the start, or home, b/c we were doing fine, and I like taking care of hearth and home and husband. Call me old fashioned, but I do. Meh!

Pssst

2009-11-23T21:16:00.000-05:00

Just stopping in to say.... I had a no spend day!!!! My first in a while. I'd plan to have one, then realize there was spending I had to do, or I'd already spent that day. This makes me feel happy. :)
I'm scheduling a payment to our AMEX card, but it won't go thru today. A nice end to a frustrating day. First day on the new job, and it's a scary place. Not horrible working conditions, but they don't do a lot of things right that need to be done, like using logbooks for instruments and rooms properly, securing documents, little thing like that. So I think the job hunt will continue. But better to hunt while employed than unemployed.

Karmic thwack!

2009-11-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

I'm battling a cold right now. I could have had a cold at any time since May 20th, but I get one now. I'm hoping it's mild, but the timing still sucks ass. I can't go see Grandma in the hospital, and I start my new job tomorrow. DH has a fever, but I do not, at least right now. I think part of my congestion is to do with having spent yesterday packing up DH's mom's house. It should be condemed. Ick. Dust and cat puke and piss and poop all over the place. I can't tell you how much of what we packed was old or empty boxes and should have been pitched. They are both pack rats and collectors, and I think they feed into each other. Yeck! Anyway, I think part of why I have the cold is that I was lukewarm about the job. Oh well, I'll pop a sudafed and suck on lozenges, and get thru the day. It's a short week at least. Just hope I can see Grandma on Thursday.

One hurdle down

2009-11-21T09:01:00.000-05:00

Grandma's surgery went well. She's in ICU, then stepdown, then she should be home on Wednesday, for a quiet Thanksgiving. We're going to visit her tomorrow when she should be out of ICU.
Yay!

Frugal home

2009-11-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

I look at new homes built in my area, big monsters, and small monsters too. They are usually built to have lots of open space, often with high ceilings, and big windows. I am not sure of the exact measurements of our house, but the first floor comes in around 900sq ft, with the same in the basement which is finished. The former owners replaced the windows the year before we bought the house, and they are good solid insulated windows. I am so glad we have such small square footage, and good windows. In the basement, the heat is only turned on if we are down there, and are cold, and it is turned back off when we come back up. We just put in a programmable thermostat upstairs, and other than the two hour morning spot when we have it heat to 66deg, the rest of the time, we leave it set to 58deg. I haven't seen the temperature drop to 58 yet, so I'm honestly not sure if that's too cold! It stays between 64 and 68 most days! If I get a chill, I can easily put on some warmer clothes, or make a cup of tea or coffee. I hope we enjoy nice utility bills this winter as a result.

Grandma time

2009-11-18T18:02:00.000-05:00

Had lunch today with Grandma. I paid. I wanted to see her before her surgery on Friday. She was in good spirits. I told her what the total was for putting down ceramic tile on the kitchen floor. She wrote me a check for the whole amount. I was surprised, but happy. That was by far the most expensive part of the renovations, both in materials and labor. It's so pretty. We just have to pick out and install new lips, and a new ridge below the side door, and cut part of our screen door that blocks the doorway into the basement. It's ok not to have that for now, but we use it when friends are over with their kids for safety, or when we need to stop the cats from getting downstairs, or outside if the side door is open. So glad to have the kitchen back. Yay!
The night after everything was finished, we had a minor scare. When the refrigerator was hooked back up, the water line was not tightened enough. 12 hours later, I went downstairs for something, and heard a dripping. Water had leaked from the connection, down through the hole the line comes up through, and pooled on a ceiling tile in the utility room, and was dripping from there. There was probably close to a gallon of water all together. Gross! It took a couple of hours to turn off the water, figure out the likely problem, clean up the mess so we could confirm the issue, then tighten the connection and make sure everything was working ok. It all dried up quickly though once we had the standing water mopped up. A hairy, but thankfully easily solved problem. Never a dull moment.

Back to the grind

2009-11-16T17:26:00.000-05:00

I got a job offer today. Yay! I was ambivilent about it at first, and still am a bit, but it's a good thing. I felt better when I got to the offices to sign the paperwork, and saw the hourly rate. It's just a bit less than I was making when I went permanent at my last job, a little more than a dollar an hour less than my final pay. I'm still bummed, as it is a temp position, but I plan to keep looking, and several former coworkers who got laid off with me are there. I won't see them as they will be at one site, and I will be at another, but still cool. That's how I got the job, one of them submitted my resume. I was trying for permanent positions that were open, but we suspect they all went to temps already there. Oh well. It's a job. Oh, and as of right now, it looks as if DH is safe at his company. No idea where he will be when the reorg finishes, but he should have a job. Yay. Mom's coming up to see the floor and the wall, then taking us out to dinner to celebrate.

