My 2020 Challenge

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

Re: My 2020 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Last night while watching/listening to TV I started to make a long term "To do list." Projects that I need and want done. Also things I need and want to expand my food and household supplies. I usually try to have extra food on hand due to where I live. Even before the pandemic I kept a lot of food in my pantry since it is not easy to go to the grocery store to pick something up. Now with the shortages it makes sense to try to add a few extras at a time. I will be doing my usual grocery store shopping, most of it through Walmart curbside. It really is making shopping for myself so much easier. I am comparing prices on items and depending on what it is I will be adding a can or two of something in each category. Less painful that way..lol.

I have a loan to pay back to my brother and then I can concentrate on getting some more household projects done. Last year he loaned me money for dental work and a little bit extra for paying my property taxes. He actually wanted to pay half of my property taxes but I told him I would prefer it as a loan. I know when I send the check he will call me and tell me he does not want the money back and I will tell him, " I need to pay you back." I am blessed to have a caring brother but he does not seem to understand that I may need help now and then but at the same time I also need to repay him for my own self-esteem.

This coming week I will hopefully be making most of meals with food from my fridge freezer. I do have a tentative Walmart curbside pick up this coming week but it is for fresh produce and a few canned items.

Teddi is having tummy problems again so made him a small pot of rice and will add in some tender sliced beef.

This week Teddi has a grooming appointment and while he is there I plan on going to Ruler, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree. I have not been to Dollar Tree and Ruler since the middle of March. Of course I will be wearing a mask and I also wear disposable gloves that I toss in the trash barrels outside the store and use hand sanitizer in the car after putting things in my trunk.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2020 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Yesterday Teddi had an early grooming appointment. I dropped him off and then went down the road to shop. On impulse I decided to get an egg Mc Muffin for breakfast. McDonalds is halfway between the groomer and the grocery store. Big mistake! I am gluten intolerant and had a really bad reaction to the gluten in the egg Mc Muffin. My gluten intolerance shows up with severe itching and severe muscle pains. It seems recently that when I do cheat the reaction to the gluten is more intense. I had to take multiple doses of generic Benadryl yesterday and it really did not help that much. Also my muscle pains are still with me today despite taking aspirin and Tylenol. I hope this incident is imbedded in my brain and will kick in the next time I want to cheat..

Poor Teddi is also itching. He has allergies and despite his bath, with his special shampoo, he is having a hard time too. I gave him two doses of generic Benadryl yesterday and it has not helped so called his vet this morning to have an allergy shot.

I went to Ruler grocery store. It is owned by Kroger and is is sort of like Aldi's. The last time I was there was about mid March and about the same day the pandemic was being called a big concern. Previously they had a limit of 4 cans of whatever you were buying and a lot of the shelves were empty. Yesterday their shelves were full and no restrictions on canned goods. They did have a limit of 3 on fresh beef and chicken products. Plus their poultry was a very limited supply. There were bare shelves in some of the frozen food sections but not sure what had been there. They had a nice supply of toilet paper and paper towels. They were a generic brand but at the same time their TP is the one I had been buying prior to the pandemic so nice to see it was back and plentiful.

I had not planned on buying much at Ruler except for some canned goods and produce. I saw they had a nice supply of their small spiral cut hams and with our current problems with the meat supply I decided to buy one. It was $6.00 and change. The same brand is sold at our local chain store for a whole lot more per pound. I plan on opening it up and dividing it into smaller packages to put in the freezer. Was also happy to find they had gluten free corn bread mix. I do not eat it often due to the carbs but is is always good to have for when I make ham and beans. It has a Use by date of 03/2021. My next unexcepted buy were Bing cherries. I love them! The problem is they were already prepackages so you had to buy what was in the bag and that came to a little over $7.00. Bummer! However they are a once a year seasonal treat which I always treat myself to. Then as I waited in line to check out I saw a gluten free magazine from Good Housekeeping. I leafed through it and decided it had some really good recipes in it so paid $12.00 for it. Ouch!! However I think their recipes are very good and will give me more variety.

So I went way over board on buying things at Ruler. The thing is I did buy produce at Ruler that was in my Walmart curbside cart for this week. They were cheaper at Ruler. I had planned on canceling Walmart and when I went to my cart decided to just remove the fresh produce and sub in canned or shelf stable items. However with all of my recent purchases I have decided to not go to Big Lots or Dollar Tree for the foreseeable future. I am doing well with what I have so will work with what I have and try to save as much money as possible to get some of my long term plans started.
Janet Alliesmama
Momof2Still
Posts: 173
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 10:05 pm

Re: My 2020 Challenge

Post by Momof2Still »

It has been a while since I posted (or even read other posts)- I think around 10 months. It was quite the school year. I am glad that you and Teddi are doing well. I have been reading your 2020 challenge and you have done such an amazing job of staying on task and paying things off/down. I do not want to hijack your thread, so I will start one.
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2020 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Momof2Still wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:56 pm It has been a while since I posted (or even read other posts)- I think around 10 months. It was quite the school year. I am glad that you and Teddi are doing well. I have been reading your 2020 challenge and you have done such an amazing job of staying on task and paying things off/down. I do not want to hijack your thread, so I will start one.
Momof2 So good to hear from you. I was wondering how you were doing especially with every thing being so crazy right now. Looking forward to seeing what you have been up to.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2020 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Yesterday I had to take Teddi for his allergy shot. It cost $62.50. It turned in to a $312.84 bill. He had infection in both ears which required testing and medication. She also found an infection on his right hip. Then she mentioned he was due for his heartworm test in 9 days and then his rabies shot and tag were due the first of July. She asked if I would like to have them done while he was there. I decided to bite the bullet and have them done so that we would not have to make two more trips. Poor Teddi is like a zombie. He just sits and stares. He had hardly eat the day before and would not eat yesterday so I stopped at McDonald's to get him a plain cheeseburger. I only give him the meat and cheese. He would not touch the cheese and only ate 4 nibbles of the meat and then turned away. Later last night I nuked some rice and crumbled the burger up in it and he would not even try to eat. He just sat and stared. I finally picked him up and put him on my bed and he went to sleep. He did go out to potty when I asked him to but otherwise he sits and stares unless he is on my bed. I just hope all of the medication was not too much of an overload for him. He was suppose to start on his antibiotic for his hip infection and heartworm medicine but I did not attempt those last night since they are both oral medications. Thank goodness I had the stimulus check to fall back on to pay for all of this medical needs. He will have to go every 4 to 6 weeks for his allergy shot. She said the ear infection is most likely due to his allergies. Shih Tzu tend to have skin problems. It is a good thing that he spends most of his time in the house except he does go out with me when I am doing yard work or walking to the mailbox.

I am going to have to re-work my budget to accommodate him going more often for his allergy shot. Fur babies are like children you have to take care of their needs no matter the cost. My Allie had a brain tumor. They gave her a year to a year and a half to live. However her vet put her on human chemo therapy and she lived for another 7 years and had a good life up until a few months before I had to put her to sleep. I want the best quality of life for Teddi as well.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: My 2020 Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Still recuperating from yesterday. Teddi has not been well most of today but he finally ate some of his dog food around 7:00 PM this evening. He went almost three days without eating except for a couple of baby carrots and a radish. Not healthy.

I have been working and reworking my budget to increase the budget for his new medical needs. Just when you think your can get ahead something always seems to crop up. Oh well such is life and he is worth it. He is such a little sweetheart and a good companion. It is sweet just to see him all curled up in a little ball in my bed when I got to bed at night and when I wake up in the mornings.
Janet Alliesmama
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