Make & use a price list

About a year ago I decided  to start a price list & keep it in my homemaking journal. Yes, I have one of those but it's still a work in progress; actually when my printer crapped out I was printing some stuff to put in it.

Anyways, back to the price list. I mainly started it to see which items I could really save money on by buying larger sizes. I was pretty surprised when I found an average of 20 - 60 cent price difference in my 2 stores. I live pretty rural, the local supermarkets are about 15 miles in opposite directions from my house. Each of them carry some stuff I use but not all so I go to both pretty regularly.

I do the Walmart thing every couple of months, like yesterday. I can get a 10 pound bag of rice for like 6 dollars meanwhile the supermarket charges about 5 dollars for the 3 or 5 pound bag - it's been so long I don't remember. It seemed like I was always buying rice now I just buy it & forget it. Plus I bought the prettiest canister to hold it in LOL

 I don't take my list with me, after a while I just started to know where to buy what.

The price list also helps me remember where I get certain stuff. I haven't updated it for a while so it took me a month to re-find the aerosol can of Shout that I fell in love with.


Check out my new blogs:
Heir to the Hovel, all about kids.
Recipes from the Hovel, all recipes.

Smart Shopping

Need a tv? Don't buy it yet. Here's a list of the best time to buy particular items.

1. January - HDTVs, fitness equipment, sheets, towels, wrapping paper & Christmas decorations.
2. February - DVD players, digital cameras, perfume, humidifiers.
3. March - HDTVs, skis, winter coats & boots, frozen foods.
4. April - spring clothes, digital cameras.
5. May - pots & pans, sneakers, outdoor furniture, picnic supplies, dry goods.
6. June - tools, summer clothes & bathing suits, lingerie.
7. July - furniture, gym memberships.
8. August - air conditioners, lawnmowers, yard & camping equipment, computers, fall clothes, school supplies.
9. September - cars, bicycles, trees, shrubs, perennials.
10. October - grills, appliances, vacuums, winter clothes, tires.
11. November - TVs, stereos, clothing, wedding dresses.
12. December - HDTVs, toys, electronics, cars.
    

Did you see the lady who ran out at 10:30 this morning to do a few quick errands?
Did you see her get caught behind the slowest driver ever on the first main road?
Did you see her get stuck behind the twin to the slowest driver on the second main road? (good thing she left early)
Did you see her get to her appointment 10 minutes early only to have them be running 15 minutes late?
Did you see her get stuck in traffic for about 20 minutes? (good thing she had a water & some snacks in the car since it was close to 1 PM by now & this SHOULD have been the time she was getting back home)
Did you see her in 2 different stores with the millions of people who seemed to be just starting their Christmas shopping?
Did you see her tire go flat in the parking lot?
Did you see her fixing her flat tire in the parking lot? ( a few years ago her husband gave her this little air thing that plugs into the lighter just in case she ever needed it. She made fun of it & tried to give it back. Luckily her husband insisted she keep it in her trunk)
Did you see her run into another store just to buy her husband his favorite special & expensive coffee?
Did you see her waiting on line to get it for 15 minutes? (but he definitely deserved it today!)
Did you see her almost fall down because the gas station didn't do such a good job cleaning the snow which turned to ice?
Did you see her finally get home at 4 o'clock???
On the plus side...she had a good hair day, the last of her mail packages arrived today, no one hit her car,& she only called one person an idiot.

Hubby came on my errands with me today :-) He usually doesn't so when he does I get pretty happy. We were done around 1 o'clock. When we came home he brought in all my packages then went outside to put some fluids in my car & bring in my Christmas decorations. I made us lunch - eggs, sausage, potatoes & bagels.
One of the things I picked up was a new color cartridge for my printer so I can send out my Christmas cards. The printer is refusing to align the cartridges & it's stuck on that so I can't do anything else with it! I am so mad. Hubby said there is something he can use to clean it so he will pick it up for me tomorrow.
Another thing I picked up was a new dry erase board for the fridge. I finally found one without stupid magnets on the front & that doesn't slide done the fridge. I want to buy like 5 more & hoard them away. My current,well old one now in the garbage, board was perfect but I've had it so long the surface was starting to bubble a little. I've bought 2 others in probably the last year but they just weren't right. The only problem I see with the new one is the marker slot seems a little big so the marker might fall off once in awhile.

Hubby was such a good boy today, he took me shopping for hours. We didn't do too bad unless you count that the main reason we went was to find me maternity/bigger sized clothes & that is what I found the least of.
He got 2 new pairs of shoes & 2 outfits (do guys call their clothes outfits??) We bought a few house things, like cleaning supplies & air freshener for the sprayers, ooo a Swiffer sweeper vac! I bought my first baby outfit; I love cows & it's a little cow print pajama (or costume?) it was jut so cute I had to get it. I got a pair of sneakers, a few books, a new (bigger) bra. I picked up some new clothes but once i got home & started pairing stuff up from the different stores I was only happy with some of it so quite a bit is going back.
We even picked up stuff for the dog; he got a new ball, new collar & ID tag & a baby doll. He's never been around infants from what the shelter told us so we bought a baby doll that is motion activated - it moves & cries. So far he's just licked it's face a few times & that was only when I was holding it, not when it was on the floor by itself. We think this a good sign :-)

Very sad news when I just signed on.....very sad to hear that Paul Newman has died. He was probably the first older man I had a crush on. He was also an extremely gifted actor & I unfortunately forgot him on my list last week :-(

I've been too tired to blog lately but I'm here to catch up.

