Friday, November 7, 2008

Sorry I'm slacking (an update)

I'm sorry everyone I've been a slacker this week. And I posted a whole bunch in one day last week. I've been really busy, and now that it's Friday, I am totally exhausted. I need to get my recipe up, but probably won't till this evening after the boys go to see their dad.
I had an interesting experience this week, that I actually thought might make a good post. On Wednesdays I pick up Chandler from scouts, then I take the boys to spend a few hours with their dad while I go to choir practice. Well, I had about an hour and a half of free time after I dropped them off, so I decided I would go walk around Lake Ella for some exercise. It was a nice evening and there were a lot of people walking/running. I walk and only jog some because I have asthma (I got in 2004 while pregnant with Hayden). Which is sad because I was a track runner in high school.
Anyway, back to the story. After I walked around the lake twice, I knew I needed to get something to eat, and then get to choir. So I got in the van, turned the key, it started then immediately went off. So I thought this was a fluke, and tried again, same outcome. Then I started think, "Oh, my heck, I've got 45 minutes to get dinner and get across town to choir, now what am I going to do?" I didn't know who else to call, so I called Matt. I explained the situation to him, and he said it could be my battery or various other things. He said to take it to AutoZone and have them check the battery. All I could think was I don't have the money to fix anything right now. So with him on the phone I started it again and held my foot on the gas peddle hoping it would stay started since I was revving the engine. IT DID!! So I drive straight over to AutoZone, and had them check my battery. It checked out fine. The guy there told me that it could be a kink in the line, a bubble, or any number of other things. But since the battery checked out fine, there was nothing else he could do.
So, then I was back on my way to try to get to choir practice. I stopped at a drive-thru for a quick little cheeseburger, then got to choir without a problem. I was really hoping not to have any more problems because I live an hour away from Tallahassee, and I don't want to get stuck in the middle of the cell dead zone with 3 kids in the dark. :(
Well, choir went well, and then I was able to start my van and go pick up the boys. Everything else was fine. We got home ok, and I prayed the whole way, that I wouldn't get stuck in the middle of nowhere. And to date, have had no problems since. I don't know what happened, maybe it was just something to remind me that my van is old, which I know, and that sooner or later it's going to need to be replaced, hopefully later...no budget for that right now!
Another thing that was truly the FRUGAL Queen coming out in me. I fed 3 boys and me dinner for $3.09. HAHAHAHA I am so good. I LOVE LOVE LOVE coupons. I clip them my neighbor graciously gives me his papers when he is finished, I also print them from the internet, and I love it when the boys read enough or have perfect attendance that they get food coupons from school. Chandler had been asking if he could use his Pizza Hut coupon that he brought home from the BOOK it program at his school. If they read a certain number of books in a month they receive a coupon to go to Pizza Hut and get a personal pan pizza for free. And Owen had a coupon from Papa John's for the same kind of pizza but for perfect attendance. Yes, that meant I had to go to 2 different places, but I didn't mind, the 3 boys got to eat the pizza they love, and I got mostly free food too. I had another Papa John's coupon that I used for Hayden. And then I used a Chick-Fil-A coupon (thanks Melanie for the calendar) for 4 free chicken strips with the purchase of a med. drink. I could have paid less, but they have this great new shake, I had to try. Peppermint, chocolate chip, and OOOHHH, it is so good, it was hard to for to keep the boys from drinking all of it. I don't get much that is just mine, they were even asking for my chicken strips after finishing their pizzas. Anyways, 3 personal pan pizzas, 4 chicken strips, 1 water, and 1 shake fed all 4 of us for $3.09. I am so proud of my frugal self. :)
This weekend I will post Halloween. I am sorry I have been slacking so much.
Hugs to all,








3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So sorry about the van! That's always so frustrating! And I am in utter amazement that you got all that stuff! I'll bow down to the Queen of Frugal! :)

Jenn said...

I am so glad the van has been okay since! I'm right there with you--our cars are paid off and I pray that they stay "well" because a car payment is just not gonna happen for us now!
Awesome about the dinner for $3.09--I love deals like that!

Michelle said...

Wow. $3.09 is quite impressive. The only way I feed the monsters for that us when I cook at home after finding a cheap to cook meal :) Glad the van turned out ok!

And thanks for stopping by my BATW tour. It's been a busy week, so my apologies for taking so long to get back. It was almost overwhelming! Come back and visit again soon!