July Grocery Shopping - Week 2

Week 2 Groceries

I did a mini-grocery shopping trip, on Saturday.  I went to the dollar store next to the pharmacy for convenience.  All I really needed were bananas and lettuce, but I also wanted bagels and more yogurt (@$.50).  I also bought two bags of the freeze dried peach slices for daughter (one of her favorite snacks) and I bought a can of chicken to try.  A recent pantry check had revealed that while I had several cans of fish (tuna and mackerel), I didn't have many cans of meat (just one can of corned beef).  If there is an emergency such as a major earthquake, I am probably going to get tired of eating canned fish!  So, I'll make something with this can of chicken and, if I decide I like it, I will buy a couple more to keep on hand.

I bought:

1 container of 4 assorted baby lettuce = $1.00
2 bags freeze dried peaches @ $1.00 = $2.00
1 can chunk white chicken = $1.00
2 containers yogurt, @ $.50 = $1.00
1 bag (6-ct) everything bagels = $1.00
1 lb. bananas (3 bananas) @$.49/lb = $.49
Total = $6.49

7/7 Grocery Receipt

July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over-spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21 + $6.49 = $33.70
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $33.70= $62.52

I had a bagel with cream cheese (on one half) and butter (on the other half) for brunch.  I might send the rest of the package home with my daughter. 

There are leftovers for various meals in the fridge - still some meatball curry, half of the fish steak I cooked on Wednesday (we might have that for our dinner, tonight), one more piece of the baked chicken drumsticks, ham cold cuts, some cooked vegetables (corn, cabbage, broccoli), and tuna salad. 

Once those leftovers are finished, I will make a stir fry with the smoked sausage I have in the freezer.  I still need to cook the okra I bought, the green beans, the zucchini, etc.  As soon as it gets cool enough to actually cook!  I do have a table fan set up on the kitchen counter, but I prefer not to cook when it is so hot.

That's my "meal plan" for the week!

Did you go grocery shopping, this week?  Have you made a meal plan?  What are some of your favorite meals when it is hot?

Saturday: Day 3

Today's outfit was inspired by a Pokemon named Espeon, who has lilac fur, a forked tail, tufted ears, and a red jewel on its forehead:

Day 3 Costume

She bought the dress using a gift card she received for Christmas (she will wear it as a regular dress, as well) and made the ears out of an empty cereal box and hot glued them to a hair band that came in a package of 5 from the dollar store.  She did buy the fabric to make the tail, which I sewed for her and attached to the dress with a few stitches (I will remove the stitches and tail, so she can wear the dress at other times).  It is another very low cost costume.

We "slept in" a bit, today, and woke up at 8:30 a.m.  However, we didn't leave the house till after 10:00 a.m.  This time, I drove her to the convention center, itself.

The Convention Center

I took a couple of pictures of the convention center and some of the attendees while I was at a stop light, waiting for people to cross the street. 

Anime Expo Attendees

It was already hot (in the 90s) when we left in the morning!  On my way back, I put gas to the car ($3.45/gal; I put $40 worth of gas), went to the bank, went to the pharmacy, and did some grocery shopping at the dollar store (I will do a separate on that).  It was 106F outside, when I came home just before noon.  But, only 86F inside the house; a 20 degree difference!

86F at noon (inside the house)

I ate a banana and made some tuna salad and ate that on crackers for lunch.  Later, I snacked on grapes and then, I had a little ice cream.  By that time, it was getting hotter inside the house:

92F

When it is 90+F inside the house, it is time for a little ice cream!  I was also drinking plenty of ice water, as well.

After that, I took a nap!

In the evening, around 7:30 p.m., I watered the front garden.  It was getting cooler, by then, so it was pleasant.  It was still hot inside the house, however, as it takes a while to cool down (I can't open all the windows and the sliding glass door to help cool out the house faster, because I don't have screens on most of them and I don't want Dancer to go outside through open doors and windows; fixing screens is yet another thing on my to do list that I haven't got around to doing!)

Scorched Grape Vine

My poor grape vine didn't fare too well in the heat!

I took a shower to cool off after I came inside and then, did a load of laundry.  Friend F called and I chatted to her for a bit; she mostly called to ask for a ride to the monthly prayer gathering, next weekend.  She doesn't drive on the freeway, so she will drive to my house and go with me. 

