Tag Archives: costco

Frugal Friday and Happy 4th of July

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, cancer, cooking, frugalism by

I have nowhere to be and nothing big on my calendar, so I’ll be home doing what I always do.

We used to take the kids to the parade and watch fireworks every year. At some point, I guess maybe they were a bit older, we stopped because the traffic was insane afterwards, and there were too many people. Now, and over the last 20 years, it just doesn’t interest me. And now that I’m old, I just don’t do something if I don’t want to. Not worth it.

Frugal-wise, Costco was $200, with some of that being my favorite wine for this weekend and then lots of proteins for the freezer. I’m calling that part of the LTF storage as it was a bag of shrimp, another bag of salad shrimp, ground beef(3 packs), and some other sale stuff.

I went to Holiday here in town after getting back up from Sacramento. It’s easy and not crazy busy. I needed the cheese sticks that I forgot at Costco, and some salad things(broccoli, mushrooms, ?. I also got a jar of Hoisin sauce to make some stir-fries with. That’s it for me till next week, which is nice.

My appointment went well, and he did say that with these low numbers, kappa light chains can vary a lot. He said if it was a huge increase( like before ), we’d change up treatment. So onward! I do feel very lucky that my numbers and Velcade have kept me in near remission for the last 3 years. It’s a small price to pay. 🙂

Last night I made up a taco bowl, and it was tasty. I still have some ground beef left, so I may look up some other recipes to use it with. I’ll ask AI, which is fun to do.

I was finally able to upload my Sleep HQ data from my ResMed machine. It took trying like a dozen times till It finally went through. I think the problem was on their end, not the SD card. Anyway, it looked good. Some leakage (pressure), but not anything alarming like my mask coming off. Overall, I was pleased. My events have been around .5 which is statistically non-significant. Events need to be under 5. (AHI) . This is all CPAP lingo, but you get the idea.

Hope you all have a nice 4th, and share what you’re doing if anything. It’s always interesting to see how other people celebrate or not. Well, I guess different times of our lives are, well, different. With young kids, the parade and fireworks are cool; older now, not so much.

Miso soup for breakfast. an interesting recipe from that Japanese cook book I got. It uses tahini which I’ve never done.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Credit cards, Gratitude, Uncategorized by

I am thankful that we are not sweltering like most of the East Coast. Our temperatures have been unusual for Northern California this time of year. Usually it’s 90’s and 100s. So very nice for us.

Last night we had some chicken wings from Costco, but they weren’t the best. I was disappointed as I bought them as kind of a special treat for dinner. I won’t do that again. The one thing I went into Costco for, I forgot, cheese sticks. Oh, well, I might swing in after my doctor appointment. The closer to 4th of July though the crazier Costco gets!!

I’m thankful this 02 ring I bought ( the RingConn) is tracking my 02, and it is different than the Apple watch 02. I guess the Apple watch isn’t as reliable because of movement, and can register an 02 drop when really all you’ve done is roll over. The ring is very accurate, and I’m very happy with it. If you have any issues that are similar, the ring is a great tool. I understand the Oura is the best, but I didn’t want to pay monthly.

Today, I go to Sacramento. I’m not too keen on driving with the 4th of July traffic, but at 10 am, hopefully it won’t be too awful. I’m hoping it’s easy in and easy out. My doctor is always pretty laid back, so we’ll see how it goes with my number increase. Realistically, though, there’s not much he can do until we see a different pattern, as I’ve said. All in all, it is what it is.

After going out today, I plan on staying home over the holiday weekend. I’ll look at how I want to plan next week, though, with the pool and gym.

My son is moving ahead with getting his dad’s Triumph going. He did the class and has the equipment now. I added him as a driver on the insurance, so he’s ready to get it started. I can’t say I’m thrilled about him riding a motorcycle, as it is dangerous, but he’s an adult. Still, as a mom, I worry. I did tell him that if he finds he doesn’t want to keep riding, he can sell the bike and keep the money. Motorcycles don’t sell very well here, so?

After the pool, I dropped off the Goodwill stuff, and as I was unloading, I realized it was quite a bit of stuff I’d been driving around with for the last month. So I’m glad it’s gone. I still have some food bank items, but I think I’m going to drop that off at the LFL in the park. Someone will want it. I might check, though, where there is a drop-off in the store. Usually, there is a bin for Food For Families. Maybe I’ll check that first. It’s not a lot, but I hate to just toss it. Since I’m trying not to eat carbs, there’s some mac and cheese in there, and I know someone will want that. Plus, some pasta.

