Annual Eye Checkup

 A couple of weeks ago I received my postcard in the mail from my eye doctor reminding me it was time for my annual checkup. I had just received the good news that I was now eligible for health insurance coverage including dental and eye the day before. I immediately picked up the phone and gave the eye doctor a call to set an appointment. I have been paying out of pocket for all of my health needs and with severe eye problems (astigmatism in both eyes and very bad vision in my right eye) annual visits and keeping up with the correct prescription for my contacts is essential. My daughter in law M has the same insurance as I do and warned me that I'd be paying something out of pocket although there is no co-pay on the exam. I figured anything less than the $200 it usual costs me is a good thing.
I had two pieces of good news at the end of my visit. The first had to do with my actual vision, it seems my left eye astigmatism is correcting itself and my vision has improved as a consequence. This would explain why I felt my vision was worse in that eye when wearing my current lenses. They were now too strong for the eye! I was able to get regular contacts for that eye and toric lenses (to correct astigmatism) only for the right eye at a significant difference in cost.
My second piece of good news was that the total for my visit, eye exam plus a 6 month supply of lenses for both eyes came to a grand total of $78.  My monthly insurance premium of $78 is already paying for itself!!

November Grocery Shopping Part 2

 I am determined to get all of my grocery shopping completed for November (with a small possible stop for fresh produce before the holiday) this weekend.  I am looking forward to a November where once the monthly bills are paid I can turn my attention to the upcoming Christmas holiday with baking and shopping.
GF and I had a wonderful breakfast out at Marie Scrambler's, somewhere I'd never eaten before. I had a pumpkin stuffed French toast that was fabulous and which I can easily replicate at home.
Then we were off shopping. My adult son J who lives at home is in charge of buying all of the pet food we need as part of his living arrangements. He'd gone to the local Walmart as he usually does but they were totally out of the brand our dogs prefer. I'd mentioned a $6 off coupon I had for BJs for the same brand and he asked me to pick this up since the doggies are now totally out of food. GF had several items he needed to buy so BJ's was our first stop. While shopping on Friday I'd totally forgotten to buy milk and orange juice, two things we really needed. I think I may have a 'pre-cold', clogged sinuses in the morning and lots of sneezing all day long and I want to nip this in the bud before it becomes a full blown problem. I have a box of Coricidin HBP at home from last cold season that is still good but I'm holding out on that for worse symptoms than these. I got dog food ($29.99 minus $6 coupon= $24.99 for 37 lb. bag) and adult son J will reimburse me for this expense. I also picked up a dozen sponges for the cafeteria at school, another reimbursable expense for $10. Milk was $7 for the organic kind, a bottle of orange juice another $3, and I gave in to temptation and bought a 6 pack refill of Glade oil dispenser scents in holiday pine for the house for $9.99. I'd totally forgotten to get Halloween candy so I picked up a huge variety bag for another $12.
I still needed to run to Aldi so GF and I headed there. My total cost at Aldi was $158.69 but as anyone who shops regularly there knows that is a boat load of groceries. I spent $19.99 plus tax on a set of queen size flannel sheets for my bed that were on the special purchases table. I looked to see if they had twin and full size sheets as well for adult son, teen son, and college daughter but all that was left was queen and king. Flannel sheet sets are on all three kids Christmas lists. I will put out the word to all my adult kids who don't live at home to keep an eye out at the other Aldi locations for me for these.  I also spent $14.43 on nonfood household items and came home with two boxes of tissues, a box of trash bags, a box of large storage bags, a container of cotton swabs, and a box of toothpaste.
Food wise, for a cost of $124.21 I bought: 2 bottles ruby red grapefruit juice, 1 bottle 100% apple juice, 1 bottle cranberry-raspberry juice, 1  bottle 100% cranberry juice, 1 bottle 100% grape juice, 1/2 gallon of eggnog, 1 bottle organic wildflower honey, 1 jar coffee creamer, 4 bottles steak sauce, 2 bottles ranch dressing, 1 jar queso sauce, 3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, 1 dozen eggs, 3 heads garlic, 2 packs kielbasa, 1 bag honey ham, 1 bag string cheese, 1 box pierogies, 1 corned beef, 1 bag green grapes, 1 container hummus, 2 cans pumpkin, 3 lbs. bananas, 1 package Hawaiian sweet rolls, 1 package hard salami, 1 pack sliced cheddar, 1 pack sliced swiss,  1 block NY sharp cheddar, 1  block Colby cheese, 2 cans mandarin oranges, 2 cans evaporated milk, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans creamed corn, 1 box beef flavored rice mix, 2 packages cheddar brats, 1 bag pita chips, 1 box cherry poptarts (for GF, lol), 1 bag flour tortillas, 1 box taco shells, 1 bag tortilla scoop chips, 3 lbs. red grapefruit, 1 box Aldi 'cream of wheat' cereal, 2 bags kettle chips, and one box of the garden vegetable entertainment crackers.
My goal is to go until mid December without shopping for anything except fresh produce. Do-able I do think with all of the things I have stocked up at home and everything I purchased this month.

