Ferdie
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Posts posted by Ferdie
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We did a DIY kitchen remodel in our previous home for under $15K. We ended up painting our existing cabinets since we couldn't afford new ones. We did all the work ourselves, except the plumbing and electricity. The break out was something like this:
Recessed lighting, circuit box upgrade and electrician $2K
Paint cabinets, new hardware, crown molding and add pull-outs $1K
New appliances $5K
Sink, faucet and plumber $1K, (installed dishwasher too)
Granite counters $3K
New flooring $1.5K
Bar stools and misc $500
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I think you're right and dh is wrong about the above. We pay our mortgage, but also have to set aside hundreds of dollars each month in preparation for home repairs. We know that in the fall the roof will have to be fixed. Last year the heater had to be fixed. We didn't just expect the money to magically appear--we save hundreds every single month in preparation for the major repairs that will inevitably come up.
You have to add $200-$300 a month (or more) on top of a mortgage payment, in preparation for home repairs.
:iagree: Plus property tax and insurance. I was shocked at the expense of property tax in TX. About 3% of purchase price since we don't have state taxes.
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We use our emergency fund all the time for car repairs, plumber bills, medical emergencies and home repairs. Last month it was $100 hospital co-pay when my dd fell off a golf cart at her cousin's house. This month it was $180 to replace a part on our AC unit. There is always something.
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it's your birthday. you can do whatever you want :)
Really, the ugliest scenes we've ever had at our house occurred on birthdays and holidays.
Wonder why that is?
and Mother's Day and Father's Day.
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Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3 - starting at:
" Give thy no tongue..."
Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene i - Portia speech starting at:
"The quality of mercy is not strained:"
As You Like It - All the World's a Stage
Sonnet 18
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I have another question. I just joined WW today. Is the Smart Ones Frozen meals ok as far the amount of sodium. I have tasted one of the meals today and I can say that it did taste good. I am also going to be eating Progresso Soup for lunch with the WW point values on the can. I felt so ashamed when I weighted in today. I am the same size I was back in 2007 when I was six months pregnant with my 3rd child. I am tired of being embrassed and I don't want to be in any of my family photos. Please pray for me. I will be praying for all of you too. I am doing a big lifestyle change and it is going to take some adjustment. Thanks Susan
Hi Susan,
I had one more suggestion for you. I lost 20 lbs on WW and am a lifetime member now. It really works.
For diners I used e-mealz.com meal planning service. It runs around $1.50 per week for 7 recipes and a grocery list. The recipes are super easy - mostly 5 ingredients or less. They have a points version so you don't have to bother calculating points for your dinner since they are listed on the menu plan. I used the Walmart points plan and we had leftovers many days which I used the following day for lunch.
My other favorite lunch is Morning Star burger, (mushroom lovers is good) with tomato, lettuce, non-fat mayo on a sandwich thins, (round bread in deli section). Total of 3 points and is very filling.
Good luck!
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I find this so odd and am wondering if other kids to this. My ds earned $5 a few weeks ago. He spent the money at Target on a package of frozen mini-tacos, 2 containers of Pringles and a soda. A few week later he earned $15 the hard way, weeding a garden in the TX heat. He went out and spent part of it on queso dip, tortillas and a 6-pac of soda at Walmart. Do you think that is unusual?
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Not sure, but as adult I switched to oil-free products and my acne went away. Most cosmetics lines have an oil-free version which will be listed on the container.
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I love cushions but we have sudden rain showers in Dallas so leaving the cushions out didn't work out for us. We also don't have a good place to store cushions, (two car garage and spiders in our storage shed). Our patio furniture is the type that doesn't need cushions.
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I keep flushable wipes under the bathroom sinks. My kids use a wipe each morning to wipe down their counter and toilet seat. It takes them 2 minutes and has made such a difference.
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College of the Ozarks is 2 miles north of Branson. They have a free, self-guided tour that includes a working mill, jelly kitchen and dairy. Since the students work on campus to off set their tuition there are many students on campus during the summer. They also have an interesting museum at the back of the campus, (Roy Foster - I think). The restaurant in the lodge is excellent.
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Thanks everyone! I just made up something this morning (although it was remarkable similar to one posted) and it was delicious. I was worried that the green flavor would be too strong or add a funky undertaste, but I didn't even notice it. I threw in a cup of spinach, a cup of blueberries, half a banana, and a couple tablespoons of water and blended.
I'm going to have to try these other ideas. Coconut milk, hmmmm? I do love me some coconut.:D
Is it ok to use canned fruit? I was thinking things like pineapple that we rarely have around fresh and can't find frozen.
I use canned crushed pineapple and it tastes great.
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I think spinach is the most mild of all the greens so I would start with that. Costco sells organic baby spinach for the price of regular spinach at the grocery store.
I use 1/2 cup base, (milk, soy milk, rice milk or coconut milk), 1/2 cup water and 3 handfuls of baby spinach and blend. Add frozen fruit and stevia to sweeten. Blend again and enjoy. If your fruit is not frozen you will want to add some ice cubes. Makes one adult or two children size servings.
Some great combinations are strawberries and banana, mango and coconut milk, pineapple and coconut milk, chocolate and strawberries, and blueberries and raspberries.
Enjoy!
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Then it's time for DH to start cooking his own meals.
It's unfair and inappropriate to expect the whole family to eat the specialty diet he wants or to expect you to prepare special meals for him three times a day.
:iagree: I probably wouldn't try to put your whole family on ETL.