Daughter texted a little after 10:00 p.m. to say she was heading to the shuttle pick up area.  She got to the hotel a little before I did, but she was able to wait inside the lobby until I got there.  We chatted for awhile and she showed me the pictures she took, etc.  Then, she headed off to bed as she was very tired.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter had another wonderful day at the Anime Expo
- Safe drives to and from
- An afternoon nap
- I didn't lose power at my house (several thousand households were without power, today)
- Cooler temperatures in the evening.

It is 2:30 a.m. now and the house has cooled down to...86F, again!  Time to close up the windows and get ready for bed. 

How was your Saturday?  Is it a bit cooler where you are or is it as hot?   

Friday - Anime Expo Day 2

Today's costume was based on the theme of a Japanese maid (as in housemaid).  According to my daughter, a Japanese maid costume was supposed to be more "innocent" and "cute" than a French maid costume, which is supposed to be more sexy!  Indeed!  I am all for innocent and cute!  LOL.

In Costume

According to my daughter, a Japanese maid "cosplay" (i.e. costume play) costume, if purchased, could easily cost upwards of $20, although its dress would likely have a full, gathered skirt and puff sleeves.  Daughter's version is a more casual take on the costume and much less expensive!

Her dress cost $5.99 and she actually bought it to wear as a regular dress, as she had bought a similar dress (but in a patterned fabric) earlier and loved the style.  The idea of wearing it as a Japanese maid costume occurred to her only afterwards.

But she needed a frilly apron to go with it (the apron I had made for her 4 years ago, for another costume, wasn't quite what she wanted, and that apron was a bit too small for her now).  I sewed the apron from leftover fabric in my stash, so the apron didn't cost anything other than time and the electricity to run the sewing machine and for ironing.

Apron Front

Apron Back

Her cat ears are what she already had as she bought them several years ago during a visit to Disneyland (they are the ears of Marie, the little white kitten in Aristocats).  I don't remember how much she paid for them, I think about $6.00?   She was in high school at the time and she went as a guest of her friend, whose father worked at Disneyland.  But they weren't bought specifically for today's costume.

Even the wig was something she had bought for $6.00, earlier in the year - she bought it for cosplay, but without a specific costume in mind.  As she mentioned on our drive to downtown, this morning, she now has a Halloween costume, as well (she'll just wear leggings and a long sleeved turtleneck with the dress, for warmth).

Once again, she went downtown with me, in the morning, and she went on her way to the hotel to stand in line for the shuttle and I took my regular shuttle to my office.  She made two bagel sandwiches to take with her, just as she did, yesterday, for her breakfast and lunch, along with a refillable bottle of water.  It was already in the mid 80sF when we left the house, this morning, and the forecast called for 100+F temperatures later in the day.  The organizers of AX had sent a text alerting everyone to take the weather into consideration when it comes to costumes and to stay hydrated.  Daughter said the convention center was air conditioned, but one has to be outside, at times, as well, especially if one wants to go to one of the food trucks to buy food (there is a cafeteria inside the convention center, as well, though). 

I had a good day at the office.  I worked on my projects and updated my supervisor as to the status of my projects.  Then, I requested a day of vacation on Monday, since that's when my daughter leaves and I need to take her to the airport in the afternoon.  I took a ham sandwich, a container of yogurt, some granola-type cereal, and grapes for my breakfast, lunch, snacks.  When I came home, I had a cup of tea, followed by a piece of the chicken drumsticks my daughter had cooked on Wednesday.  Then, I gave into temptation and had a piece of red velvet cake that I had frozen! 

I received the authorization for the endoscopy and colonoscopy in the mail, today.  I will be calling the doctor's office, on Monday, to schedule it.

Friend M came over to do the garden - I asked him to mow the back garden.  I have the sprinklers on, right now, to water the garden.  The heat withered almost all of my four-o-clock (mirabilis) plants! 

Wilted Four-O-Clocks

I think it is time to pull them out, don't you:

Practically Dead!

I have the sprinklers running in the back garden; I will water the front, tomorrow.

I also did a load of laundry (the sheets I use as dust covers for the family room sofas and the towels I use on the sofa arms).  Tomorrow, I will switch out the covers and wash the ones I have on the sofas, now.