Goals for the week

  Although I am now used to the long work hours during the week I am finding that I am still not achieving enough at home. Weekends are spent with GF at his home (only time we get to see each other) in a nearby (30 minute drive away) town.  My bonus day off on Friday became mostly running around and no cleaning got done. I REALLY need to get it together and formulate a routine for myself so that the house gets the attention it needs. With this in mind this week I am giving myself some goals for the weekdays.

Mondays: I will de-clutter the main floor; clean kitchen including mopping the floor, dust, Swiffer, and vacuum the dining room and living room. I figure this should take about 90 minutes after we have dinner. I can accomplish these things while also keeping an eye on DWTS which I enjoy on Monday nights.

Tuesdays: I will de-clutter the upstairs hallway, sweep and Swiffer the staircase and upstairs hall; clean the bathroom ; do my laundry including sheets on my bed

Wednesday: Special cleaning day, this week  I will take down the dining room lace curtains and wash them; while they are washing and drying I will FINALLY put up the window insulation for winter in both the dining room and living room.

Thursdays: Free day to putz around or just catch up on DVR'd tv shows. This week is Halloween, I am going directly to son's house from work.

I am also thinking ahead to the week I have off at Thanksgiving time. My sister wants to go to PA and visit my MIL the weekend before Thanksgiving and we may do this but the rest of the week I want to get some Christmas baking started and the house shipshape for Christmas decorating. My holiday goal is to make this as stress free a holiday as possible. The last two years I have let the baking wait until the last minute (and by last minute I mean baking on Christmas morning), this will not happen this year. GF and I have already started talking about shopping and we do plan to get out on Black Friday for the terrific sales at a local outlet mall. We are also eyeballing sale ads for local stores and some of the kids have even given us gift ideas already which is very helpful. And I made our first official Christmas gift purchase last week when I bought two books for my 5 year old grandson at the Scholastic Book Fair at school!

Grocery shopping for November Part One

Having yesterday as a day off I decided to get out and get some shopping done. October is almost over and I have everything in the house I need to make dinners for the week. So I am going to call this shopping for November. I did half yesterday and will make an Aldi run tomorrow to finish up.
My first stop was GFS where I purchased a large bag of Garden Veggie Straws for snacking. College daughter and I have tried these at aftercare and enjoy them. I also picked up a box of English breakfast tea, a jar of Ham base, a bag of orrechetti pasta, a bag of Amish egg noodles, a bag of frozen capri blend veggies, a bag of frozen chopped spinach, and a bag of frozen Asian stir fry veggies. Total cost: $35.42.