Well, I better get myself ready to go!

Midweek Musings

Posted in Blood test, budgets, California, cooking, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

I plan on going to the pool this morning. I actually woke up and felt like going, which, based on how I felt this last week, says something. So, I’ll head down around 7:30 and be in the water by 8:15 after parking and going in.

After that, I plan on going to Costco. At least that’s the plan. I do have to go to Sacramento tomorrow, so I could go after my doctor appt. I don’t need a lot of things, but I wanted to get some turkey burgers and a few other proteins. We’ll see, that’s optional right now.

My kappa light chains came back with the biggest increase yet of over 9 points. Which puts me in the low 30’s. Exactly at 34.4, which is my highest yet. I’m bummed about it, but whatcha gonna do? He doesn’t seem to concerned when he sent me them over the portal and said ‘stable’. Well, sure it’s stable but a big increase. There’s not much I can do til we see next month. So far, the trend has been increase, slight decrease, increase, etc. So until it is continually going up and shows a pattern, it’s just hang in there. Sigh, I hate this shit.

Anyway, last night I cooked up some salmon and made a feta cucumber salad. It was good. I miss my after-dinner popcorn or snacks, but I am trying to hold strong. I’m having some nuts(protein), and that seems to help.

A few of my orchids. I still don’t have any new spikes on the other plants, so I may have to YouTube it and see what I can do.

I’ve made up my July budget. Looks ok for the most part. I’ll keep whittling away at the cc and hopefully make some progress there. Since I have no other income, I guess it’ll still be a few more months till it’s done. That’s ok, overall, as long as I feel like I’m making some progress. July, August, and September don’t have any annual bills( at least that I know of), so that will help. I think the annual bills will start again in October, with auto insurance, house insurance, and property tax(Dec).

After I’m home, I need to do some dusting and putting things where they belong!!

Friday things

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I canceled the PCP appointment for the Medicare program after reviewing the details on the site. It said NOT for sleep apnea, so that threw me out. It’s just for clinical obesity, so? I was disappointed, but well, sigh. I just don’t understand how all these people are on GLP 1s and affording it. I just don’t have an extra $300 in my budget. That’s the e Lilly cost with patient care.

After my Velcade shot I went to Costco.

At Costco, I picked up some salmon, veggies, eggs, and a few other things. I got some cherries and raspberries that looked good. Oh, I picked up that premade spinach salad meal, and we had half of it for dinner last night.

Tonight we’ll have the other half if we dont eat it for lunch.

I used the new Ringconn ring I got yesterday and like it, but it does not give minute by minute like the Wellvue, only hour by hour. So disappointed there too. Overall, it had some good information, though. And my low 02 only went to 89, and for some reason, that was AFTER I took my mask off at 5 am and was just lying there. So, I don’t know. I really hate this stuff.

Today is a Dex day, so I’m home doing home stuff.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, home stuff, Walking by

Mostly a frugal week since I didn’t go anywhere for 4 days due to feeling lousy. Then on Wednesday, I went to the pool. Before that, I got gas, and it had gone up quite a bit from my last fill-up. Costco gas is still the cheapest, but yikes, $5.69!!

After the pool, I went to Costco as I mentioned and spent a little over $200. I took out non-food and wine, so the food cost was around $100. Non food included batteries, an orchid, and I think something else. Wine was my favorite, Kendall Jackson, which is $9.59 at Costco. Oh, and I picked up that Rose for Mother’s Day and the most expensive thing was some steaks for Mother’s Day and for the freezer. I think the pack had 6 pieces of thinly sliced rib-eye. My daughter and I will likely just share a piece, and the other counts as LTF for the freezer.

My food total so far is running around $300, so not too bad. I don’t need anything, so it may just be a small Winco trip or something.

