My 2021 Challenge

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MackerelCat
Posts: 7260
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:44 pm

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by MackerelCat »

Poor little Teddy! I do feel your pain on the vet expenses. Every time we get something fixed on Lily, another thing crops up. Her new heart medication causes her to have anxiety, so I have ordered a calming supplement for her. It was hard to find anything that did not have something in it that she was allergic to.

She is doing very well with her allergy shots, which we give her at home. She knows she gets a special treat afterward, so she's always very good about it. We finally got her to three weeks between shots and are working on gradually stretching the interval between shots out. The vet aims for her to make it a month between shots and then he'll reassess how she's doing.
Mackie
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

MackerelCat wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:41 pm Poor little Teddy! I do feel your pain on the vet expenses. Every time we get something fixed on Lily, another thing crops up. Her new heart medication causes her to have anxiety, so I have ordered a calming supplement for her. It was hard to find anything that did not have something in it that she was allergic to.

She is doing very well with her allergy shots, which we give her at home. She knows she gets a special treat afterward, so she's always very good about it. We finally got her to three weeks between shots and are working on gradually stretching the interval between shots out. The vet aims for her to make it a month between shots and then he'll reassess how she's doing.
Poor Lily dog. Sad what they go through. Good that you are able to give her shots at home. Teddi is always good at the Vet's office however I am not sure I could give them to him at home. Right now he is doing well since the antibiotic has cleared up his bacterial infection.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

I joined Misfit Market about a month ago. They have discounts on meat, veggies, fruit etc. All good quality things that might have a blemish or mark on it that would not be suitable for a grocery store. Items also might be close to the sell by date. I had one problem with something but they gave me a refund right away. They are now giving $15.00 off of $75.00 to celebrate their 3rdBirthday. I was able to order $15.00 of meat for free. I ordered an organic chicken for my Thanksgiving dinner. I am not interested in baking a turkey for just myself. My brother and his wife will most likely be in Mexico and my one niece that usually invites me to holiday things usually goes to her husband's side for Thanksgiving. Which is fine with me. It does not bother me to stay home.

My aide picked up my medicine today at CVS at my local chain grocery store. Since they primarily dispense medications only they gave me a voucher worth $5.00 for groceries at the grocery store as an earned reward. The grocery store gives loyalty points and I have accumulated $6.00 there. I do not shop there very often since their prices are higher than other stores in my area. However if they have something on sale that is equal to the lower priced store I will buy at their store. So I will be receiving $26.00 worth of free food from the various places.

I already bought a small spiral ham from Ruler grocery store for my Christmas and New Years dinners. They have bigger hams but sometimes they have some that are perfect for one to two people. I snapped it up and put it in the freezer about a month ago. So I am doing pretty well for my holiday meals. I try to buy things on sale over the long haul instead of waiting until the holidays and then have a big bill. Even with the holiday sales I find it easier and cheaper to buy it over time. Of course I am just one person and do not need a lot to make my holiday meal. There are a few things that go on sale around the holidays that I do like to buy like cream cheese. The Use by or Best by date is usually pretty far out so I will buy it and store if for long periods of time in my fridge.

My aide has several clients besides me. Some of them get free food boxes and she has been bringing me single serve cups of fruit that they do not want. I do not know why they do not like them? They are nice to have for dessert. They are mix of applesauce, peaches, pears, and mandarin orange slices. I have about 12 cups in my fridge right now. I have to watch my fruit due to being diabetic but they do come in handy for a dessert or when I eat yogurt. I will put a small portion in my plain yogurt. I do not like yogurt that comes with fruit already in it it is just too sweet.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Staying busy. I have been working outside off and on.. more off than on..lol. I can do about 10 to 15 minutes worth of activity before I need to take a long break on the couch. Today it was clipping the jungle down in the front of my house where the rock garden is located. This past summer it was too wet and hot and things got away from me in that area. I plan on cutting everything down and then where it needs it saturate the area with homemade weed killer that uses Dawn, vinegar and Epsom salt. I think I did too much due to my back is really hurting and it is hard to stand up and walk. I need extensive back surgery but have been putting it off due covid. Still it is a good feeling to look out the bay window in my dining room and see the progress I have made today.

