My 2021 Challenge

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alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Teddi ate some of his RX kibble this morning. I had to give him a few bits by hand to get him started but he ate about 1/4 cup on his own. This evening he ate about the same without me having to encourage him. I hope we have turned the corner on him not eating. The Vet figured out he should have about 3/4 cup in the AM and PM so this is a good start for him.

A friend borrowed my car today and gave me $15.00 to cover gas. That is way too much money for what she used. Gas prices are crazy around here. Walmart is $2.75 a gal and all of the gas stations along the same road as Walmart it is $2.75. However if you get away from that area it is anywhere from $2.99 to $3.07 a gallon. With the huge tanker stuck in the Suez canal they said our gas prices will be affected and going up. So tomorrow I am going to go to Walmart on my way in to town and top off my gas tank with the money she gave me. I still have $10.00 from the time my aide borrowed my car.

Yesterday I received my annual Property tax evaluation of the value of my house. I could not believe the value increased by almost $20,000. in just one year. Thank goodness I was able to freeze my property taxes when I turned 65 otherwise I would not be able to afford living here. As it is it is a struggle every year to save the money to pay them. I have checked in to moving to a smaller house but when I see something that is less expensive and smaller the taxes are more than what I am paying here with my freeze. Also the cost of an apartment would be more than what I am paying in property taxes and insurance. I do love my house and where I am living so I will be staying here for the long haul. There are some much needed repairs but here again in the overall picture it is still cheaper to live here.

Working my way through the fridge and pantry. Breakfast was oatmeal with walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. Had one cup of coffee with half and half. I finally caved a while back and bought decaf coffee. I missed it a lot not so much for caffeine since this is decaf I just like the bitterness of coffee in the morning compared to drinking tea. Lunch was a tuna fish salad sandwich with pickled jalapeno peppers to give it some zip and a few potato chips and another cup of coffee. I had planned to make salmon patties for dinner but due to a lot of increase activity today decided to just make a tuna melt with a dill pickle on the side and a few more chips and the last of the coffee. Forgot to mention I ate sugar free Jello with a banana sliced up in it for lunch and dinner.

I am trying to stretch what food I have due to much needed car repairs next month. Need to get them done before heading to Tennessee for my nephews wedding in a couple of months.

In just the last two days I earned $3.00 cash from one of my survey sites and today a $10.00 gift card for Amazon from the University of Phoenix. I am in year long study with them. Due to my computer crash I am having trouble getting in to BING. The other sites are slow progress due to not really qualifying for surveys but do searches and play games. Slow and tedious. However they do give me a little bit more money that I would not have in the form of gift cards.
Janet Alliesmama
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Jackielou
Posts: 13423
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:51 pm

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by Jackielou »

alliesmama4 wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:21 pm Teddi ate some of his RX kibble this morning. I had to give him a few bits by hand to get him started but he ate about 1/4 cup on his own. This evening he ate about the same without me having to encourage him. I hope we have turned the corner on him not eating. The Vet figured out he should have about 3/4 cup in the AM and PM so this is a good start for him.

A friend borrowed my car today and gave me $15.00 to cover gas. That is way too much money for what she used. Gas prices are crazy around here. Walmart is $2.75 a gal and all of the gas stations along the same road as Walmart it is $2.75. However if you get away from that area it is anywhere from $2.99 to $3.07 a gallon. With the huge tanker stuck in the Suez canal they said our gas prices will be affected and going up. So tomorrow I am going to go to Walmart on my way in to town and top off my gas tank with the money she gave me. I still have $10.00 from the time my aide borrowed my car.

Yesterday I received my annual Property tax evaluation of the value of my house. I could not believe the value increased by almost $20,000. in just one year. Thank goodness I was able to freeze my property taxes when I turned 65 otherwise I would not be able to afford living here. As it is it is a struggle every year to save the money to pay them. I have checked in to moving to a smaller house but when I see something that is less expensive and smaller the taxes are more than what I am paying here with my freeze. Also the cost of an apartment would be more than what I am paying in property taxes and insurance. I do love my house and where I am living so I will be staying here for the long haul. There are some much needed repairs but here again in the overall picture it is still cheaper to live here.

Working my way through the fridge and pantry. Breakfast was oatmeal with walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. Had one cup of coffee with half and half. I finally caved a while back and bought decaf coffee. I missed it a lot not so much for caffeine since this is decaf I just like the bitterness of coffee in the morning compared to drinking tea. Lunch was a tuna fish salad sandwich with pickled jalapeno peppers to give it some zip and a few potato chips and another cup of coffee. I had planned to make salmon patties for dinner but due to a lot of increase activity today decided to just make a tuna melt with a dill pickle on the side and a few more chips and the last of the coffee. Forgot to mention I ate sugar free Jello with a banana sliced up in it for lunch and dinner.