I ordered propane and put that on the CC. I’m slowly getting the card paid off, but then something like this happens, and I need to charge another $257. Oh well, I’ll get there. sigh:(

I haven’t really been doing active cash envelopes. Most of what I get, I just use for groceries. I guess I need to try to do better, especially for annual bills. It does help when I have the envelopes even a bit filled. Well, I have a few months with just a few annual bills. Next month is the truck DMV, but my son will pay for that as he’s the one using the truck, so it may give me a chance to fill some envelopes for fall. Having lost 1/3 of my income after B died is definitely a factor. sigh:(

Well, today I plan to go to the gym and the library. I have a book to return. I don’t have any holds, so I may just browse the new items. I want to keep up with my weights as I feel they really do help. I’d like to find a new walking path for when I’m down there, so I may look at RPR (Roseville Parks and Rec) trail maps to see what is close to the gym. Sadly, the only paved trail up here is the park I walk at. Auburn has another paved trail at a park, but it’s not in my normal route. The MV park is so well used by so many people, and they come from all over because it is paved. I’m at the stage of life where I’d be concerned for my stability on an unpaved path unless I used my walking sticks. I have been taking them with me even to this park because they give me an added sense of security. It’s tough getting older.

Mid-week Musings

Posted in budgets, California, canning tomato salsa, cooking, meal planning by

Gee, another thank you to a subscriber for a donation. I’m very humbled that someone is thinking of me and making a contribution to my blog/me.

Growing up very poor, I think receiving things, i.e., money or donations, is hard for me because I probably still have some issues. That said, I am grateful for the kindness shown. I remember being mortified at having to get ‘free’ lunches in elementary school.

So yesterday was busy with canning pinto and black beans. I know I said I wasn’t going to do it anymore, but… Part of the reason was I had listed the All American on Marketplace and only got very low-ball offers, so I nixed that and decided I’ll do what I can when I can. I wasn’t going to ‘give’ it away. Thus, I canned the beans, which we use regularly anyway.

But it does take up a chunk of time. About 3-4 hours in all.

After that, I zoomed into town to get the LLS form from the bank and then came home. I started cleaning up the kitchen and put things away. In the past, Barclay always did my cleaning up for me. sigh 🙁

I also washed my sheets, and since I only have one set of sheets, I have to wash them, dry them, and then put them back on the bed. My sheets are linen, which I love, but they’re around 5 years old, and I saw some areas that are showing wear. So I may need to get some new ones. These were from Amazon, and when I checked, they seemed to be about the same price, around $125. But I’m not ready to do that yet.

Today, I’m going to Costco to get the stuff my daughter didn’t pick up, specifically eggs, coffee, and some fruit. It shouldn’t take too long, and I plan to go when they open, as that is executive time.

Then once I’m back home, I need to do a tidy up and see what needs doing.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, Death, Gratitude, velcade by

Well, after spending more than 2 hours at the AAA office and running over to the county recorder’s office, most of the problem is handled. The young man helping me was spectacular and really handled the issue well and with confidence. We still need to wait 5 days for them( California Fair Plan) to process and approve. Why wouldn’t they? But who knows, they needed not only the death certificate but the trust record, hence the trip over to the recorder’s office. Hopefully that’s all. What a pain in the ass.

So I am thankful I followed through, and it’s done( I hope). Nothing will change with the mortgage, even with his name still on the loan. (As far as I can gather, it can stay there, and the loan remains the same. I think from what AI said, it would take doing a ‘new mortgage’ to do that, and I am completely not willing to do that. I will need to have an estate lawyer update the trust, though with just my name, but I’ll get to that eventually.

I’m thankful I got a swim in, and when I got there, it was not super busy, but later it did get very busy.

After the pool, I went to Costco for coffee, and I saw more lavender plants, so I bought just one. I also picked up the Dawn power wash, some breaded chicken on sale, and some Easter chocolates.

My Velcade is this morning, and I’m grateful it’s not raining. It was raining quite a bit yesterday, and driving in the rain is not my favorite thing to do. After my shot, I plan on going down to the library and dropping off the books because they are due in a few days. I won’t use the gym as I usually don’t try to exercise after the chemo is in my system.

From there. I’ll come home and tidy up a bit. My daughter leaves for work early, so usually there is stuff to do, like emptying the dishwasher. Otherwise, same old same old.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cash envelopes, home stuff, velcade by

I’m thankful my shot went quickly and easily. I was out of there by 8:50. I was joking with the nurses about not having to take Dex. It is going to be interesting to see how I feel without it and then how my numbers react. I’ll be prepared that they might go up without the Dex.

