Not the best Monday

When I checked the blogs this morning, I was very saddened to see that Beachgirl's dad had passed away... you can read about it on her blog if you haven't already heard. Again, my condolences to her and her mom for their loss. Such a sad time :-(

My old guy isn't feeling well tonight and we might have to make the decision tomorrow morning. I have to go to work, would call a replacement tonight but since I'm not sure how he's going to feel, I haven't done it yet. There was an incident last January where he was all better in the morning, but at almost 29, I know the end has to come sometime soon... This really pales in comparison to what Beachgirl is going through, but he's still a very big part of my family.

I owe my mom $$ for epsom salts she bought me to soak in (around $9 for a big jug) and I paid bills and made my monthly donation. So spent lots.

One of my typical lunches

Here's whatI brought to work today:


I always, always make coffee at home using my Tassimo coffee machine and one of the breakfast blend T-discs that is 12 oz, the perfect size for my travel mug (this is a new product in 2009, in the past I either had to use 2 discs or make another kind of coffee!).

Breakfast is the banana that I eat around 10 am. Yes, I know, I should eat more and earlier in the day........ I do when I'm at home, never when I work at the office.

Lunch is a small portion of pasta salad (recipe I posted last week) and some romaine lettuce with a bit of steak sliced over it. In a separate container I have grated romano cheese, a few croutons and bacon bits. I also brought the bottle of dressing but left it out of the photo.

Snack is a couple clementines if I'm hungry.

Lots of water to drink.

Yum. Healthier than take out and much, much cheaper!

Week 3 spending recap

Here is where I stand after 3 weeks:

$112.95/$150 groceries (less than I thought!)
$66.02/$100 gas (with 1 fill-up to go)
$96.71/$100 mad money (no comment!!)

11/18 no spend days

4/7 books read (and more than halfway through my current one)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this month's numbers. There was less damage done this week than I thought!

What to get for $10??

I have a gift exchange, maximum $10. It's with coworkers and people who used to work there in the past, about 10 women ranging from 35 to 65 years old. I personally wouldn't mind going up to $25 (as it'd mean a $25 gift in return and a lot more choice) but I guess I'll stick to the $10 too.

Does anyone have any ideas?? Last year I bought a decoration to hang on a doorknob. I want something different this year. We can't do Christmas tree ornaments because some of them don't put up trees (I would actually love exchanging ornaments!). Others gave wine, holiday music cds, candles.

It's in 2 weeks so I have time to decide and shop... thought I'd ask around if anyone had any original ideas :-) Thanks !

Saturday recap

My internet was down most of the afternoon and evening... it's never happened before (very reliable connection) and the weather was nice, so I don't know what happened there. I miss it when it's not on, I always seem to need to check out something when I can't!!

This morning I worked, I'm really hoping it was my last Saturday but it's quite possible I'll work next Saturday too. Then 2 in December... I know it's not the end of the world, but I prefer having both Saturday AND Sunday off :-)

When I got home I noticed the horses (my old guy especially) were really agitated in the pasture... he looked spooked actually... further investigation revealed a dead deer that had been hit during the night :-( The dept of natural resources truck came to pick it up and they said their roadkill cases this year are over 300 (deer, moose and bears). Thankfully no one was hurt.

This afternoon I didn't do much, just laundry and a bit of housework... dinner (the maple pork) turned out great, so I'll be buying a few more packages for the freezer. I'm going into stockpile mode this time of the year.

Tonight is quiet too, I caught up on The Good Wife that I missed this week (love the free On Demand feature) and I'm looking at going to bed soon. My sister's gone out to see a show but I passed, as I only like the singer somewhat, not a lot. She's the type who goes to anything and everything, regardless of cost.

I managed a no spend !! It probably won't be my last one in upcoming weekends because I tend to stay away from stores when they are crowded. I shop in a city where people drive 2-3 hours to shop in, so I'll do my shopping during the week when I can and let them fight for parking spots!!

More Saturday sweets

This is quickly becoming a weekly feature (after the creme brulee, the molten lava cakes, the layered coffee cake with almonds). I actually baked it last night, but had the first slice for lunch:

This is how it turned out after cooling on the counter:




I never sweat about cracks on top of the cheesecake:



I hadn't made it in a couple years, so wanted to see how it would turn out this time. The recipe is very easy and can be found here.

Dinner is another yummy: Marla's Maple pork! I got some pork tenderloins at a great price ($5.69 for 2 big tenderloins) and am marinating them now in the fridge in a mixture of maple syrup, orange peel, soy sauce, mustard and a few other things. I love the pork right out of the oven, but it is also really good sliced up and served over salad greens the next couple days for lunch..

Start of the weekend

I spent $50 yesterday on a lottery ticket, going half with my dad. It's for a local hospital, their annual fundraiser, and there are great prizes to win (a $750,000 home!). I am out of spending money for the month, so I took from the extra check I received this week (pt job).

Today I bought chicken on sale, we rarely see such a good price for bone-in breasts: $1.88/lb. The usual sale price is around $3.50/$4 a pound, so people were stocking up bigtime. I spent $19.10 total and plan to go back next week. We eat a lot of chicken, and at that price I can debone it and use it in soups and other hearty winter dishes.

I work tomorrow then Monday and Tuesday for sure. The lady I'm replacing goes to the doctor on Tuesday morning so I'll find out then if I'm working more hours the rest of the week or just my regular, short shifts.

I baked a cheesecake tonight, I will take pictures tomorrow once it's ready to cut :-) It'll be a great treat!

Oh, I bought another Christmas gift... I was looking for the Black Stallion tv show dvd... I got the complete 3 seasons (78 episodes) for $34 :-) My dad is going to be sooo surprised cuz I told him I'd been looking and couldn't find it anyway (which was true at that time).