My next stop was BJ's Wholesale Club. I stocked up on meat. I came home with a large whole boneless pork loin (which I cut into a roast, a 1 lb. bag of cubes, and 10 thick pork chops), a smallish whole eye of round (which I cut into a 1 lb. bag of stew meat and 7 thick steaks), a smallish rack of lamb (which became 7 lamb chops), a huge beef brisket which I cut in half, an 8  pound package of ground beef which I divided up into 4 2 lb. packages, a whole turkey breast, an 8 pack of tomato sauce (had a $1.50 off coupon), a large wedge of imported parmesano-reggiano cheese, a large carton of Goldfish crackers, two big bags of cheddar popcorn, a 12 pack of Chobani yogurt, a 6 pck of white and wild rice mix, 2 lbs of pecans (thinking ahead to holiday baking), a 4 pack of crescent rolls, 2 lbs cranberries, a 2 pack of organic butternut squash ravioli, a bag of fresh sauerkraut, and a half dozen apple cider doughnuts. Nonfood items were two boxes of Damp Rid bags ($9.99 a box, had a $7 off on purchase of two coupon), a bottle of Aleve (instant savings at the register of $3) and a large bottle of laundry detergent. Total cost: $ 262.43; $44.94 on nonfood items, the remainder $217.49 on food.
My final stop yesterday was a local farmer's market. I spent $32.01. I brought home 8 turnips, 6 large parsnips, 4 large red bell peppers, a small container of multi-colored cherry tomatoes, a bag of baby carrots, a bag of shredded carrots, 2 lbs. strawberries, 4 lemons, 2 english cucumbers, a large butternut squash, a large spaghetti squash, and a container of pitted dates.

I also took a couple of hours to spend some time with middle adult daughter and baby grandson L. We had a nice lunch at Aladdin's (a chain of organic middle eastern food restaurants) and a great visit. Baby L is smiling and cooing now and seemed so much bigger. A month without seeing him is a vast span of time in his little life. It felt good to reconnect.

November Dinner Menus

 Taking advantage of a day off from work (teacher inservice) I got busy and sat down and did my November dinner menus. I plan on doing a large grocery shopping trip today. It looks as if mid-month is going to be the best time for me to shop so I will be buying for the last week of October as well as for November today. Then next month I will do same, creating a new routine for myself.
I think I also have a good pattern for dinners as far as workdays are concerned basing them on either quickly assembled meals or the slow cooker. I have also planned Sunday suppers for large cuts of meat that I can then re-use at least once during the week and also provide GF with a meal mid-week. I have had some good conversations this week with an aftercare co-worker about a local CSA that she and her hubby have used this year. http://freshforkmarket.com/ I was impressed because it is not just produce, it is also locally sourced foods such as Ohio maple syrup for example, and local meats and cheeses. The package she had works out to $25 a week and after checking out their website I see a larger package works out to $40 weekly. I am seriously considering this for next spring. They have a winter package but it is primarily for the customers they already have. I'm liking what I'm hearing and what I see on their website.
In the meantime here are my menus for November. I am not trying any new recipes this month which for me is unusual. I am going with all tried and true. Menus using planned overs are in bold. Menus using the slow cooker are in italics and menus using meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less are underlined. I have the entire week of Thanksgiving off from work so I have planned menus we enjoy but take some time to make for that week. We have one more high school football/marching band night and have planned on taking out middle adult daughter for her birthday. And of course there is Thanksgiving which we will spend with family. It is bring a dish and I have yet to hear what my sister wants me to bring. I am doing a mini Thanksgiving style dinner though so we have planned overs (the only drawback to not hosting the day is the lack of leftovers) for Black Friday.

Shrimp Orzo skillet
salad

Cheddar Broccoli Soup
crescent rolls

Broiled pork chops
Cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes
corn

Sausage and Apple Kraut
Pierogies
green beans

Sun dried tomato & mozzarella sausages with peppers and onions
rice pilaf
broccoli with garlic and herbs

Swedish Meatballs
egg noodles
salad

Vermont Maple Chicken
White and wild rice
green beans

Herb encrusted eye of round
mashed potatoes
candied carrots

French Dip sandwiches
chips
coleslaw

Moroccan Lamb chops
couscous
peas with mint

Mediterraean Lentil Soup
rolls

Broiled salmon fillets
hash browns
coleslaw

Tacos with toppings
spanish rice

Chicken Marsala
Creamy parmesan rice
salad

Cranberry Pork Roast
scalloped potatoes
green beans

Mozzarella and Sun dried Pannini
salad

Broiled steak
beef rice a roni
broccoli

Texas style beef brisket
butter crumb egg noodles
brussels sprouts

Roast pork stir fry
steamed rice

Heather's garlic baked chicken
risotto
salad

Beef and Noodle Soup
fly off the plate rolls

Brown sugar baked ham
au gratin potatoes
Harvard beets

Roast turkey breast over stuffing
mashed potatoes
cranberry sauce
mashed brown sugar squash

Ham and Cheese bowties
salad

Spaghetti with Meatballs
Salad
garlic toast

Turkey in gravy over stuffing
cranberry sauce
potato pancakes
corn

Slub Glub (aka beef and macaroni)
salad

Dinners in under 30 minutes

  Dinners the last week have been almost entirely those that I can put together in under 30 minutes. I got a bit more creative over the weekend but also went off the menu plans for October.

