Tag Archives: costco

Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, velcade by

Well, the bad news is his platelets did go way down to 31, so the infusion will be on Saturday. Overall, this cycle has been much better but it’s still a very hard chemo regime. The plan is I’ll take him down and my daughter will get him. I suppose I could go shopping or something but I don’t really do that. ( well, if I could go into Louis Vuitton I would).:)

Some wins this week.

I got gas at Costco, which was 3.79, so that’s the lowest around.

The Tartine baguette I made was delicious and almost all gone. I do have some ww bread in the freezer so I’ll pull that out for the week.

I went to Costco on Monday, mostly for milk and the above WW bread, but of course, I came out with more. I forgot coffee so I either need to go in for that or just buy it at Starbucks.

Some losses:

I found a fresh mozzarella roll stuffed in the back of the fridge. It’s way outdated and also a Bourisin cheese. Usually, both of those things get used up quickly so maybe with Thanksgiving they got pushed to the back.

Today is a dex day, so I’ll do some extra things around the house. I made some roast chicken breasts last night with potatoes dauphinoise so there are some leftovers. I still might make a pizza dough though.

That’s about it at chez moi!!

Menu Monday

Posted in budgeting, California, cash envelopes, cooking, meal planning, swimming, Uncategorized by

First off, B has done really well with this last chemo. He’s been engaged and has had energy(some). So that’s very positive.

Sunday night- we had spaghetti with Rao’s sauce and some meatballs

Monday- Tamales and rice with salad

Tuesday- Quiche of some sort

Wednesday- Brinner

Thursday- TBD??

Friday- I’ll do a pizza, either homemade or take out

Saturday- Soup of some sort, I’m thinking a split pea.

The pool was nice this morning but busy. Everyone was doubled up in the lanes. Then I went to Costco to return an item and got some ink for my HP printer. Also milk, eggs, bread, cookies, and some cheese.

Our weather continues to be lovely. Sunny and temperatures in the mid 60’s.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cooking by

We are way over our grocery budget but most of that was extra Costco stuff. It’s ok, some months are like that. I think I’m sitting at about $700 right now. I just checked and it’s more like $900 as I didn’t add in the last Costco trip. Oh well, I have a freezer full and will just need veggies mostly to fill in the blanks.

I got gas at Costco which does save almost $1 a gallon from prices in Auburn. I have enough gas to get through next week. B has his chemo on Tuesday and that will be my last trip to Roseville for the week.

I plan on returning the clothes to Costco today. I did find a pair of the Fila I like and ordered them. If they don’t fit I’ll return them too. I think they were $12.99 at Costco.com.

We didn’t have any meals out and stuck to my menu plan. If we do eat out it’s always lunch anyway. But with B having no appetite it’s not worth going out for lunch.

The turkey order showed up so that’s in the freezer til Monday or Tuesday. I have a coupon for $15 off a whole Diestal turkey down at the Holiday but I’m not sure I’ll use it as they are usually bigger than I need or want. But I may check it out.

We’ve got a small break in the rain today and then it comes back in tonight. It’s supposed to be a colder storm too. From the little news I get now, I did see the PNW got slammed by this storm.

I haven’t checked out any Black Friday deals but B said the new Airpods with hearing enhancement are on sale. I may look at those for him as he does need something to help with hearing. I’ll check that out his weekend.

I have my annual mammogram scheduled for next week too so I can cross that off my list.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, Gratitude, home stuff by

Well, I am beyond thankful B has felt good. There is no need for platelets or blood. Whoo hoo!!! He gets labs today, so we’ll see how much more they increase.

We are amid a rain deluge. It’s been raining almost nonstop. I didn’t walk this morning as it was pouring. It looks like next week will be raining off and on. I plan on staying home today but tomorrow I will probably go to the pool. I need to return those sweats so that’s a good reason to go rather than Saturday. Both days will be busy as Thanksgiving is next week. I don’t need anything at this point but I haven’t made a checklist yet. I’ll do that today ( I did it below).

I’m thankful I don’t really stress about Thanksgiving and keep it very simple.

Menu for Thanksgiving:

Turkey roast from Diestal( which didn’t show up yesterday???)

Nut loaf is made and in the freezer,

and mashed potatoes are from Costco and are in the freezer. My son might make homemade made which would be fine too.

cranberry sauce is my canned cranberries from last fall. My son will get or I will a can of Ocean Spray

green beans

rolls, I have a package of Hawaiian rolls in the freezer.

stuffing is just a box of Stouffers. Now that I think about it I need celery and carrots.

I think my son is going to roast some brussels sprouts too.

I have 3/4 of a Costco pumpkin pie in the freezer I’ll defrost. We rarely eat dessert at Thanksgiving but I still want it there.