Yikes!

2009-11-13T19:14:00.000-05:00

DH came home today, with news that his department is being dissolved, not merged with another group, and he will have one of three results - being moved to one of two different departments, or having no job. We don't know when this will happen, but the reorg that is prompting this seems to be moving faster now than a month or so ago. There is a severance package, and he'd get more than 6months, but we don't know if health coverage is included with that. The health insurance is almost more inportant than the income. Even 35% of COBRA would eat up a large portion of our budget. I just interviewed for a position I have a good chance of getting, but it is a temp position, so no benefits probaby. And less money than I was making, actually, probably the starting salary I had as a temp at my old job. Ugh. Right now, we feel it's a job. If I got it, I'd keep looking for something else. Me and 25% of the pharma/biotech industry in NJ. Bleh. Nice end to the week. Keep your fingers crossed DH has a job when all of this reorg cr@p is done.

Payday!

2009-11-13T15:13:00.000-05:00

Today is DH's payday. He gets paid twice a month, on the last business day before the 15th, and the last business day of the month before the last day of the month. So, I went online this morning and made the midmonth transfers. I like payday! It's fun to see the balances of our various savings accounts go up.

Let me explain how we divide up our income. In the last several years, I have been paid every two weeks, or weekly. I used my 'extra' paychecks to build up a reserve, so that my income is a month ahead of my bills, or explained otherwise, my income from October is used to pay Novembers expenses. As my income comes in, I transfer it from our checking account into a 'reserve' account. Then, on the first of each month, I transfer back my income, and that plus DH's second check from the previous month pays the majority of our bills and other expenses. Then, midmonth, when his first check of the month comes in, it goes to various savings, bills and other expenses. I've thought about using savings to build up so that we can be completely ahead, like I had done with my income, but I find it is nice to get the midmonth boost. Each month we save money in our Freedom Account, Emergency Fund, Vacation Fund, New Car Fund, and for my sister's graduation gift. We also put money away for house repairs, but that comes from our roommate's rent, so we don't count it in income. Then we have the usual expenses, gas and electric, cell phone, cable (+phone and internet), student loan, food, gas, newspaper, mortgage. I feel like I'm missing something, but I think that's it.

So, like I said, payday is fun!

Anti-virus software

2009-11-12T10:55:00.000-05:00

I think my computer has spyware on it. I used to use McAfee, but I'm sick of paying thru the nose for it every year. I know there are good, free programs out there, but of course, now that I'm interested, I can't find the information on which ones are good. If anyone has suggestions, let me know. Thanks!

The beat goes on

2009-11-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

The work on the house continues. Yesterday my cousin started ripping up the kitchen floor. He finished that today, down three layers of tile and a layer of plywood. He laid a new layer of plywood on top of the bottommost layer,as he wasn't sure what was below that, and now he's laying down the tile. So the kitchen's closed for the next day or so. We're going out for dinner tonight, and Thursday night we're going out again, but it's a free meal this time.

The cats are completely freaked out by all the changes, so I'm spending a good portion of today in the bedroom with them. I usually work at the kitchen table, but since we've blocked off that whole part of the house, they are upset that they can't be with me.

The house is a mess with everything out of place, and dust everywhere from the wall, but I'm not worrying about it until Friday when we should be able to start putting it all back together. I'm so glad we didn't do this the week before the housewarming. I think that would have been a disaster.

Yesterday, H went to the vet for a dental. Between that and picking up three medications while I was there, it was expensive. Of course, the cost of one of the meds, and of the visit went up. Ugh. I kind of object to being charged for a visit as well as the procedure when the 'visit' consisted of getting his weight, and looking at his mouth before handing him over to the vet tech. We were in the exam room less than a minute!
We're debating changing vets. Not because of the costs I just mentioned, but because our vet is 45minutes away from where we now live. The one we're considering is about 20-30min, but has a good reputation. It's hard though, because our guys have so many issues, and our vets know us, know our compliance history, and what we will and won't do for our guys. There will be more discussions before we reach a decision.

