Tag Archives: costco

Frugal Friday

Posted in bread, California, cash envelopes, cooking, frugalism, Uncategorized by

Groceries at Costco were $200. I bought a few things on sale like the breaded Talipa which is a great easy dinner option. Mostly things like milk, and eggs ( no shortage at Costco). I bought the organic 2 dozen pkt for $8.69. I also bought French roast coffee, seaweed snacks my daughter likes, Triscuits, nuts, cheese, asparagus, and a few items I wanted to try. One is a garlic spread( Toom)that’s supposed to be very good.

With that and my TJ’s trip, I’m already at $400 so I’ll need to be careful for the next couple of weeks.

Next week I have a dental cleaning so that’s out of pocket. But I am going to sign up for their dental plan which is $400. That covers 2 cleanings and other stuff so it seems like a good deal.

Today is the national No Spend Day. I hope it has an impact, especially on Amazon, Walmart, etc. During the pandemic, I liked Walmart’s pickup service and used it a lot. But since then I haven’t even been back.

I got gas at Costco so that’s always a savings.

I bought a Christmas gift for my son. An Easton Press copy of ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs’s Court. ” That was Ebay and was $28.00. I haven’t started my Christmas envelope yet, but I’ll write this down. This year is going to be even more minimal as nobody really wants anything. So I’ll do a few gifts each like the Easton Press and East Fork Pottery.

This is the Lemon Meyer rosemary Sourdough. Wow was that good.

This is the newly rearranged office area with the couch on the opposite wall so I can open the sunroom doors.

Here are two of the newly reupholstered Heywood chairs. We got all 5 done. One is my office chair.

This is the dirty cover. Uck!! I guess it’s been about 3-4 years since I did these. I use painter drop cloth material.

They are certainly not professional but work for us.

Today is Dex day and I don’t have a lot planned but I am going to try and wash the inside sunroom windows.

Frugal Friday

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

The biggest expense this week was my dental appointment. It was quite a bit but then what isn’t these days. It needed to be done so. I still have a cleaning in March and I’m planning on signing up for their dental saver program. It’s $400 a year and covers 2 cleanings and lots of other stuff. It seems a good deal.

Then I went to Costco earlier this week and that was around $200. That shop will last us a while until we need coffee again. Food was less because B picked some socks, and I picked up the new Dawn spray cleaner and there was something else nonfood.

I drove to Sacramento for my doctor’s appt, which uses more gas. I have enough gas in the Santa Fe until I go back to the pool which I think will be Monday. i have labs early Monday and plan to go to the pool afterwards.

Not a very frugal week but manageable.

Today I opted to stay home and do some extra house needs. I washed my office windows, and dusted baseboards. I also started sourdough baguette loaf for tomorrow. Last night I roasted a chicken and made homemade mac and cheese. Tonight I think I’ll make a frozen Costco pizza. It’s a new brand they had and I’d like to try it. I think it said made in Italy.

It’s a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 62 degrees. I’m looking to put a chair in the sunroom so I can sit out there. right now, I don’t have the little loveseat because Tux is sleeping out there in a cat bed and he’s not fixed. therefore he’s spraying although we haven’t seen him spray out there. I’m thinking of a used Poang chair from market place. I’ll have to look at listings.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, decluttering, freezer cooking, frugalism, simple foods, velcade by

The week was overall frugal. I didn’t need gas yet in Santa Fe. I’ll fill up at Costco next week.

I went to the gym and library before my Velcade shot. Gettting books at the library always saves me from buying some random cookbook( a weakness(. I looked at two already, and there’s nothing I’d cook from them. They’re pretty books, but not how I cook. For instance, last night, we shared a steamed artichoke, and I made an us omelet to share with sprouts, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. We eat fairly simply.

I went to Costco after swimming on Wednesday and spent $250 or so. Some of that was snack/foodstuff for my daughter to take to work. She doesn’t get a full lunch break because of her hours, so I bought some beef sticks, egg bites (Kirkland brand), and something else I can’t remember. The two kinds of beef sticks were expensive, grass feed. I’ve actually never had one, so I can’t tell you if they’re any good, but as a high-protein snack, I could see it working. Organic eggs were 7.99 for 2 dozen.

Today is a home day because of Dex, but I feel pretty good this morning. I plan on vacuuming, dusting some, and doing a bit of decluttering odds and ends. I also have a pack of Kirkland I need to use, so I’m thinking of some meatballs I can freeze. We( my daughter and I have decided to mostly cut beef out of our diets. We don’t eat it often, so it shouldn’t be hard at all. But I have this to use and one other in the freezer, and I don’t want to waste it. If we go out together, we definitely would think about an In an-Out burger, but that’s pretty rare for us to do.

The rain is supposed to come by noon today, and it looks nonstop for days. I think I’ll plan on some soup dinners with homemade sourdough.

Frugal Friday or not so much?