One idea would be to subscribe to a super simple menu planning service to use with the rest of your family. E-mealz.com would be good because their dinner prep is about 15 minutes which would give you extra time to make something for your dh. Also since they shop store specials, a week of dinners cost about $75 for a family of six which would give you extra money to buy his special items.
I would also encourage your dh to make his own breakfast, (how about a green smoothie) and lunch, (maybe leftovers from dinner). My dh makes his own breakfast and his is okay with that.
You could also get a vegetarian crockpot cookbook from the library, (Robin Robertson has one). If you made a recipe early in the day when you have more energy you could also use it as a side dish with an e-mealz.com entree. I made her No Hurry Vegetable Curry last night and two of my kids went back for seconds. There was also a large bowlful leftover for lunch today. Yum!
You can do this!
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I have seen it but not tried it. I have gotten them hooked on WW oatmeal pancakes so there is no turning back to the cheap junk now!
Will you post your recipe? Pretty, please!!
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Where did you find the sample menu? I was looking for it. Thanks!
Click on the attached file, "US winter mailer sample.pdf" in the first message:
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I use cookingtf.com and it's been pretty awesome. It is geared toward gluten-free, in season, whole foods and there are optional/substitute items.
Comes with the menu for 6 days plus 1 dessert, grocery list, a weekly glance to-do list to help prep, and the prep & cook time is right on the menu.
It's been great and the food has been pretty tasty. There hasn't been a single processed item yet.
Thanks for posting this link. I looked at the sample menu and it looks great. I think I might try this menu planning service as soon as it cools off enough to turn my oven back on.
Thanks!
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I used e-mealz for a year and loved it. I stopped my subscription for the summer since I don't use oven during the hot TX summer. I can't wait until it cools off enough to start my subscription again. I really miss it.
I have used other menu planning services, (sixoclockscramble and savingdinner). The nice thing about e-mealz is that all the recipes and grocery list print out on two sheets of paper and the meal prep is very simple, (most recipes under 15 minutes to prep). I also thought my grocery bill was less expensive than when I tried the other two services.
I have tried the low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian and points option with e-mealz. The think the points option has the healthiest meals. I also tend to tweak a little by using whole grain pasta, brown rice and whole grain bread. I also refuse to buy Velveta cheese which they use a least once a month. The program comes with 7 recipes, one of which is a crock pot recipe. One recipe is usually some type of brunch dish which my kids love since we rarely used to have Sunday brunch.
Overall I think the meals are okay, but the ease and prep time are wonderful and make it worth while. My dh said the meals are okay but not so great that we overeat - so since we are both trying to watch our weight I guess that is another plus.
If you search on these boards under e-mealz you will find various opinions.
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What a cutie!
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Home Depot has a free, 3 hour DIY tile class, so you might want to check with your local hardware store to see if they offer something similar. Their suggestions were to lay the tile out dry first to find the right spacer size. Also our instructor said to use the smallest spacers possible for the smallest grout lines, (easier to maintain).
Our bathroom was small so I didn't rent a wet saw. I used a grease pen to mark the tiles that needed intricate cuts and took them to our local hardware store. They made the cuts with their wet saw - very inexpensive. I bought in inexpensive cutter for straight lines which worked great.
Also our bathroom was on the second floor so we had to put down a special board over the plywood. It was really hard to get the screws flat, but not a good idea to tile over an uneven floor. So if you have that situation make sure you allow extra time to set the subfloor right.
Can't wait to see you pics.
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I think you dress plans sound perfect for your children. For boy's dress shoes the thrift shoes or second hand clothing stores usually have a great selection. With the holiday season coming up they might get more than one wearing out of them too.
Do you have any friends that would cut your boys hair for you? When my boys were young I cut their hair, (while they watched TV) with Wahl clippers. The four blade for the sides and 8 blades on top. So easy.
Have fun at the wedding!
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When my dd had a tea party birthday, we went to the thrift stores and got a dozen or so teacups for about .25 each. We had the option for iced tea or fruit juice for their cups. We also picked up different hats at the thrift store and let them dress up.
We did the dress up thing too. Before the tea party the girls went on a treasure hunt, (with clues) and in the treasure box were rings and bracelets from the dollar store, and boas from the fabric store. So fun!
My dd's tea party was a butterfly theme so we had the girls each decorate a butterfly cardstock cut out as they arrived. They hung them in the dining room as decor and took them home as their craft. They also decorated cupcakes as a craft, too.
Our menu was chicken salad sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, deviled eggs, chocolate dipped stawberies, small fruit kabobs and heart-shaped short bread cookies.
Have fun!
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I like them together. I would put the larger one on the left hand side and you need to bring them down lower - like 5-6" off the top of the loveseat. Then I would hang the other one on the right centered horizontally off the larger pic. Hang them close together too - like an inch or two apart.
Great furniture, colors, floor by the way. I love your room!
Here is an excerpt about picture hanging height:
"5"-9" above large pieces of furniture like a sofa or headboard or above the objects on a table or console. When in doubt, go low. Hanging them too high makes for strained necks and the infamous floating effect that vexes so many of our readers.
If you're like me, once an idea pops into your head, your instinct is to accomplish it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately when it comes to picture-hanging that impulsive tendency often translates into lots of nail holes and awkwardly hung frames. The easiest way to get it right the first time is to cut out templates of the frames and hang them in place with masking tape so that you can step back and get the full effect. This is especially effective if you're hanging a group of frames. I would only add that using masking tape rather than nails may save you a few nail hole mistakes."
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What a great website. I would love to make the simple spa bench for our bathroom.
Neat!
What's the weirdest present?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted · Edited by Ferdie
:lol::lol::lol::lol: at the Cracker Barrel comment.