So far this week, I've spent every day. Can't help it. :(

Friday Update

2009-11-06T22:19:00.000-05:00

So, last night I came home to no wall in our living room, or at least, no interior wall. The beams and insulation and outside wall were still there. :) Today, the new drywall is up and drying. Hopefully tomorrow it will be painted. Yay! Monday or Tuesday our tile should arrive. In between, we have small projects for our labor to work on. I'll be happy when it's all done.

I babysit for my nephew a couple of days a week while his regular babysitter is recovering from surgery. I thought I was doing a half day today, but got stuck there for a whole day. A looong day. Left my house at 7:15am, got back at 8pm. Yuck. Not used to that. My last job was 10min from my house. My sister-in-law paid me for the days I've sat up to now, so that was nice to add to the coffers. It's not much, but anything is good to get.

I don't think I spent on Wednesday, but other than that, I'm pretty sure we've spent every other day this week. Some was expected expenses, some was not.

OK, bedtime. It's been a long couple of days.

Goal achievement

2009-11-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

So, I've been unemployed since May 20th, and we had major major expenses this summer, with two sick cats, and one sick car. Still, we have almost four months of expenses in our emergency fund, which is more than a month more than we had in May. YAY!!! Without making any major changes in our living expenses, with me on unemployment, we still are able to put $700 a month into our emergency savings. We are also saving for several other things, which in a big emergency can be tapped - our new car fund, a vacation fund, and the house repairs/maintenance fund as well. It feels good. It feels secure. Now if we could just find a place to stash some of it at a decent interest rate.
Speaking of interest rates, someone asked me yesterday about arguing for a higher rate, the same way we'd negotiate cable costs, or credit card interest rates. Anyone every tried, or considered that? Just curious.

Demolition week

2009-11-04T10:55:00.000-05:00

Let it begin. We ordered the kitchen floor tile yesterday. It was a lower price than our limit of $5/sq ft, but when they came out to measure, the square footage was higher than I had initially measured. But I'm still ok with the price. The scary part will come when we go get all the dry wall, wire mesh, spackle, glue, grout, etc, etc. My grandmother will be helping us with the tile costs, which helps. It's her housewarming gift.

Oh, and next week, I bring H into the vet for a dental, to check those teeth my sister-in-law pointed out. That will probably be a nice hit in the pocketbook. However, while I am frugal, I feel if we adopt the animals, they deserve the proper care and nutrition. We don't go to the cheapest vet, but also not the most expensive. They also do not charge for rechecks, which, believe me, helps ALOT. Anyway, in a week we'll know how bad it is.

Flybaby

2009-11-04T10:47:00.000-05:00

Happy November! Two weeks ago, when we decluttered and cleaned for our housewarming I was worn out and disgusted by the amount of dust and how much cleaning we had to do. I vowed it would not continue. Well Rome wasn't built in a day, but the living room has stayed pretty much uncluttered. I have also started keeping my sink clean and shiny. The kitchen table is still a battle, as we tend to park our laptops there, and the kitchen counters are cringe worthy, partly because we literally don't have enough space and we cook a lot. But my dresser top has stayed clear, the living room is less than five minutes away from being safe for company, and the sink stays pretty empty. The sink is my habit for this month. I'm working on making that a habit and doing 15 minute cleanings. Haven't quite worked up to that, but it's on my mind, so I will start eventually.

Considering I've known about and kicked around the Flylady concept for as long as I've been doing DPL, I think it's a good start. You can't get off the couch and go run a marathon the next day, but practice will get you there. The same applies here. I am so not a Born Organizer, but I will be one day.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T18:35:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy few days. Thursday, I helped my grandmother go for a cardiac catheterization. She needed it in preparation for surgery in November. Her aortic valve is stenotic (hardened), and needs to be replaced. So they had to go in and check that it really was how they thought. It was that bad, but other than a minor clogged artery that may need a bypass, or not, everything else was good. The prospect of surgery and the recovery is scary, but without it, she will continue to deteriorate, and not have a good quality or quantity of live ahead of her. She is cold and tired all the time right now. The surgery gives her the chance of recovering some quality of life. So it's going to be a busy couple of months. Then Friday, I went over in the afternoon to stay with her. My aunts and uncles are trying to conserve their time off from work for the surgery. It sucked though to spend the tolls. Plus breakfast and lunch on Thursday at the hospital, as we had to be in early, and then she was delayed for the procedure, so we spent the whole day there. I also had to pick up more cold meds, and a shirt for my costume, though it was much less expensive than I thought it would be. Shirt said $16.50, rang up at $10, then changed to $7. OK, I'll take that!
We're getting a fair number of kids tonight. Over the past couple of months, we stockpiled Mentos gum, and Reeses pb cups with coupons for free, so we got only one other bag of candy to supplement, and we'll return it if we don't need it. We went to a wedding this afternoon, but my parents drove, so we saved on gas and tolls. They are awesome about letting us carpool with them to family events. They have the minivan, so it makes sense, and they're going anyway. If we borrow a car from them, we always make sure it is filled with gas when we return it, unless there is a specific reason we can't, and then we try to give them cash for the gas (they don't always take it).
This week is going to be spendy, as we're starting some work on the house - replacing a wall that has a stucco finish, and tiling our kitchen. We'll need to buy the supplies, plus some food for the workers (my cousin and his friend), and paying them for their labor when it's done. Ugh. But we planned and saved for this. That's what happens when you own a home. Money comes in, money goes back out.

