Layout:
Home > Another Update

Another Update

December 28th, 2015 at 06:42 pm

So yesterday I did some shopping and exchanging. My mom had bought both DH and I pairs of pajama pants from Kohl's - his were too small, and mine weren't even close to something I would wear these days (my mom's understanding of the things I like froze about 10 years ago). She didn't give us gift receipts, and I wouldn't have known where she got them had the price tag not been left on one of them. But I figured I'd stop and see. I was able to exchange his for the smaller size, and I got a $7 store credit for mine. It was busy and I didn't feel like searching for too long, so I found a pair of Lauren Conrad leggings on a rack that said $9.99. When I brought them up she said it would be $8 after the credit. ugh. Despite saying it was on a rack with other pairs, I just decided to pay the extra and get out of there. In the end, I really love them and they're super comfortable. So no big deal.

Also hit Trader Joe's for a few items. Some frozen veggie and gnocci dishes, and coffee. I decided to give the reusable k-cup thing a try and see if purchasing the delicious Ethiopian blend that I grind there will be cheaper per cup than buying the regular cups from Aldi. I know the coffee is better, and not throwing the cups away is better for the environment. If it's actually cheaper, then it'll be a no brainer. I'll be putting a tally on the can for each cup I use.

The reusable k-cup I also purchased yesterday, from Target, for $15. As well as my Moleskine notebook that I'll use as my journal for 2016. They have always and forever been my favorite. And a $5 phone case. Mine had broken.

Made chicken paprikas for dinner. Delicious, and we'll have leftovers for days. Tonight and tomorrow we'll be eating dinner with friends out of the house. I do need to hit Aldi today or tomorrow to get a few ingredients for dinners the rest of the week, as well as food to prepare for NYE. We will be hosting, and I'm really excited to have our small group over.

***

Got my new debit card in the mail for our joint account. So I can start using that. We do still need to start funneling money into it, though. DH will switch his automatic deposit and I'll have to link my business account to the new one so I can start transferring my income that way - though most of my income from now until April will go toward that tax bill, so it may be a while...

Also got a $50 check in the mail from USPS, an insurance claim payout. They had damaged a lens I sold. I'm a little surprised and impressed with how quickly they resolved that. The camera I sold is on its way back to me - the woman that purchased it (as I sort of expected) decided she didn't like it, and wanted a refund. Ugh. I agreed to refund minus the cost of the shipping I spent. But now I have to go through the process of selling it again. It looks like I have an interested buyer through Craigslist, so I might try and go that route once I get it back. Sigh.

***

In other financial-ish news, I joined a Dietbet for the next month, so I'm looking forward to (hopefully) losing some weight and if so making a little bit of money from it. Goodness knows I need *something* to motivate me. Why not extra cash? Smile

***

Tonight is our gift exchange within our little friends group. We decided to do a Secret Santa this time around, and it should be a fun time. I'm excited to see everyone. It's always nice when we all get together. I call them my Lakewood family, because they really are like family (the way I like to think of family), and we all live in the same city. I'm not sure that will ever happen again in our lifetime, with little ones coming into the picture in 2016 and people dispersing a bit. But we really enjoy the proximity and the relationships we've built. It almost feels like the end of an era.

Hope you all are having a lovely Monday!

9 Responses to “Another Update”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    1451333181

    Could you share your chicken paprikas recipe? I recently made a vegan chicken-y meat substitute that turned out really well, and I'd like to try it in different things. (So far I've done a coconut curry and fried it breaded southern-style.)

  2. pjmama Says:
    1451336166

    Of course! Here's the link:

    http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/hungarian-chicken-paprikash-chicken-and-dumplings.html

    If you're doing a meat substitute, then I would add a bit more oil to it, and bump up the seasoning as well. So much of the flavor comes from the chicken. If you need it to be completely vegan, you'll have to figure out the eggs in the dumplings and the sour cream - but I'm sure you have better substitution options than I would suggest Smile Coconut curry and fried sounds fantastic! When I was a veggie finding a good chicken substitute was such a blessing.

  3. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1451350263

    Reusable kcup is something I also have been wanting to get

  4. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1451358354

    If I have money left in my grocery budget at the end of January, I plan on hitting up Trader Joe's. I had lunch at a church members home a few weeks ago, and she had these delicious veggie potstickers that she'd gotten there. Nom nom!

  5. pjmama Says:
    1451404216

    @FrugalTexan: That sort of thing is what I go to TJ's for the most. I'll have to look into the potstickers next time Smile I'd recommend trying the individual frozen Indian dinners (I love them for lunches) or the green chile and cheese tamales. So good!

  6. debt-free by thir-ty Says:
    1451410967

    I was considering whether to do month-to-month Dietbets or a Transformer to motivate me for the wedding.

    That recipe sounds delicious! I may try that soon.

  7. rob62521 Says:
    1451444658

    Yum on your recipe! Thanks for sharing!

  8. pjmama Says:
    1451487306

    @Debt-Free: I haven't tried a transformer, but I think it sounds like a great challenge! I do remember wishing I would have lost a bit more weight for my wedding (I really didn't try at all). Now I'm hoping to lose some for the honeymoon! haha.

    @Rob: Anytime! It's really so delicious.

  9. ceejay74 Says:
    1454293311

    OMG, I made this tonight. I used homemade chikn-style seitan (wheat meat), store-bought tofu sour cream, and I found a vegan dumpling recipe that just used flour, oil, salt, soymilk and turmeric. We invited our friends up because it made a huge batch, and everyone loved it and had seconds. I made peas and carrots on the side so it wasn't just a big starchfest. Wink We have leftovers for lunches too! Thanks for the tip.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]