I'm still here!

Hi everyone

I'm still here. I've just been very busy. I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post. Between Jet Lag Savings Time (I always feel jet lagged for a whole week after we change the clocks) and work, I'm pooped. I've started treating my business like a job, so I've been getting up earlier (5:30) and my body's totally hating me for the lack of sleep. I slept well last night & woke up exhausted & with a monster headache this morning. I couldn't understand why, because I slept for 8 hours. Had an upset stomach and eventually decided to take a Tylenol for the headache (I rarely use any kind of pill, unless it's prescribed for an ailment). I'm about ready to go crawl into bed. 

I haven't been feeling well for weeks now and finally realised that it's my anemia. This is so strange, because I eat iron rich food and take a supplement daily. The problem though, is that I don't eat much. I'm a small woman and eat small portions (half an American sized meal, because that's how I've always eaten), so I know I'm not getting enough nutrients. I thought that maybe the supplement's not good anymore (I've had it for almost 2 years now, but it's good thru 2023). So I went to Sams for a new bottle and they didn't have any. Then I decided to just buy a multivitamin, cause I'm lacking B12 now too (sigh). The multivitamin does absolutely nothing for me. So I now need to eat a lot more red meat, because that's the best way to get iron. This means another increase in the grocery budget. I've made peace with the fact that grocery prices will continue to skyrocket. I try not to be shocked when I notice new increases, but alas...lol. It is what it is. Here's a few things I've done lately.

• Did Wags shopping only. I had $8 RR expire yesterday, cause I just didn't feel like going to the store. I know, it sounds crazy, but right now I'm just focused on work and feeling better. I haven't been to CVS in a while, because they're on my *&^# list. The last trip was so bad, half my CRTs didn't deduct. I was not happy. Thankfully I paid with a gc, but I was still not happy. This has never happened in all my years of shopping at CVS. 

• Paid 20c for an Eddie Bauer t-shirt, after my $10 reward. Earned 10c Rakuten, so my t-shirt only cost 10c. They sent me another $10 reward (because I redeemed the last one before a specific date). Now I'm just hoping they'll do another free shipping day. 

• Received a $30 WHBM semi annual reward that I also need to redeem by this weekend. There is absolutely nothing that I need, but I will find something to spend this on. I'm not going to throw away good money.

• Did a 2nd run to the produce market. The grocery stores didn't have any good produce deals, so the market was the best bet. It was again very pricey, but I had a light bulb moment. Most of the market items get cleaned and frozen, so most of it lasts for at least 3-6 weeks. After doing the math, I figured that I was only spending around $15 p/w if I only shopped once a month. That's actually a great number, since we eat lots of fresh food and we have all kinds of fruit. I'm always happy to find guavas, because I love that stuff (I grew up eating lots of tropical fruit). If you've never had any, please try it if you can ever find it somewhere. It's delicious!

• Cooked all our meals for the week on Sunday. 3 Hours in the kitchen and I cooked a big pot of meat sauce. I used some to make lasagna for dinner and froze 2 more portions for other meals. I didn't have any garlic bread, so I sauteed some garlic in olive oil, then toasted the leftover brioche rolls and topped it with garlic. Easy peasy.

• Also made chicken pot pie. I had leftover filling, so I picked up more pie crusts at Aldi and made mini pies for DS to grab on the go. A big pot of morrocan lentil soup, cranberry almond muffins, blueberry pancakes and waffles. I got a little smart. I now make up a big pancake batter, then turn on the waffle maker and my pancake pan at the same time (I have a griddle, but I prefer using my small pan on the stove, because it makes the perfect size pancake). Cooking both pancakes & waffles at once, reduces the time I have to spend cooking it separately. I also sauteed fresh mushroom, peppers & onions that we add to our eggs or omelets in the morning. 

• I've been having sticker shock at restaurants and fast food places. We do still get fast food when I'm too lazy to cook on Fridays (my day for sourcing inventory. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to fix anything for dinner). I knew that this would happen, due to gas & grocery increases, but it's still shocking to see. I hate paying that much, especially for things I can fix myself, because my food tastes better. So we're cutting way back on fast food again. I'm not skipping restaurants though. I'm picking up more pizzas at Sams on Friday and will add a salad. I saw they had pizzas on sale for $6.99 when I picked up vitamins, but DH was waiting in the car to go to dinner, so I couldn't wait at the cafe for them to bake the pizzas. 

• Bought a $100 dress for just under $10. Did I need the dress? Heck no! Did I want the dress. Of course...lol. That dress will go into the spare closet for a future event. Sound crazy? It might to some, but I know that when I need to go out, I'll just haul out my $10 dress. No need to go pay an arm and a leg for just one event. This is how I always shop. Trust me, that dress will come in handy sometime soon. I'm experienced at this...lol

Not much else to report. I hope everyone's healthy & warm. I'm already missing those 50/60s temps we had recently. It's gotten icy cold here again.