And I called friend R to check on her, as I know she doesn't like the heat.  She said their electricity went off three times, this evening!  Fortunately, it is back again and she is able to have her fan on (she has an air conditioner, but she puts it on only if she really needs to because of the expense).  She said she will probably spend the day at the mall tomorrow, because it is air conditioned.  The city has about 150 cooling centers (libraries, recreation centers, senior citizen centers, etc.) open during heat waves, for people to stay in, as well.  The nearest cooling center for me would be the local library; I'll keep that in mind when I am home, during the summer.

It is 9:00 p.m., now.  I am waiting for daughter to call to let me know when she's leaving the convention center; she will take the shuttle to the hotel and wait inside the lobby until I get there.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Air conditioning in the office and at the convention center!
- Electricity to run the fans and operate the lights and appliances
- Water for the garden
- Friend M tending to the garden for me
- Daughter having fun at Anime Expo

How was your Friday?  What have you planned for tomorrow?  Are you having a heatwave, too?

Thursday: Anime Expo Day 1

Holding her prop: Tsunomon

Daughter went dressed as a character from the series called Digimon (short for Digital Monster).  Her Digimon is named Tsunomon and she made it out of a paper lantern covered with felt.  She said several people admired her prop and asked to take pictures!  Apparently, being asked to pose for pictures in ones costume is one of the highest compliments one can get!  The character she's dressed as wears blue jeans and a green sleeveless turtleneck and brown work gloves.  She couldn't find brown work gloves, so bought white ones and painted them!  She couldn't find a green sleeveless turtle neck, either, so bought a green t-shirt and cut off the sleeves; then, we pinned one of the sleeves to the neckline to make the turtleneck. 

Daughter wanted to be downtown as early as possible, so we were up at 6:00 a.m. and we got to downtown by 8:00 a.m.  There is a hotel down the block and across the street from where I park the car where a shuttle provides free rides to people to and from the convention center where the exposition is being held.  I directed daughter to the hotel to wait for her shuttle and took my shuttle bus to the office.

I had a productive day at the office.  Today was my 35th anniversary, working there!  It is a mile stone I have been wanting to achieve and now, I have achieved it! 

After work, I texted daughter to let her know that I was leaving the office and I came home (she was going to stay until later in the evening).  I felt a little tired, so I rested and ate an early dinner.  Then, I sewed a tail for another of daughter's costumes! 

Daughter called me a little after 9:00 p.m. to say she was leaving the convention center to take the shuttle back to the hotel and I left to pick her up from the hotel.  There was road construction on the freeway and 3 lanes of the freeway were closed.  As a result, there was quite a bit of congestion and I didn't get to the hotel until almost 10:00 p.m.  By the time I picked daughter up and we came home, it was 11:00 p.m.  Daughter had a lovely day, she said; she had participated in some dance work shops, done some shopping, and had made a new friend - a girl from Boston who was attending the Anime Expo for the first time.  She was also very tired, so she headed off to bed after she showed me what she bought, performed a dance she had learned, and shared a slice of her pizza that she bought for her dinner!  We will be making another early start, tomorrow, too!

Today was a warm day, with a high of 97F.  Tomorrow will be hotter, with a high of 113F.  Summer is here! I turned on the ceiling fan in the family room for the first time, this summer.  But, it is supposed to cool down to the low 90s by the end of next week, according to the forecast. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- My daughter had a fun day
- I completed 35 years of work
- Safe drives to and from downtown
- Ceiling fans
- Hugs from my daughter

How was your day?  What are your plans for Friday?

On the Fourth of July

I woke up when my alarm went off at 9:00 a.m., but stayed in bed until my daughter called me at 9:30 a.m., to check on me.  She knew that I had gone to bed on Tuesday night, feeling sad and upset as I had just found out that a friend of mine seems to have reached the end of her battle with cancer.  The doctors have given her just days, if not hours, more to live.  We met at the dance studio where our daughters took dance classes and later, we took a couple of dance classes together.  She was diagnosed before I was and hers had spread and progressed to stage 4 cancer.  She has been in and out of hospital over the past 4 years.  Even so, the news that she has reached the end came as a shock to me.  It left me feeling as if I had been kicked in the stomach and the wind knocked out of me.  I think it was especially hard for me to take in because I had received my recent mammogram results in Tuesday's mail and it said the results were normal.  I was crying and I didn't know who I was crying for - my friend, her two daughters and son (all younger than my daughter), or myself and my daughter!  Her daughter posted an update, late last night, saying her mom was still fighting and she was still hoping for a miracle.