I am trying to stretch what food I have due to much needed car repairs next month. Need to get them done before heading to Tennessee for my nephews wedding in a couple of months.

In just the last two days I earned $3.00 cash from one of my survey sites and today a $10.00 gift card for Amazon from the University of Phoenix. I am in year long study with them. Due to my computer crash I am having trouble getting in to BING. The other sites are slow progress due to not really qualifying for surveys but do searches and play games. Slow and tedious. However they do give me a little bit more money that I would not have in the form of gift cards.
Please send your gas prices this way..... I believe that right now in my province the cost of an American gallon would work out to be about $4.80 in Canadian funds which would put it at the highest you might pay. To make a Canadian gallon you need to add another liter and so the cost would be about $6.00 a gallon.
Jackie
http://inthelandofthelivingskiesii.blogspot.ca/
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Jackielou wrote: Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:15 am Please send your gas prices this way..... I believe that right now in my province the cost of an American gallon would work out to be about $4.80 in Canadian funds which would put it at the highest you might pay. To make a Canadian gallon you need to add another liter and so the cost would be about $6.00 a gallon.
Yikes on your cost of gas. I will update things when I see a change to those that I have recently posted.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Yesterday was use it up day. I realized that I had ordered (4) small pork chops for Teddi in my last Walmart pickup and he is no longer eating pork and I had 3 red potatoes in the utility room closet that needed to be used up so decided to make a pork chop casserole. I only used two of the red potatoes in the casserole. The casserole is a layer of pork chops, then a layer of sliced onion, and then a layer of potatoes topped by a can of cream of mushroom soup. I used the last can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. I bought it when the pandemic hit. I will not be buying it again due to the wheat in it. I am really trying hard to avoid even the smallest amount of gluten. I used the largest red potato to make a small batch of potato salad. It is amazing how one potato, with a couple of eggs, can be stretched.

Wish I could say Teddi is doing better. He threw up yesterday morning and did not eat until around 8:30 PM last night. At least he kept it down. He seems to like the RX food when he does eat it. I was concerned due to it being kibble, he has not eaten kibble in years. His mouth is tiny and I was concerned about him being able to chew it but he seemed to do ok with it.

Last night we had a wicket storm blow through with winds up to 60 mph and heavy rain. I debated on whether or not to give Teddi his anti-anxiety pill and decided not to since he already was not feeling well and it knocks him for a loop for a long period of time. Teddi did better than I thought he would since he had not been feeling well during the day. He only became anxious for about 20 min during the height of the wind and heavy rain. Some areas near me had golf ball sized hail. Thankfully we were spared. My roof is suppose to be able to withstand winds up to 135 mph but hail is a different story..

I have lived in this house since 2005 and was really sick when I moved here. I went gluten free in 2007 and that has really helped to improve my health in some areas. The thing is I want to try to re-decorate my house now that I am feeling better but I only have Soc Security and a tiny pension from my job. I had to retire at 53 due to multiple medical problems. So yesterday I decided to buy a paint sprayer from one of the home shopping networks on TV. It cost $20.00 a month for 5 months without interest. I want to paint my kitchen cabinets and fireplace mantel white using chalk paint. The man doing the presentation stated that the paint sprayer can be used for all kinds of paint including chalk paint. I found a store in my area that sells chalk paint and I plan on stopping by there this coming week to pick up color stick's to decide on what color of white I want. Then I will buy most of the paint from Amazon using gift cards. I will most likely have to buy some paint and wax from the store in town but a lot of it will be free from Amazon. Due to the open floor plan in my house I think painting will be mostly a lot of taping and no ladder work involved since the sprayer comes with an extension. However there is one wall in the kitchen that will have to be done by a professional as will the wall by the fireplace. I have vaulted ceilings in the kitchen and Great Room. In 2019 I had a leaky roof and my insurance company sent money for the ceiling in the Great Room to be repaired and painted. I had a BID and then the pandemic hit so it was put on hold. I will skip having the kitchen ceiling painted this year but maybe next year. I need to decide on the color of the walls for the kitchen and Great Room. They share common walls and half walls. I will have to take it slow and easy but I have all of the time in the world. It is my biggest asset
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Yesterday my neighbor started to cut down 4 dead trees in my front yard. I am sure he is saving me at least 1,000.00. He will use some of the wood for auxiliary heat at his house. I have offered to pay him but he refused. He said it keeps him young. He retired last year when he turned 65. His wife cuts my grass. He also brought me about 25 lbs of deer meat for me to give to my brother. My brother use to be his next door neighbor before he moved. This same couple allow me to bring my trash to their house which saves me about 25.00 a month. Wonderful neighbors.

