Day #100 – Getting Spooky

On October 6, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

I woke up with a mission. I was going to get all of the Halloween decorations put up and get all of the totes back to the shed. Monday mornings around here are a bit nuts. Getting everyone where they are supposed to be and doing to on time takes some planning. Monday is also my day to do a reset on the house from the weekend. I see all of the cleaning checklists on Pinterest and I have saved my share of them, but the easiest thing for me to do is walk each room and write down what needs to be done. That way if I get off course, which I almost did today by seeing the little jugs that I want to propagate my plants in and almost stopped what I was doing to do just that. I stopped myself and reminded myself that I had tasks to get done.

The only thing I didn’t get marked off was the hanging plant and that’s only because I’m not sure where I want to hang it yet.

I got the elephants hung up. I despise the antenna we have to hang there to get the local channels. We rarely even watch TV, but when we want to it’s a necessity. We do watch streaming movies and such.

I absolutely love the list hanger. It’s already come in handy because I had to make a Walmart run today.

After I got the house cleaned I started on the Halloween bins. I haven’t been in the most Halloweeny spirit. Maybe because it’s been 91 degrees and that makes it seem like summer instead of Fall. But I persevered.

This almost took me out. Donny is my untangler. Unfortunately he was at work. I finally got it straightened out though.

We love our little Halloween village.

Hannah was supposed to help me with the graveyard, but she had to finish her still life drawing, so I was on my own.

Very cheesy, very us. LOL

I just added a few touches to the patio.

Did anyone see the gorgeous moon tonight?

Tomorrow is National Night Out. There are some parties, but I don’t know if we are going to any. It’s also suppose to be the Harvest Moon. Maybe that will get me more into the Halloween spirit.

Day #99 – It’s the VERY Small Things That Make You Happy

On October 5, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Tomorrow is the push to get the Halloween decor out. I did get the lawn mowed today and that’s about it, but two small things happened that made me really happy.

!. We had lost one of the lids to our tea jugs. (they are actually glass bottles that originally had lemonade in them) Well, when Jackson and I went to Super 1 he saw these cappuccino milks and I realized that they are the same brand and have the same lids that we need. Our other was starting to crack.

2. If you have read about the skunks I feed, then you know about Slinky. He is disabled and has a very hard time walking so he slithers. He takes forever to eat, but its not afraid of me at all. I hadn’t seen him in over a week. He is an early eater and normally shows up right as it gets dark. I was worried about him. I even saw a post on one of our city sites that someone had found a dead skunk on their deck. Not me zooming in on the picture and then googling where these people lived to see if it was Slinky. Well last night I heard a familiar chewing. Yes, I can tell his chewing from the others.

I was so happy to see him that I ran inside and got him some steak to celebrate. He was one happy skunk.

It’s always the little things that make me happy.

Day #98 – Dollar Tree Lady

On October 4, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Yesterday Donny and I pulled the Halloween crates out of the shed. I was looking through the bins and realized that I only had 2 tombstones because the third one had blown away last year. We decided to go to Dollar Tree to see if they had any. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money because we just do it for fun and if it looks a little janky that’s okay with us.

When we walked in we headed over to the Halloween area. There was a woman redoing the area and we asked if they had any tombstones. She said that she didn’t think so. We looked around, didn’t see any, but did find a few things to add to the outside decor.

When we went to check out we got in her lane and she turned the light off indicating that she was closed. We went to the next register, that was empty and some person stepped in front of us with a cart full. The original lady motioned us over and said she’d check us out. We put all of our items on the belt and she proceeds to tell me that she is glad she never buys any of this stuff because it’s a waste of money and it’s a pagan holiday that she would NEVER celebrate.

I told her that I’m a Christian and that my church even celebrates Halloween. She tsked at me and by that time Donny had joined the conversation. He told her that we weren’t wanting to worship demons but just wanting to check out. She continued her diatribe about what a pagan holiday it was. Then she said to me, I love your necklace.

I told her oh, it’s St. Michael. She then says, Oh, the archangel. I said, yes and he protects me from demons on Halloween. We gathered our bags and Donny wished her a happy Halloween.

I get that some people don’t like or celebrate Halloween. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. I just can’t imagine working in a retail environment and telling a customer that they are pagan when they have no idea what my beliefs are. Dollar Tree do better with your employees.

Anyway, this is what us pagans purchased.

And these cute solar lights.

I was putting up the Brita filters and decided to see what they would actually cost instead of the six dollars and change (25% off the price) we paid at the estate sale.