After I had reassured my daughter that I was OK, I got out of bed, put up the flag in celebration of Independence Day, had a cup of coffee, chatted on the phone with two of my aunts who called, replied to blog comments, read and commented on a few other blogs, and made myself a To Do list.  I wasn't very motivated to do anything, but I cajoled myself into doing just one small thing and then, another item from the list, and soon, I had:
- topped up the sugar jar
- stripped and remade daughter's bed with new bed sheets
- done a load of laundry
- cleaned daughter's bathroom
- scrubbed my toilet
- tidied the dining table
- put away the leftover scraps of fabric from sewing the apron
- washed the dishes and scrubbed the sink
- wiped down the kitchen counters and stove top


Then, it was time to go to the airport to pick up daughter!  She has come down to attend the Anime Expo for the next four days!  I treated her to her favorite Chinese food for a late lunch (picked it up to go) and, after lunch, she took a nap.  I finished sewing the straps on her apron - I had waited until she could try it on to get the length of the shoulder straps before I sewed them to the waist band at the back.  Then, I watered the back garden and cooked fish, broccoli, and pasta for dinner.  Daughter baked the chicken drumsticks with an apricot jam/soy sauce glaze, because, by then, I was feeling tired and didn't feel up to making a curry with them. 


After dinner, we went outside and watched the fireworks!  Fireworks are supposed to be illegal within our City limits, unless it's an organized, permitted, fireworks display, but, one would never know it, by the amount of fireworks that were lit in my neighborhood!  It went on for hours, too!  Neighbor T called because her dog was having a hard time with the fireworks and she was feeling nervous and worried about the risk of fire due to the fireworks.  Even Dancer wasn't happy with some of the very loud fireworks as the noise spooked him. 


Still later, I changed the sheets I use as covers on the family room sofas and daughter sprayed the sofas with flea spray as she thought she spotted something which jumped!  But I flea combed Dancer and I didn't find anything.  Anyway, I put white sheets on the sofas so it'll be easier to spot any fleas or flea droppings, etc.  I will wash the sheets I took off the sofas with some bleach, later, today.  And vacuum, as that was the one thing that was on yesterday's to do list that I didn't do. 


Yesterday, I was grateful for:
- My daughter arrived home, safely
- Phone calls from my aunts
- My friend is still fighting
- My mammogram results are normal
- Being able to watch the fireworks with my daughter


This morning, daughter and I were up at 6:00 a.m.!  She came downtown with me and walked a couple of blocks from where I parked the car to a downtown hotel from which a free shuttle bus would take her to the convention center where the Anime Expo is being held.  She will take the shuttle back to the hotel in the night and I will pick her up, because I do not want her to travel home in the subway that late at night (around 10:30 p.m.)


How was your Wednesday?  If you are in the U.S., how did you celebrate Independence Day?

Soap

One of my friends and I have been discussing soap, recently, as she is looking for something that is natural, mild, and pure.  She was mentioning an olive oil and laurel oil soap and, although the name of the soap she mentioned wasn't familiar to me, the description of it reminded me of the soaps I had seen in the Armenian grocery store.  So, when I was there, yesterday, I took some pictures of the soap they have for sale.  These soaps are different from the usual packaged soap I see readily available in various shops, here:

Olive Oil/Palm Oil Soap with Laurus (Laurel) Oil and Fragrances

It didn't specify what the fragrances were, although it wasn't a very fragrant soap.

Price Tag for Above Soap

Right next to it, on the shelf, was this soap, pictured below:

Olive Oil Soap

It, too, was priced $2.29 each, but they were in packages of 4 pieces, although, since they were individually wrapped, I believe they were being sold as individual pieces.

These soaps below were packaged with six pieces of soap in each package, and, going by the price tag and the packaging, I believe they are sold as packages of six pieces of soap:

Olive Oil Soap

I thought the price of almost $9 for six pieces of soap was a little on the high side, even though it is a special type of imported soap.