I went to Costco and got a few things, and then cashed out the rest of my rewards money. Not a lot, but it’s nice to have cash in my wallet. I really like using the Costco credit card and getting this cash reward.

I’m pretty thankful I was able to figure out the whole insurance thing on the Triumph. Since I’m not ready to sell, I still need it covered for theft or fire, and Geico was cancelling my insurance due to the fact that I’m not a rider. So I asked AI Gemini, and I got good advice to check with Progressive, and sure enough, they were able to write me a policy as a non-rider. Even better, it was only 75 dollars for the whole year. Of course, that’s because I’m not a rider, so if my son decides to take the motorcycle class and I put him on, it’ll be way higher. But first things first.

I’m thankful it’s sunny out, even if it is cold. There is a brisk wind, so it’s making it feel colder.

Friday Things

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Flylady, Walking by

Since I didn’t walk yesterday, I decided to go out this morning, and I’m so glad I did. It was a nice walk, with no one around except the people who use the community center stairs for a workout. There was a crescent moon, which is my favorite.

Yesterday was a nightmare driving to Sacramento. Apparently, there was a terrible accident, and it was stop-and-go from Roseville all the way down to the I-80 split, which is quite a ways. I barely had time to check in for my appointment. And of course, my blood pressure was high. Even after waiting a bit, it was still higher than my normal. UGH, I guess I’ll talk to my PCP when I see him for my annual wellness appointment. I’ll start tracking again, which I do as a record for him to see.

Dr. Laptalo suggested I go off DEX because it could be contributing to weight gain. It could be, but I think I’m just not as active as I was with both knees having torn meniscus and my left a torn ACL. I forgot to mention any of that, but going off DEX will certainly be nice. I guess I’ll just have to take my chances with my numbers going up. Most people on maintenance don’t do dex, so that’s a positive.

After the doctor’s appointment, I went to Costco. For a moment, I thought of skipping it as I was pretty stressed out, but then I thought, no, it’ll be good to get that done, and walking around Costco would help. It did help to calm me down. So I picked up the non-food stuff, including TP, allergy pills, dishwasher pods, Lysol wipes, and a few other things. Most of that was on a coupon, so that was nice. Food-wise, I bought coffee, eggs, and their new Hawaiian ready meal. We had some for dinner, and it was tasty, but I don’t think I’d get it again. It’s a large serving, and there’s quite a bit left over, so I’m not sure how well that will freeze.

Today, I plan on cleaning the kitchen and doing my Flylady stuff there. That includes wiping all the shelves and the stove hood. Plus, using the stainless steel wipes on the appliances.

We’re heading into rain on Sunday, and the temperatures are going to get cold. We still need rain, and the ski areas really do need snow, so it’s ok. If it’s too awful out, I won’t go anywhere.

What frugal things have you done lately?

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Gratitude by

I am so thankful that there is more sunlight everyday and it makes me happy. This morning it was light at 6:20 and then sunrise was 6:58 so that is quite wonderful. Sunset is 5:38 pm so again it’s so nice to have evenings light again.

I didn’t walk this morning as I have to get ready to leave for Sacramento soon. After my doctor visit, I plan to go to Costco. I’m appreciative that the new Costco is closer to home. I mostly need coffee and a bunch of non-food things, but I’m sure other things will jump in the cart.

I am very thankful my kappa light chains only went up 1 point. So now I’m sitting at 26.3. So that’s 7 points above high normal. So I feel comfortable with those numbers, and there was no big spike.

I’m grateful that the Imodium I’ve been taking (half a pill) is totally working on bowel issues. Dr. L suggested I try that instead of a prescription for the bile malabsorption medication. So that’s very positive for me. Bile malabsorption usually occurs with some chemotherapies, and I do believe that my spat with it was a recurrence of that. So I feel very thankful that it seems to be under control.

I’m thankful we did not owe any taxes. Of course, we didn’t have anything taken out because it’s SS.

It’s a little hard to see, but that’s the flowering cherry tree with some pops of pink. In the background, you can see the ‘new’ neighbor’s garage and see that brown dirt to the right? He has had many loads of dirt brought in to fill in the gully and make a more level space. I am not too thrilled at him changing the whole hillside’s natural inclination, but it’s his property. He did put in a huge drainage pipe for runoff, but still 🙁 City people trying to live in the country??