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism by

Well, Buggie is going to cost over $1000 so that’s not frugal. And the mechanic said that it isn’t just the starter but the flywheel behind it and he quoted $1600 for that. We said no for now. I guess we’ll have to really think about keeping bugs. Well, we’ll go get it today. We don’t drive buggie that far but still. If it’s going to start costing $$$ then it’s not worth it to us to keep it. I’ll be sad though because I love Bugs!! No decisions for a while though.

Most of the month’s bills are paid except for water and garbage next week. I’ll start a new budget on the 27th or so.

Costco was $240 and it was all food. Some pantry staples and a few freezer meals like ravioli. I bought some salad packs so were set there too. I shouldn’t need too much next week if anything. I think I will come in at $600 for groceries for the month. So not too bad for the 3 of us plus some of that is long-term things like olive oil. When did olive oil start to cost so much?? Plus I bought a 4 pack of butter and that will last months too.

I will need gas next week in the Santa Fe and that will be the last fill up till the next budget starts.

My daughter and I are going to the nursery this morning for some bags of soil for planting the garlic. I might pick up some pansies or other winter flowers. Then she wants to go look at paint chips at Ace. She wants to paint the studio and it really does need it.

So, the appt ended up not to be with Dr. Lee but his nurse. He must be a very busy man. But not much was different except she will schedule the laparoscopy and then they’ll go from there. I was disappointed there wasn’t anything more definitive. We’ll only need to spend 2 nights in Palo Alto though. One night before the procedure and then one night after. The procedure is only an hour or less but because it involves anesthesia it’s 2 hours before and 2 hours after. So I’m not driving back home after all that. So that’s that.

Yesterday after getting home, I pressure-canned the pinto beans. I got 7 pints done. This is a great staple to have in the pantry.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, cancer, cooking, home stuff, reading, swimming, Walking by

Wow, 2024 is coming to a close and Wednesday is 2025. I still need to write a few goals for the year. Nothing monumental, just things like keep walking, keep swimming, and up the number of times a week. Stuff like that.

A very very rainy morning. No walk again, so I’ll use the treadmill. I might try and walk tomorrow but I’ll wait and see. I was planning on going to the Roseville gym and the library. I have some books to return and a hold to pick up. The rain is supposed to stop later and tomorrow looks sunny so that may be the deciding factor.

Despite the rain, B and I went to Costco. He needed the protein drink and he wanted cereal too. We bought some of the sale items, dishwasher pods, and Swiffer dusters, and it seems there was something else on sale. We got a rug for the entry way as we’ve been using a towel and that gets old. I picked eggs, tofu, milk, bananas, and salad mix and they had microgreens which I love. This was a new item. Oh, we picked up the vegetable barley soup for an easy dinner.

Yesterday, I did most of my house chores, so today is an easy day. For dinner, I made brown rice, sweet potatoes, grilled tofu, and broccoli, and there’s enough for lunch today or even dinner if I add something extra.

I started reading another Baldacci series, the Camel Club. So far I like the characters and the plot. My son gave me a great Christmas present of 6 or 7 Baldacci hardcovers he got at the thrift store. They are in almost new condition. What a great gift. He always zeroes in on the right gift for people. Plus he said he didn’t want to buy anything new but used/thrifted. Very Cool. He found the graphic novel, “March” by John Lewis and others at the thrift store too, and that made a great gift to B.

We’re halfway through Hanukkah and I only did a card and cash for each person. The cash was only a $2 bill which believe it or not are very hard to find. So I’m definitely winding down the gift-giving which is my goal.

We finished the “Astrid” series and it was really good. Now we need to find a new series to watch. Does anybody have a recommendation?

Well, off to read.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, California, cancer, frugalism, Uncategorized by

It was raining heavily yesterday down to infusion. There’s more rain coming in this morning too. I think the pattern will continue for the next few days. This morning my daughter will take B to his PET scan. Unfortunately, it is in Sacramento, so there will be traffic and rain. This will be his last appt. till the video visit next week.

Frugal-wise, I went to Costco to get the coffee. Spending $14 at Starbucks for a pound is not something I want to do very often. So with that in mind, I bought 2 bags at Costco. It was very busy at 1pm, which is a time I rarely go. I’m usually there at 9:30 and there are fewer people. It was okay and I got it done. I spent $180 and $$25 of that was champagne. The rest was food and $20 for TP and Toothpaste. So food ended up $124 or so. It’s not too bad overall.

I don’t think I need much from the store next week unless it’s some salad stuff. That’s the week before Christmas so I want to avoid stores if I can. I’m making our traditional lasagna and I might do a small ham.

I was able to submit my LLS for insurance. What a blessing. My grant is less than half of what it was last year, so I’ll probably run out of funds before my next sign-up period. I think they have so many people applying that a smaller grant allows more people to get some funding. It is still a huge saving for us.

Today, I want to go through the fridge and clean it. I have the leftover turkey chili I need to freeze and there’s a small amount of black beans too. Since I’m home for the day I can tick off some things on my list.

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.