Weekend recap

2009-10-26T14:57:00.000-04:00

Well, we had a housewarming party yesterday. It went well. It wasn't cheap however. We did use ribs and chicken we had already, purchased at good prices. We got as much as possible at good prices, but of course we had to buy a lot - chips, dip, sausage, hot dogs, soda, water. It was almost very expensive, as the cats were working overtime against frugality apparently. H decided to lay on the steps as I was carrying laundry down, and I tripped over him and almost crushed him. A rather heart pounding few minutes until we determined he was OK. But when my SIL (a vet) checked him over later, she discovered that he has major gingivitis, and should probably have two teeth removed. ARGH!
Oh, and technically we bought ourselves blinds for 9 windows for the party. Well, not for the party, but that is what finally prompted us to buy them. We need to buy two more but we want different kinds for our bedroom, so we're holding off for now. I also bought some spices we're running low on. Trying to make today a no-spend, no-drive day. We'll see.

Frugal Jackpot

2009-10-25T01:09:00.000-04:00

Some of you may say duh to this post, but I have to relate what I've just done.

I got my library card in June. I've used it several times since, for some cooking/food related books mainly, and issues of Mother Earth News. Love that mag!
I was a big library user as a kid. The day my family moved when I was 10, as soon as my mother would let me, I walked to the library. I was thrilled we had one close enough for me to walk. I used it regularly during middle school, and continued in high school. Then in college, I discovered book stores. I had spare cash, and my interests shifted, and many of the books I was interested in weren't necessarily at my local library. Plus, I was away most of the year. The library in my hometown is OK, but small for the population, and after college, I continued to find they did not have many of the books I was looking for.
That's not the case here, I'm happy to say! As you can probably tell, I'm an avid reader. I do like to own many of my books, because I will reread some books endlessly, and I like to have them and others for reference. But many I read once and then put away. Obviously, I don't need to keep them around. My bookcases are jammed. My Amazon.com wishlist is a mile long. Which brings me to today's lightbulb moment. I created another wishlist, a Library List, where I transferred many of my wishlist books. I had books on there from four years ago. I still want to read them, but if I wanted them that badly, I'd have bought them myself by now. So I checked my library's online catalog, and if they had the book, and it didn't have a huge waiting list, that book went on the new wishlist. I probably eliminated a third of my regular list that way! This will be a big help for the holidays when people ask what I want, as I usually refer them to the wishlist. Yay!

Fed Up!

2009-10-24T12:49:00.000-04:00

Cleaning up for our housewarming has made me realize our house is a mess and we are chronic clutterbugs. Me thinks there is going to be a goal for each month of completely cleaning and decluttering one room. Stay tuned. Achoo!

Alone

2009-10-24T00:42:00.000-04:00

The point of a blog is to get your thoughts out, and for other people to read what you write. Well, the second part can't exactly happen if your blog can't be found online! I don't know how to get it to come up in a search. I think I've got it open so anyone can find it, but even when I type the full website into google, it won't come up. Weird. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I can at least give others my site address. :(

Tracking

2009-10-23T11:20:00.000-04:00

When I first started getting control of my finances again, in 2005, I tracked everything I spent. Since then, due to time constraints when I was working two jobs and planning a wedding, and having a good handle on where 95% of my money went, I have not tracked as carefully. While I don't know if I'll ever go back to writing down every cent, I do want to work on having 'no spend' and 'no drive' days. No-spend days help plug the little leaks - the coffees and snacks while out, things like that. It just helps you be more aware of your spending. No drive days are more difficult, but help by reducing the days the car goes out, which lowers gas expenditures, and wear and tear on the car. If I was smart, I'd get out on the bike more, and get used to it, so I could use it to run my errands in the area. We'll see as it's already the end of October. I tried using the bike once this summer to go somewhere, and the shock to my legs was so much I wimped out and had someone give me a ride home afterwards. Boo on me!

