Frugal Friday

Today for the first time I"m participating in Frugal Friday. 

I don't know if this idea is new to anyone else, but it was new to me about a year ago.  I have quite a few pets, and I was having to change my filter for my central heat/AC quite often.  I decided, "Why not try vacuuming out the pet hair and dust that has accumulated?  That way, I can stretch the filter for a couple of months instead of twice *a month*. 

Before:

And, *after*:

Does anyone else vacuum their filter to make it last longer?

Cats on Tuesday

Cats on Tuesday are cat lovers who write about their kitties once a week, on Tuesday.  For more cat tales, go to Gattina's.

I decided to try my hand at a couple of videos this week.  Don't forget to turn up the volume!  The first is of my boy Thumper:

The next is Lovey and Thumper "arguing":

And, some still shots:

It was time Sunday night for the dogs to go to bed, but looks like  Snowflake, a.k.a, Goldilocks, decided it was a bed fit for a princess:  HER!  (She had been sleeping in it all day and I had to get my son to get her out so the dogs could go to bed!!)

Also, another shot of the white and black cat (Minnie) and the black and white one (Thumper) because I rarely get them together:

Mexican Skillet

For more good cheap eats, go to http://www.goodcheapeats.com/

My son loves Mexican food, and in searching the web for an EASY recipe, I came upon this from Libby's.  It needed to be a recipe that I could *stretch* for several meals.  Since I am on weight watchers, I didn't want to calculate the points for this, so it is all for him. 

After his scoop taken out, it still made enough for 3 more meals, which I put in the freezer in single serve containers.

Here is the recipe if you want to try it:

• 1 can of black beans, drained (I had some in the freezer; they freeze really well.)
• 1 can chili beans, drained (I did not have these.)
• 1 container olives (I did not have.)
• 1 lb. hamburger
• flour tortillas (I used 6.)
• 1 jar salsa
• 2 cans refried beans (I economized and used 1.)
• 1 pk. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 container sour cream (I did not use this since he doesn't like it.)
• I threw in a can of diced green chilis I had

Brown hamburger in a  skillet, add black beas, chili beans, salsa, and olives.  Continue cooking until hamburger is completely cooked, set aside.  Place 3 tortilla wraps on bottom of 9x13 pan.  Spread a layer of refried beans and then hamburger mixture over wraps.  Add cheese, repeating layers as many  times as ingredients allow.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with sour cream.

In Remission

Today, July 11, marks my three years since I have been in cancer remission.  You can read about it here1 and here  Even though I ended up going through 6 months of chemo as a precautionary measure, the oncologist told me I was in remission from the time of my colon cancer surgery on July 11, 2007.  It is a miracle because the tumor had perforated the colon wall, which was what was causing the severe pain.  Any natural thought would be that the cells had spilled into the bloodstream, then.  They had not, though.  The cancer was confined to that area.  Praise be to God!  He never left me. 

Target:Saved 46%

Shelf cost for this was $26.73.

After B1G1F Sobe coupons, 1.50 off Digiorno, .60 off Old El Paso, and a B1G1F Bear Naked coupon, I paid $14.52

Poor Miles!

Poor Miles!  Caught in the closet with Humpty Dumpty and Thumper (behind him through the clothes)

Cats on Tuesday

Cats on Tuesday are crazy cat lovers who write about their furry babies on Tuesdays.  For more, go to Gattina's.

Regular readers of my COT know that Humpty Dumpty and Thumper are blood brothers.  Their closeness often results in a bath-time session:  (HD was minding his own business ASLEEP when his brother jumped up and decided he was DIRTY.)

Below:  Lovey liked the feel of the dog bed and did not mind Buddy coming in until Buddy swished his face with the fluffy dog tail.

Below:  Minnie has taken over my computer chair.  I don't know what kind of acrobatics she was trying here.

Finally, below is my Snowflake.  My son does NOT like her for a few reasons:  1.  She's all white.  2.  She has a blue and a green eye.  3.  She's stuck-up (really, she is!)  So, he did this to annoy her:

.24 @CVS

So, on the way to church Sunday I stopped in CVS to snag some deals.  Here is what I got for .24.

• Crest:  2 for  $4.98
• Pantene Conditioner:  $5.99

Total Before ECBs and coupons:  10.97  (not counting tax)

Total after coupons and ECBS:  $.24

60.42% Savings @Publix

This represents $49.11 worth of groceries for .....$19.44.  Here is the breakdown:

• 
  
  Reynold's Wrap:  2 for $4.29:  used 2 coupons totaling 2.15, making them 2.14 for 2
• 
  
  Mueller's Spaghetti:  2 for $1.29:  used a $1.00 coupon making them .29 for 2
• 
  
  Morning Star Farms Grillers:  2 for $3.99:  used 2 $1.00 coupons making them 2 for $2
• 
  
  French's mustard:  2 for $1.69:  used 2 coupons worth .80 making them 2 for .89
• 
  
  Chicken of the Sea Salmon:  1.85 each:  used 2 $1.00 coupons making them .85 each
• 
  
  I did not have coupons for the corn (10 for 1.49 for my DAD), wraps,organic chicken, oil, flour, or Arnold Thins (B1G1FRee)

That is a savings of 60.42%

****Publix accepts competitors' coupons, so I used a $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon, too!

Saved 48% @Bi-Lo

I went to Bi-Lo today and came home with $60.92 worth of groceries for $32.97. The following were FREE:  6 pack of Pepsi, Pepperidge Farm cake, Totino's Pizza Rolls, Garlic Bread,  1 pack of fish, and Hershey's milkshake.  This probably represents 10 meals for us with the fish, pizza, and organic ground beef.