Sunday I was scheduled to work outside at the pool bar as usual. It was POURING so I decided I'd go shopping instead. I threw on a pair of sandals, capris & a button down shirt (so much easier for trying on clothes ya know) I stopped at my job for a few minutes cause I met a really cool couple that were checking out that day & we had planned to exchange emails & stuff before they left. Do I have to tell you how sunny it got? I went shopping anyway. After 4 hours & too many stores all I ended up with was 4 nail polishes, smellies (plug ins & stuff) candles, Advil, Aleve & Midol. Hubby picked up a book about ships & I FINALLY found a big rug for next to the kitchen sink to match my little rug by the door; I've been looking for over a year & had pretty much given up. That was in the last store & we only really went in there cause it was near the bathroom & hubby had to pee. This made my day worthwhile :-)

Monday was pretty interesting. It was just about 8 o'clock & we were getting ready to watch King Kong on tv; it was starting to rain so hubby ran the dog out. A minute later I hear him talking very loudly downstairs so I ask what's wrong. "I think he ate a frog" I grab a towel & a bowl of water remembering some frogs/toads have a liquid they emit in order to protect themselves. The poor dog is frothing at the mouth, we're trying to make him throw up & get the saliva off his skin & out of his mouth. He finally throws up & here's me digging through it to find what he ate, all I find is his dinner from 2 hours earlier. By now it's pouring, hubby goes outside to find whatever it was since we thought it could be a Cane toad (they are very toxic) Hubby found the poor thing; it could only move the top legs not the bottom. It was not visibly injured or mangled thankfully & he is now in semi hibernation in my freezer. Please do not criticize me, this is the humane way to kill it, I checked many websites. The dog has no other symptoms & he was thoroughly rinsed & washed inside & out so we think he just got a little taste. Needless to say our movie night never happened since by the time all of this was over it was close to 10 PM.

Yesterday was just a regular day.

Today I had off & did most of my cleaning. I got a new vacuum in February which I barely use because I don't really like it. I don't think it cleans good enough unless I use the brush or mini vac attachment while crawling through the house on my hands & knees. I was on the phone with K telling her how I really wanted to exchange it but figured it was too late, she said nah, they'll be able to tell you haven't used it, try & see what happens. I'm posting this because I am now going to copy & paste the email I sent her approximately an hour after we got off the phone.

After we hung up I started to vacuum. I did my steps first just like a have many times, I leave it at the top & do each step with the brush attachment which is the main reason I got one with such a long hose. I swear the vacuum heard me telling you I didn’t like it & wanted to get a different one cause 2 steps from the bottom & it comes banging down the stairs, attachments are popping off . All I’m thinking is if this thing breaks I’m really stuck with it. I’m holding the hose in my right hand as kind of a shield as I’m going up to stop the machine from coming down too many steps & I grab it with my left hand. For some reason I tuck the hose back on & carry it DOWN the stairs then I shut it off. I go pick up all the attachments. There’s this little mini vac one that I thought was broken but the cover had just come off & a wheel popped out. Phew, I can still return it. Yeah rite. I turn it back on to finish my last 2 steps, the friggin hose is practically decapitated down near the base. I figure I’ll put some duct tape on it, can I find any? No. Electrical tape? No, not even masking tape. Why would we have any of that in the house considering my husband is an electrician former contractor? I wrap my hand around the hole & barely finish. Then I lug it back up the steps. I wrapped Press n Seal around it then scotch tape so the plastic wrap wouldn’t fall off while I finish the rest of the rooms. It’s OK if you’re laughing trying to picture this cause it was kind of funny, I really don’t know how I didn’t fall down backwards or get hurt cause it came down pretty fast. I’m just pissed cause now I’m definitely stuck with it & have to spend money on it so I can keep using it.

Maybe I should send a copy of this email to Kenmore?

Hubby came home & I told him so he checked it out, we definitely need to buy a new hose. Oh yeah, & all that tape? It's in the garage, silly me!


Recent dinners -
Saturday - roast turkey breast, garlic mashed potatoes mixed with sour cream & chives, mixed veggies, cranberry sauce & carrot salad
Sunday - sirloin steak with sauteed mushrooms, onions & peppers, Zantarains (sp??) yellow rice, peas
Monday - lemon peppered pork chops, pierogies & green beans
Tuesday - roast chicken, stuffing, peas & carrots, salad (some from our garden)
today - meatloaf (I make it like salisbury steak & broil it), mashed potatoes, gravy & corn

I'm off to check comments & other blogs, good night!