Anyway, this week so far, I've gotten one 'no drive' and one 'no spend' day. Not sure if today or tomorrow can be either, as we're preparing for a housewarming party Sunday. I'll let you know how it goes.

That crazy cat lady

2009-10-22T20:03:00.000-04:00

How many cats do you have?
Four
Wow! That's a lot.

This is a pretty typical conversation we have at some point when getting to know someone new. I never know what to say after that. Do I tell them we used to have five? Do I counter that many people have more? If I don't know the person well, I usually just shrug and smile and move on. We didn't intend to have four cats, or five. Two was a happy number, we wanted two. But fate did not leave us alone there. Our first cat found us, actually found me and my best friend one night, and quickly adopted us. Number two, who I'll call A, was acquired so cat number one did not become one of those animals that would not tolerate another in his house, which he was showing signs of. M, cat number three came into the house the day after we got A. It was December, cold out, and she and her mom were huddled under a bush. When my husband approached, mom ran, and the kitten did not. She was blind, and 8 weeks old. So, we suddenly had three cats, one of whom was blind! Almost two years later, I came home one afternoon to hear kitten cries from near our apartment. Searching revealed a one week old kitten on our balcony. Much drama ensued, as a one week old kitten requires, well, about as much care as any newborn does! Several weeks later, it was decided we would not be finding a home for her when she got underfoot and hubby stepped on her head. She's OK! But number four, S, came into the household. Sigh. A few weeks after finding her, the mom came back with the rest of her litter, and a tagalong. First the larger ones were caught, and sent off to a rescue group. Then the tagalong was caught, and we could not get in touch with the rescue group this time. Having no where else to put him, we threw him in with S, who at that point was biting to no end! The younger kitten, a very cute black ball of fuzz at six weeks old, became her chew toy, and cat number 5, H.

Fast forward two and a half years, and on a routine check up, we find out that our first cat, my orange boy, who already has FIV, has a mass in his chest, and it is growing rapidly. We spoiled him and gave him lots of love, and this past August, we said goodbye to him. So we now have four spoiled cats living with us.
A - a 5yo black and grey/white tabby girl, who bites away her fur when she is nervous.
M - a 5yo grey girl with orange smudges. She is blind and has had both eyes removed. She also has one atrophied kidney and has issues with the other.
S - a grey calico/toroiseshell girl with white and orange patches. Also blind, one eye removed, the other nonfunctional.
H - Our black boy, with no upper eyelids on his eyes. He also has cataracts and other minor eye defects, so his sight is reduced, but still there.

Oh, and we also have a 90gal fish tank, and two ball pythons. And our roomate has 3 rats.

Welcome to the zoo....

Frugal? Does that mean cheap?

2009-10-22T19:40:00.000-04:00

What does frugal mean? I suspect it is means something slightly different to everyone. The dictionary definition is "characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources". I have to say, personally, I like that definition. I use my resources economically, or as my husband would prefer I say WE use our resources economically. Sometimes that means looking for the lowest price or finding something for free if possible, such as using coupons, or the library rather than a bookstore, or paying the regular or even sale price at the grocery store. Sometimes it means deciding to spend more to get a better product that will most likely last us much longer than the cheaper product. We spent a good deal of money to start a garden this year - wood for the boxes, soil, fencing, and seeds. However, by using seeds, we spent less and will continue to spend less each year than buying seedlings, and year after year our grocery bills will be lower. The expenditures this year are an investment in the future.
So, who am I? I am a thirtysomething woman in Central, NJ living with my husband, our four cats and a roommate in a house we purchased last year. We are both scientists, though I am currently looking for work, and trying to build a tutoring business as I was formerly a science teacher. My main interests are animals, reading, science, and food. Here, the main topics will be my journey in frugality, and balancing that with my interest in food and feeding us healthily, and our cats, who are all special needs in some form.
Welcome, and I hope you enjoy the journey!