Cleaning

Today we did a lot of cleaning and I gathered up all the spare change I found around the house while cleaning and put it in our change jar. I found about $3! Gotta love when that happens.

Zombie Party

Tonight we went to a post apocalypse party at a friend's place and everyone was required to come in costume. We went as zombies (super cheap...the cost of some black make-up and fake blood and we were both in full costume!) and because it is only polite to bring something to a party but we don't have a lot of money to spend I bought a cheap Duncan Hines cake mix, some frosting, and some red food coloring and made a cake that looked like a brain. It was super cheap and everyone thought it was great so it went over well. Tomorrow we have free tickets to a show downtown called Defending the Caveman. I've heard good things about it so we are looking forward to it.

Eyebrows

I plucked my eyebrows yesterday. I let them get crazy bad before I realized that I did indeed need to do something about them. I was just distracted with all the slumlord drama and didn't make time to do it but yesterday I got my tweezers and my mirror and got down to it. I used to pay someone to wax my eyebrows but I can't afford to spend $15 every two weeks to get them done any longer so I just do it myself. I haven't gotten a hair cut in a while but I am not going to attempt to that myself. I will leave it to the professionals so I don't look like I got my hair caught in a wood chipper.

Food Freak Outs

Yesterday I microwaved my lunch at work and when I took it out of the microwave the container bumped the edge of the counter. This doesn't sound like a big deal, except that the force of it threw my lunch all over the floor. I ended up going to McDonald's for lunch and crying a little bit because I was so angry (about lots of things actually, not just the lunch, though that was the catalyst for the tears) but I got fed so it wasn't a big deal. Then this morning I put some oatmeal in the microwave and it swelled up, causing it to pour over the edge of the cup and all over the microwave turning plate. I stood there and looked at it for a minute before I just pulled the plate out of the microwave and scraped the oatmeal back in the cup. I microwaved it for another minute and monitored for spillage this time but I was not about to let the microwave beat me two days in a row. I also was not about to pay for a new breakfast when I had a breakfast already in front of me.

I'm Back Again

Our apartment has been a shambles. After the ceiling collapsed it decided to spew water into the apartment so we have been putting buckets and plastic sheets underneath it and arguing with our landlord about him letting us out of our lease. He stopped taking our phone calls and we had to contact a lawyer (a family member who helped us out for free!) to get him to even agree to come in and fix the problem. Then yesterday we had an inspector come out and look at the place AND we discovered partial flooding and new mold in the bathroom. We live in such a slum. :(

However, now that they are coming to repair the ceiling today and the place has been inspected we have a bit more time now so I can get back to updating the blog more regularly. I tried to make a delicious oatmeal recipe I found online for breakfast today but I used about 80,000 times more ginger than you are supposed to apparently and it burned the crap out of my mouth so I threw it out and ate shredded mini-wheats instead. I ate the malt-o-meal cereal instead of the Post or Kelloggs brand.

Yesterday we wanted to do something fun and cheap so we threw a blanket, a kite, and some chips and soda into a bag and invited some friends to a picnic in the park. We enjoyed the day immensely and now we are on the lookout for new kites so we can all have one. I found an adorable sponge bob kite on amazon but I haven't purchased one yet. I can't justify the money on a kite at this point.

Tangerines

When I peel an orange I use a spoon. I know it sounds weird but it keeps the peel from getting under my nails and it is just much easier than peeling it by hand. I tried to peel a tangerine this way and punctured halfway through the thing on accident, spewing deliciously scented juice all over my desk at work. I learned that the only way to peel a tangerine without using your hands is to quarter it with a knife and then remove the peel from each section. Rather than throwing it away after my messy experience I cleaned up my desk and ate it. It was tasty!

I got my book for my book club today. I ordered it on Amazon for like $3 so that was pretty awesome. It is a really good book so far too so I am doubly excited about the book club meeting this month.

Ceiling Trouble and Garlic

On Saturday our ceiling above our washer and dryer collapsed. Specifically it collapsed while I was under it and poured plaster and crap all over me. Now it is dripping water slowly into a bucket while we try to convince our landlord to let us out of our lease since this is the 7th flood in 12 months. First collapse though!

Tonight we went out to dinner in mourning of my fiance not getting the job he interviewed for two weeks ago. He felt bad and wanted something deep fried so we stopped and ate out. I got a cheap dinner special of 5 wings and fries and he ordered the fried flounder. We ended up spending $25 we didn't really need to spend but it was important for him to feel better ASAP so out we went. He is filing his taxes now and it looks like he is getting a decent refund of about $450 so we aren't too upset about the $25.

After dinner we got home and I realized we didn't have anything for lunches tomorrow (or for the rest of the week for that matter) and so I defrosted a pork roast in the sink and chopped up some potatoes, carrots, and celery and put them in the slow cooker then covered everything in cream of mushroom soup and now it is going to cook overnight while we sleep so that we have delicious lunches and we won't have to eat out again. I also took a head of garlic, broke it down into cloves, minced and froze the pieces so that I can avoid the problem I tend to have with garlic. Usually when I buy a head of garlic I use 3 or 4 cloves and then it rots. This way I get to keep the entire thing and make good use of it without any waste.

Bagel Day

On Fridays my office brings in bagels. Yum! I got a free breakfast and even brought home a spare for Ben to eat for breakfast. I made a brisket in the crock pot today while we were at work and it came out wonderfully tender and delicious. I knew if I didn't have something ready for dinner we would end up ordering pizza or something and spending money we don't need to spend so I made sure to put something in the crock pot this morning before we left for work. I am going to make omlettes for breakfast and we will have brisket for lunch tomorrow. Then we are going out to CT to see Ben's grandma for her birthday. We can't afford a fantastic present but she loves candy so we put together an easter basket for her. It was a cheap but fun present and honestly when you are 95 candy is an excellent gift.

Grocery List

I put together a grocery list today for when I go shopping on Saturday. I stuck to really affordable foods and we will still have plenty of variety in our diet and lots of meat. We should probably eat less meat but we are working on one thing at a time and right now for me that is putting in 45 minutes of exercise every day. Next month we are going to try to eat on $4 per day or less every day and see if we can do it. I think we should be able to do it with no problem!