I’m thankful for quiet times at home. It’s peaceful and cozy.

I’m thankful for my daily routines that keep things running smoothly in our household.

I’m thankful B installed both grab bars in the shower and even though the pan is nonslip it’s best to safer.

Pushing Through

Posted in books, California, cancer, decluttering, simplicity by

Good news finally. B got his labs on Monday and his hemoglobin and platelets both went up. His energy is way better and he’s more ‘with it’. So hopefully all is good till his next and last chemo on Tuesday.

I’ve been trying to push a little harder going to the gym and the pool. Today, I’m staying home and not going to go out. I do plan to swim one more day this week either Friday or Saturday.

I specifically went to Costco to buy some sweats on sale. After I got home and tried them I didn’t like them. They were fleeced lined which clearly, I didn’t register when I bought them. So I’ll need to stop and return them. I’m terrible at buying clothes which is probably why I wear the same thing day in and day out. The sweats I wear to go walking are at least 10 years old. maybe I’ll check Amazon to see if they have this brand which is Fila. They were not expensive and I think they are cotton. I could use some new T-shirts too. My Bombas are getting quite thin. They are wonderful though and get softer with wear. They’re Pima cotton. They are not cheap that’s for sure but do last forever.

Today then, I’m going to declutter some books and work in the kitchen some. My jars that I store all my beans and rice etc could use a good wipe down. I also want to take an inventory of what I have. One of the cats,( we think Gus), knocked 2 plants off the window sill so I need to fix them. I’ll have to figure out a better ‘cat-safe’ place.

We have a big wave of rain coming our way. I’m not sure how much we’re supposed to get but I think the Sierras will get snow.

So how about Oz as the head of SS. Can Orange Man make any other absolutely insane appts? It’s going to get weirder and weirder. And I think more dangerous too.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, frugalism, Gardening, Lake tahoe, Pantry by

It’s been an okay week budget-wise.

I got gas at Costco since I knew we’d be driving to Sacramento and then the next day to Rocklin. Gas here in town is almost a $1 more so it does save $$.

We did go back into Costco after Sacramento and picked up avocados, butter lettuce, milk( B is drinking a lot of milk in his protein shakes), cheese, and I can’t remember what else. That came to a little over $100 which I used cash for. I also, on a separate checkout, bought 3 Christmas gifts one of which was Chocolates in a 3 pack that I can separate for gifts.

That was it in spending so I think it was a good week.

Today is one of my Dex days so I’ll do stuff around the house although I feel kind of off. I bought a wood step stool from Amazon so I can sit on it and go through my pantry boxes. I just can’t sit on the floor for any length of time. I’ll check it out today and see if it works otherwise I’ll send it back.

I started my annual rereading of LOTR. I finished The Hobbit, and am 1/3 of the way through Fellowship of the Ring. I also picked up my holds from the library so I have a nice stack of books on my bedside table.

My daughter harvested the delicata squash and oh my, there must be 20. That will make some tasty fall/winter dishes. Everything in the garden is done. The tomatoes are done. There are still some jalapeno peppers out there but not a lot. I’d say the only thing I missed were cucumbers for pickling. But that’s not something I do a lot of anyway. She’s going to put in a fall garden with radishes, lettuce, and maybe chard. Our cilantro seeds itself so that should be coming up soon too.

Frugal Friday

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

This week I did another Costco trip. This one had TP, bread for the freezer, half and half, and other staples. It came to a little over $200. I had $130 cash and then put the rest on the debit card. When I do that then I take that amount off my food $. I still need to do another cash run so I’ll figure out what I have left in the budget. I did buy B his Sierra Nevada beer even though he’s not really drinking much. But he gives me the money back for that.

I also went into Winco for salad stuff and that ended up under $30.

All the bills for September are in and accounted for. Our Allstate insurance notice came and again prices are crazy. My son’s Subaru is on our policy( he pays for this though), and it’s a 2008 and almost $700. Why?? I will pay when the actual bill comes in but I think I’m going to pay in installments. I really don’t want to add to the CC.

It’s been hot as I mentioned but it cools off at night with all the windows open.

Today is a no walk day so I’m doing some extra chores. The biggest is the outside windows. I also processed more tomatoes for the freezer and will do all of them(3 bags) later this fall.

I stuck to my menu plan this week except tonight is pizza night and I don’t think that’s what I’m doing. First, I don’t have any dough made, and second, no one feels like a pizza in this heat. I’ll figure something out.

Midweek

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Gardening, plants by

I’m off to Sacramento this morning. After my appointment, I plan on going to Costco and picking up a few things. I need coffee, maple syrup, and some other random things. I just love not doing huge shops, it makes it so much easier for me. Plus I’m in and out in half an hour.