Olive Oil and Laurel Oil Soap

But, I figured that, someone who grew up using this soap would be willing to pay the price for the nostalgia value, alone, just as I do when I go to the Sri Lankan store and buy a piece of the sandalwood soap I grew up using. 

Olive Pomall Oil Green Soap

Then, I looked up what "olive pomall oil" was (apparently, also known as olive pomace oil, it is olive oil pressed from the pulp after the first pressing) and pictures of this soap popped up.  It is available online, from a major online seller, for $24.99 per package of six pieces of soap!  Maybe paying $8.99 is not such a bad price, after all! 

I rarely use soap on my face, anymore, because I feel it dries my skin too much, and when I do, I use a soap that is supposed to contain moisturizing cream in it and which is supposed to be for sensitive skin (it is the soap the oncology nurse practitioner recommended I use when I was getting my treatments, especially during the radiation treatments).  But, I am wondering if one of these olive oil soaps might not be equally good, if not better. 

Have you seen this type of soap, before?  Have you tried it?  Would you be willing to try it?

July Grocery Budget: Week 1

July Week 1 Groceries: Bread, Dairy, Meat, Nuts, Beverages

I went grocery shopping today.   It was the first time I went grocery shopping since picking up some milk ($1.99) on 6/22 (the milk put me $3.78 over budget in June). 

I went to two stores - the Armenian grocery store and the regular supermarket. 

The Armenian store carries these bottled drinks which have basil seeds in them.  We use basil seeds in a drink we call faluda, which is made with rose syrup and milk.  I have been wanting to try this drink because it has the basil seeds in it, so I bought two bottles (one for me, one for daughter).  A bit of an indulgence at $.99 each, but worth a try.  They had other flavors, too, including mango, peach, lychee, and pomegranate.  But I thought the passion fruit flavor would be good for a first try:

Passion Fruit Flavored Basil Seed Drink

At the Armenian Store, I bought:
2+ lb. chicken drumsticks @ $.69/lb = $1.56
1 packet raw whole cashews @ $8.99/lb = $3.69
1 lb. bag carrots = $.39
Broccoli crown @$.49/lb = $.36
1 cucumber = $.50
Zucchini @$.39/lb = $.37
Okra @$.99/lb = $.37
Peaches @ $.69/lb = $.61
Bananas @ $.49/lb = $.59
Grapes @ $1.19/lb = $1.90
2 Basil seed passion fruit flavored drinks @ $.99 + $.05 deposit = $2.08
Total = $12.42

Fresh Produce

At the regular supermarket, I bought:
1 package (6 count) bagels = $1.99
1 loaf multi-grain bread = $1.99
1 flavored coffee creamer = $2.69
1/2 gal. milk = $1.99
Cherries @ $1.47/lb = $3.51
Green beans @ $.99/lb = $.64
2 packages (@ 8 oz) ham cold cuts @ $.99 = $1.98 (discounted because sell by date is 7/11)
Total = $14.79

(I also bought 4 cans of cat food for Dancer, which is not part of my grocery budget)

After I came home, I realized that I had forgotten to write down lettuce on my grocery list and, therefore, hadn't bought any!  Oops!

Total spent on groceries = $12.42 + $14.79 = $27.21

July Week 1 Groceries: Receipts

In June, I went over budget by $3.78  (I am not including that variety cake I had bought in my grocery budget; it was covered from my Miscellaneous account!).

In July, my daughter will be here for 5 days this week and another 9 days later in July.  Therefore, I am increasing my grocery budget by $25 to make it $100.

July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $27.21 = $69.01

I plan to make a curry with the drumsticks, I bought.  Daughter doesn't like okra, so I bought just enough for myself for a couple of meals.  She won't be home for lunches when she comes down this week, but she can take bagels or cold cuts sandwiches with her, if she likes and there will be rice and curries for dinner once she comes home from the Anime Exposition in the night.  I will be taking a ham cold cuts sandwich for my lunch, tomorrow.

In addition, there is smoked sausage and fish in the freezer, as well as some cooked ground beef and another cooked chicken breast half.  I can see myself making a stir-fry with the smoked sausage, some curry puffs with the ground beef, and making the fish for dinner, one night, when daughter is here.  It's not meal planning, exactly, but just listing options works for me!

Have you gone grocery shopping for July, yet?