The days here seem to run into each other and I have a hard time distinguishing one from another. I know that last week I made Pumpkin Sausage Penne for dinner one night, went off the menu plan and made chicken picata with white & wild rice and green beans another night, had salad from Wendy's on a third night and took my oldest son out to eat at an oldie but a goodie (his pick) Hometown Buffet on Thursday. Friday was football/band and Booster Dogs. It was Senior Band Night and my GF and I got to escort my youngest son across the field. A very nice evening although I got a bit teary-eyed at my baby being a senior.
Over the weekend the weather here was horrible, highs in the upper 40s and rain. Ugh. But Saturday was the perfect day for a bowl of chili. GF agreed and we had chili with his favorite side, Ritz crackers and sliced apples. Mini pies, apple for him and pumpkin for me rounded out the meal.

Sunday I made one of my favorite simple suppers, an all in one chicken/potato/green bean dish I've shared here previously that I found on Pinterest. I also baked a loaf of homemade bread on Sunday that I brough home with me.

Monday was a long day at work, when I got home though I again went off the menu plans. A discussion about CSAs with a co-worker that led to talk about squash then led me to the package of butternut squash ravioli still in the freezer from months ago. It looked ok so I pulled it and a 2 pack of pork chops out, broiled the chops with some applewood seasoning blend, made the ravioli and dressed it with a sage butter and added steamed broccoli and that was dinner. The leftover ravioli was my lunch yesterday. Last night I made yet another quick meal. I was home alone but decided to cook instead of just sitting down with a bowl of cold cereal which was my inclination. I put together a pot of homemade marinara sauce, cooked up some Barilla Plus spaghetti and added a simple green salad. After having been outside for almost two hours on playground duty with aftercare it was nice to have a hot supper.
Tonight I will go directly to the high school for an indoor band concert following work. I expect dinner to be grilled cheese sandwiches using cheese slices in the refrigerator and my homemade bread with a salad on the side.

Anticipating heating costs

With weather conditions reaching down into the high 40s this week first thing in the morning I have begun to think about some proactive measures to keep my costs as low as possible this winter. I have NOT turned the furnace on and so far have not had to light a fire in the fireplace. But my planning is in place and I will be taking steps in the next few days to get ready. The weather man is threatening us with the 's' word mid week. I'd rather be safe than sorry so I plan on taking some of this morning's cleaning job money and going to Lowe's. I need to pick up a new furnace filter and two window insulation kits. I have one unused one at home and Monday after work I will get started putting these up on the living room and dining room windows. I also plan on picking up a case of 'faux logs' at the wholesale club next weekend for the fireplace. In the meantime I will pick up a chimney cleaning log and use that first. 
The mini shop vac I own is going to be put to use vacuuming out the furnace so it is clean for the season and the new filter will be put in place.
Last weekend while out on a nice drive to a local orchard GF and I impulsively stopped at a garage sale and I picked up a really nice draft stopper for $1. I will use this in the dining room where the rear French doors are drafty. I also need to get adult son busy putting up strip insulation around this doorway . I will dig out the two draft stoppers I have for the front door and the side door and have those handy. All of the storm windows will come down and the screens will go up on both windows and storm doors.
And finally the shower curtain liner that hangs over the top of the basement stairs to prevent drafts from the side door immediately hitting the furnace will be replaced with a heavier version than what I currently have hanging up.
I am determined to make it to November before turning on the furnace but if  Mother Nature doesn't co-operate I will be ready.