Our weather has been picture perfect for August. It’s been a little warm in the afternoons but with the angle of the sun it isn’t as intense. And by evening it cools way down. The garden is almost done. I have another box of tomatoes to process and I think that’s probably it. We had a great crop. Our peppers did not do well which is unusual.

Yesterday, we went to the nursery and I picked up some pots to split a very big spider plant. I also picked a larger pot for my ficus. Pots are expensive which seems weird. We also filled the VW with gas. Then we went to Panera for a snack but it was almost 11am so I had my favorite broccoli cheddar soup. Yumm

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, cooking, Gardening by

Costco $153. food 140, wine 13. I just love this new Costco.

It is so easy to get into and the registers are always open. I haven’t had to wait once. I think what I like the most is doing smaller shops. Usually, before shops were $300 or $400 and loaded up the cart. Now I am just picking up maybe 15 things. So yesterday, was tofu, block of Tillamook, cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, black bean burgers( a new product I thought we’d try for an easy meal), Bonne Mamam jam in the EXTRA jar jar that I’ve been looking for forever, oh, another new item, potato and cheese pierogis, oh, and the gallon zip lock freezer bags on sale. I always try and buy the things on sale as that is where Costco excels.Plus the Kirkland Pinot Grigio and Kirkland Sauvignon. I think there was something else but I can’t remember now. Oh I remember, it was another new product of pretzel bites!! We love pretzel bites so it was a no brainer!

Dinners have all been homemade and easy this week. The start was the honey garlic tofu. I still have half the block frozen so I may make that again tomorrow. Tonight I think I will make a homemade pizza. I have dough in the freezer so that’ll be easy to do.

Since I’m on Dex for the next 3 days I’ll add some extra things to do. I’d like to spruce up our one entryway by the sun porch. Maybe switch out the faux flowers on the wreath to fall stuff. I had a nice red geranium out there on the table but the deer ate the flowers:(

Here are a few pictures of the front yard. Lots of morning glories which just seed themselves every year and this this delicata squash was a self seeder from the compost that we added to that bed. My daughter came up with the idea to grow it on this old trellis that was going to get thrown out. Works great and we’ve never had that many delicatas ever.

My next batch of tomatoes I plan on freezing and can later this fall. Tomatoes came in so early this year I guess with all the heat we had. Our peppers didn’t that great though for some reason. Which is odd since they love heat too.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, frugalism, instant pot recipes, Myeloma by

Well, to continue the non- frugalness, our PGE bill estimate same in and it’s just under $400. OUCH!! The exact number isn’t there yet but I suspect at least $350. So with coolers running all day for the last 3 weeks, it’s understandable. Yesterday topped out at 109. So, still hot. And today, I believe is another scorcher and then temperatures start to drop. Next week the temperatures look to be in the 90’s and then an increase again next Saturday.

In frugalness though, I gassed up at Costco which is a significant savings. I only drove to the pool twice so that too saved money/gas.

I shopped at Costco and spent $125 or so but that included 2 bottles of wine. Nothing expensive, I like the Kirkland brand sauvignon and pinot grigio. The new Costco is so convenient and I was in and out in 20 minutes.

No other grocery shopping, if I recall. Today I need to pick up half and half and some corn tortillas and wine for the weekend.

As part of Amazon’s prePrime days, I bought an Instant Pot for 42% off. My instant pot died about 2 years ago and I’ve debated getting one but decided that if a deal came up, I’d get one. I think the end cost was $72. I plan on using it today as it’ll be hot and I can cook something without heating up the kitchen.

Yesterday, B had his ultrasound needle biopsy. We should get the official diagnosis next week, but certainly, cancer. The question is what treatment is there.? I’m not sure surgery is an option as there are multiple soft masses so chemo? radiation? I guess we’ll know soon enough. ( sad sigh)

Today, I’m meeting my library friends for coffee. One of them is the one whose husband died this past year of Myeloma. She’s done really well and has her two adult daughters as support. Being we’re meeting at the local cafe at 10, I won’t plan on the gym.

We had tacos and burritos from the Taco Tree after we came up from Sacramento so that was $22. But I didn’t need to cook dinner.

I got the notice that I need to renew my license and take the test etc. I’m not worried about that, just the eye exam as I don’t see much out of my right eye. I guess I’ll do my best and if necessary I’ll get my eye doctor to fill in the form that I can see 20-20 out of my left eye. Still being over 70 is challenging with these new things. But I guess, safety is key here.

I’m looking forward next week to being able to sit outside for dinner and afternoons. It feels like we’ve been stuck inside for weeks. Oh, we have:)