I have been munching through things in the house but decided I need to buy some things from Walmart so have a curbside pick up this morning. It is mostly dairy, fresh produce, and a few household items. I think after today I will start to do in store cherry picking. The two week waiting period following my 2nd covid shot will be completed tomorrow.
A while back I noticed that the large pork roast that I had purchased for Teddi had an expiration date of 03/30/2021. Then I realized I had bought it on 03/24/2021. I sent an e-mail to Walmart and received an immediate refund.

This year I am not buying ham for Easter. I need to try to save money and even a small ham is not necessary just for the sake of a one person holiday meal. I found almost a whole package of Canadian bacon in my freezer. I had planned on making breakfast sandwiches but never got around to it. To me Canadian bacon and ham are about the same thing. So I will be using it up as my Easter dinner. I found a recipe for a honey mustard sauce and I think that will add a nice addition. Still not sure if I am going to make potato salad or au gratin potatoes. Have a lot of canned green beans so will season them with onion and bacon. I keep bits of bacon in the freezer to use for seasoning green beans or baked beans. I also might just make a small batch of baked beans. Dessert to be determined closer to Easter. I do have a lot of food in the house in my fridge freezer, pantry and fridge just a matter of making use of it.

Oops have to go to pick up my Walmart order.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2021 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Today is Easter morning. I have thawed out some breakfast sausage and will be making keto sausage gravy with 10 oz of the roll. The rest will be fried in pattie form and frozen for another time to make a quick breakfast. The keto gravy is easy to make with cream cheese, onion, and a little chicken broth to thin it out. The cream cheese helps to extend the sausage so I will most likely be eating it for breakfast for 5 or 6 days. I use to buy cheap cream cheese at Ruler but due to the pandemic I have been buying it at Walmart curbside. It is the good cream cheese, Philly, and so reasonably priced I think I will continue to buy it from there.

Lunch will be the last of the tuna fish salad on the last of the gluten free bread with some pickled jalapeno peppers on the sandwich. They really add a lot of zip to a bland sandwich. The heels of the bread will go in the freezer with other heels and eventually made in to something else. Will also eat a little bit of potato salad and a pickle with my sandwich.

Dinner is Canadian bacon from the freezer with a honey mustard sauce. Made a small batch of potato salad using 1 large and one medium potato. Also will make a small batch of baked beans. Decided to skip making green beans. Dessert is fresh strawberries with whipped cream..

Last night I dyed a dozen egg. I bought the dye last year and did not feel like doing anything. It was not as much fun as when I was younger so this is the last year. I do have a lot of papier-mâché eggs and tons of ribbon, lace and decorative bits so from now on will be making craft eggs they are more fun and can be saved from year to year.

The past few days I have been using up food in the house. I had a gluten free baguette that I used to make a meatball sandwich. I do love the meatballs I found on sale and have sauce that I have frozen so it is easy to bake the meatballs, heat up some of the sauce, and have a yummy sandwich made from scratch in about 35 min. I add parmesan cheese and mozzarella to the sandwich also. I try to keep the basics in the house and recreate things that would cost a lot more in a restaurant. My aide said it would probably cost me around $8.00 in a restaurant and my homemade one cost around $2.75. Also it is gluten free not sure I could buy one in a restaurant that is gluten free. The other day made a "Subway" tuna fish sandwich using some of the same baguette. Added sliced tomato and pickled jalapeno peppers to the sandwich. I would have liked to have added shredded lettuce but the baguette is much smaller than what they have at Subway. Still it was satisfying and cheaper making it at home.

The sun is starting to rise in the East it is so pretty. A bright orange with a lot of pink on the horizon. The trees in the woods are still black silhouettes. They have not started to leaf out yet. I can see the lake on the farm next door. It is calm today and the water is reflecting the pink of the sky. In a few weeks the trees will leaf out and I will not be able to see the lake until next Fall. I love seeing and being around water it feeds my soul. Before moving here I lived on a small lake and I do miss it but feel my life is much better here surrounded by the hills and woods. On the lake it was a subdivision and people lived too close together. Although I had wonderful neighbors there too I like living here out in the country.

Teddi is doing better. He spent time outside yesterday sniffing, exploring, and rolling around in the grass. He looked longingly across the road to a large pond. Both houses across the road have ponds. Seems like it is a popular thing to do here. I could not trust Allie she would run away and across the road to the woods and ponds but Teddi is good about staying in the yard which is about an acre and a half. I will tell him no to stay in the yard and Allie would say, " Bye Mom see you later." My brother had to put up an electric fence to keep her in. Anyway Teddi is eating some of his RX food and back to eating his baby carrots. Took him for a ride yesterday. He rode shot gun and was like his old self standing on his tip toes to look out. I am going to look in to getting him a booster seat. I had one for Allie but gave it away.

Have a Happy Easter everyone that celebrates.
Janet Alliesmama
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