Health Insurance

  I recently discovered that one of the perks that come with working longer hours at my school comes with me now being eligible for benefits, life insurance, health insurance, dental, and eye! With the exception of a few months when I was suffering at a bank teller's job I have been without any health insurance since my husband passed away almost 17 years ago. The children qualified through our state's healthy choice program until about two years ago when with no explanation at all they were no longer eligible. Several weeks of frustrating calls and emails yielded no reasonable reason why this was and I just gave up. I have paid out of pocket for all medical expenses since then. Fortunately we are a relatively healthy bunch and our family practitioner has reasonable rates. Free/reduced prescriptions at local pharmacies and  in the case of my accident last year a program for 'needy' patients at the Clinic has gotten us through.
The only drawback to this perk is the out of pocket premium cost for a family plan. order to afford it in our budget we'd have to do one of two things, stop eating or I could stop sleeping and get a fourth job to cover the cost. This is not practical. However I can easily afford the individual plan so I chose that option. As for the kids, college age daughter can get coverage through her college and we are looking into this. Youngest son will soon be 18 and able to get an individual policy through one of the 'exchanges' available under the Affordable Care Act until he too graduates and goes to college. In the meantime I will cover any expenses he may incur out of my pocket.
Of course my policy comes with co-pays and all kinds of policy rules about providers etc. but I expected this. I will continue to be frugal in my health expenses preferring to practice preventative measures. I will though be taking advantage of that eye coverage at my next annual eye exam. Whatever it costs will still be less than paying the full amount for the exam and new contact lenses out of my own pocket!

Electricity Bill Issues

 It seems that the season of 'estimated' billing has begun with my electricity company. After several months last spring where I read and submitted my meter reading myself the electric company FINALLY starting sending their meter reader around to actually read my meter (the self readings came after almost 9 months of estimated bills) and I thought this problem was taken care of . Until I received my October bill which was once again about $40 over what I thought it should be and then realized it was <sigh> estimated. What to do?
Well I sent off an email to the power company. I explained that I understood that estimates are based on the previous year's bill for the same time period. In my case that previous bill was an estimated bill based on an estimated bill for the year before and so on and so on. I also explained that if they took a look at my account they would see that they'd so overestimated my usage last year that I had  one month where I owed no money and another where the rest of the credited amount took care of over half the usage billed. I then told them that based on my actual usage for months with similar weather conditions etc. I would be sending them an estimated payment and that I would be doing my own meter reading for the next billing period. I then paid 2/3 of the amount due (which I thought was still slightly high).
The power company responded with an email inviting me to read my meter immediately and submit the reading for a revised bill. I responded by informing them that a meter reading seven days into the next billing period would not accurately reflect my usage for the previous month. I am still happy to read the meter for the next billing period if they are unable to send a meter reader out.
I have not heard back from them and still have power.

Where has the time gone?

  I cannot believe it has been almost three weeks since I had some time to sit down and visit. The time has just flown past with work and life events.
I'm not going to get into a review of the finances right now, I will save that for the end of the month.
Suffice it to say that I have been busy picking up things for home improvements including this brand new light for the front porch: . I have gotten all my fall/Halloween decorations up both outside and inside. I have replaced the Damp Rid bags in the cellar once again and am finding them effective in keeping that area dry and smelling fresh. I had the dryer repaired (GF did it for free). We got ahold of a like new washer & dryer set from a friend of adult son but did not need them so we donated both to two family members who were in need. That felt really good to pass that along.
I have also had to have some maintenance work done on my SUV, the oil and oil filter have been changed, the rear brake pads replaced, and last weekend I had 4 brand new all weather tires put on. It was very costly ($782) but as my GF reminded me we put our lives on those tires every day they need to be quality.
We have had several celebrations, both college age daughter and my oldest son had birthdays (she turned 19 and he turned 30) so dinners out for those. Band season continues for youngest son so Fridays are dedicated to that. I continue to work my twice a month cleaning job on alternate Saturday mornings although I did have to tell my house cleaning employer that I was just too darned busy to fit her in anymore. The two Saturdays a month I have free I need to get things accomplished, like house cleaning, appointments, grocery shopping.  We  have also done some fun activities, a local festival parade that youngest son was marching in, and a day spent last Sunday at two local orchards picking apples and enjoying the sights and smells of the season.
During the week once I reach home it has been dinner prep and cleanup and then small chores like laundry, daily cleaning, and some relaxation in front of the tv. After 6 weeks of working these new extended hours I have to say I think I have gotten a grip on that. My next goal is to carve out time to spend here during the week because I have missed this.