Meals were made with food I have on hand in the freezer and cabinets. I need to really try to eat as much as I can from the fridge freezer in order to have room for my $15.00 worth of free meat that will be delivered on Sunday. The main concern is a spot big enough for my Thanksgiving chicken.

Teddi was sick this morning and finally threw up early afternoon. After that he seemed to feel better and later was begging for his breakfast. He has eaten a late breakfast and a late dinner and is keeping everything down ok. I hope this was just a passing thing and will not require a vet visit. Shih Tzu seem to have delicate tummies. He is still eating his pork roasts. I just bake them without any seasoning and then add a tiny bit of water to the dripping to make a broth to moisten the roast.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Taking a break from being domestic. I had hoped to do some outside weed wacking today but the ground and weeds are still too wet. Hopefully tomorrow it will be somewhat better. So I am in the midst of doing some marathon cooking ahead. It sounds like a lot of work but I do short 10 to 15 minutes of prepping and the stove does the rest. I rest in-between watching TV or doing things on my computer.

This morning I baked a roast for Teddi. I just throw it in the counter top cooker and set the timer and check the temperature to see if it is done after X amount of time. It depends on the size of the roast. I boiled 7 eggs from a carton that needed to be used up soon. I plan on making tuna fish salad and potato salad for lunches the next several days. I have the last 4 red potatoes cooking and some will be used to make Thai yellow curry for dinner tonight. I have some frozen shrimp in the freezer that needs to be used up and that will also go in the curry. I use a curry sauce from Amazon that is so good. I try to keep at least two jars on hand for quick Thai curry dishes. It is about 100 to 120 miles round trip to my nearest Thai restaurant from where I live so it satisfies a carving without having to go anywhere. I had planned on making a gluten free pumpkin bread but remembered I have fresh strawberries that need to be used so I am going to make a gluten free yellow cake mix and make strawberry shortcake instead. I also have a box of Dream Whip that needs to be used. I normally do not buy Dream Whip but bought it back during the pandemic since I was not getting out to shop. Now with Walmart curbside I can buy Cool Whip or Whip Cream in a can.

I really like Misfit Market. The gluten free mixes that I have bought from them are so much cheaper than the grocery store sometimes as much as $2.00 off. I do not buy them for that reason. However with the reduced cost I have bought a few to sample. I have not tried them before due to the cost. With the premade mix the cost is about the same as it would be if I made mine from scratch. I checked Walmart and they want $11.00 for the same box that I paid Misfit Market $2.99. That is even higher than the grocery store by about $5.00 to $6.00's. Sometimes eating gluten free is not cheap or easy.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Hard to believe this is the end of October. This month has just flown by.

Today I will be receiving a large order from Misfit Market. They were giving people $15.00 off of a a $75.00 order to celebrate their third year in business. I chose to use the $15.00 towards buying meat. This includes the whole chicken that I will be using for my Thanksgiving dinner. I have a Walmart curbside order to pick up tomorrow. Primarily due to needing pork roasts for Teddi's meals. Since I am receiving so much food so early in the month I have decided to see if I can make it through the month of November without spending any more cash. I still have $11.00 in rewards to use at my local grocery store so if I need anything in the way of fresh dairy or veggies I will buy them there. I love a challenge and this one looks like fun. Towards the end of the month I hope to have earned enough gift cards to use at Walmart in place of cash. However the goal is to make do with what I have. I will have to go to Walmart inside the store to buy Teddi's pork roasts due to you need $35.00 to get Free curbside pickup. There is no way that can happen if I am just buying a couple of pork roasts for him. His food is not part of the challenge. Someone asked me why I have to buy the pork roasts so often. They are small sometimes only 3 lbs. Once cooked and the fat removed they do not last for more than 3 or 4 days. The cost is not that much more compared to buying the fresh dog food at Petco and he cannot eat what they sell due to his allergies.

I have been planning for my Thanksgiving dinner for months by setting aside things I will need that are shelf stable or frozen. So after tomorrow things should be all set for Thanksgiving.

I will have to wait until after midnight to see how my budget came out this month. I have a Money program and it does all of the work for me automatically. Although I do keep a check on it as the month progresses but the money program creates grafts and % which is interesting and fun to see.
Janet Alliesmama
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