They are $67 dollars at Walmart!!!! Donny is the one that always buys the filter so I had no idea. No wonder he jumped on them.

Day #96 & #97

On October 2, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Yesterday I was sick. I don’t know if it is the stomach virus that is going around or if it’s just my gut issues that I’m always plagued with, but I just felt awful. I was able to get a few non-physical things done.

My thin necklaces were always getting tangled up so I took 2 hook things from our antique tool box, that we use as a coffee table, and put them on the wall .

My silver cuffs were looking a little tarnished so I got out the ole jewelry cleaner.

I didn’t realize how bad they were until I cleaned them.

I had told Hannah that I would go look at the art exhibit in their art building so I had to actually get dressed. One thing that I absolutely love about my hair, now that I’ve gotten it cut in the style that it is, is that I just wash it and go to sleep with it wet and I don’t have to do anything to it the next day.

I can’t believe that I kept it so long for so long. Never again.

The art exhibit was amazing. The art was done by a professor at Stephen F. Austin University. I’ts where the kids want to finish up their bachelor degrees.

These were our two favorites.

I just love the courtyard right outside. I told Hannah and her friend that they needed to hang out there once the weather cools off a bit. They both said it was way too hot to do that now.

Just doing that little bit had made me so nauseous. I took one of my RX nausea pills and hit the bed. It helped that the last season of Alice In Borderland had finally been released. That was such a good series. I know I’ll be rewatching the whole thing again in the near future.

I woke up still not feeling great, but Donny had found some estate sales he thought would be fun. I figured that getting out of the house might help me feel better. The first one we didn’t buy anything. Nothing at the second one either. The third one was just such a cool house way out in the country. We found a brand new box of brita water filters that were $8. Everything was 25% off so they came out to be like 6 something.

Got these cool elephants that i’m going to hang up in the house.

As we were checking out I saw this wind chime hanging on the wall. I just love the way bamboo wind chimes sound.

On our way back home Donny saw a garage sale at on of our favorite houses. We had been to an estate sale here last year. The house never sold, but it’s the one that is partially underground with a big pond. I posted about it when we went. They were cash only and I only found one thing that I just had to have. I fished out enough change to buy it.

I’m going to hang it up and use it for my grocery lists. It’s so stinking cute.

And now I’m fading again so I’m going to take a shower and more than likely go to bed. Tomorrow I just know I’ll feel better. Positive thinking, right?

Day #95 – Random Shopping

On September 30, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

I needed to run to Aldi so I decided to hit two thrift stores on the way. I didn’t buy a thing in either of them, but it was fun to look around. I was making the chicken enchiladas again tonight and I needed to pick up the green enchilada sauce from Aldi. They were out. No green sauce to be found anywhere.

I did find some more of my very favorite snack that they only have around the holiday. I have 7 jars now because I honestly want to cry when I cannot get them anymore. I needed some coconut water and right before I started this blog I realized that I had put one in the freezer this morning and never took it out.

Next stop was Super 1 where they did have the enchilada sauce.

One can cost as much as the large one from Aldi. The enchiladas were good, but the other sauce is so much better.

Next stop was Drug Emporium. I generally stay on the Vitamins Plus side and today was no different. I had seen some incense that looked interesting. Ended up getting this one and so far it’s pretty good. I still like the Nag Champa the best though.

I also picked up some more hand soap since we were almost out and some of my favorite little rice cakes. These are so good.

Vitamins Plus is only carrying the hand soap for the holiday season. I like to buy my Zum products either here or at Natural Grocers. The shipping directly from Indigo Wild is so high. Plus this hand soap was $4.99 compared to $7.75 on their website. I’ll take a deal where I can get it.

So that’s my weird little shopping trip. I always like to see what people buy and I’m trying to stick to my lists and not get distracted by all the shiny objects. It’s so hard though.

Day #94 – Screwed

On September 29, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

On the way back from Kilgore I got a notification from my car.

Not only did I get this notification, but Donny got a text message and an email FROM THE CAR. It really weirded me out because I always buy the least tech forward anything. I will never own a washer or dryer that is run by a computer board, just give me knobs and buttons. I will never have a fridge with a computer screen on the front. There is just too much that could go wrong with that kind of technology. So having the car email and text is a little freaky.

When I got home I saw that somewhere I had run over a screw. There is a tire shop next door to Donny’s work so they said they could get me in at 5. It took about 45 minutes and when I went to pay they said it was no charge. Everyone there was so nice and they just asked for a good google review which I happily obliged.

This is the tiny screw that caused all of the problems.

This is the tire shop and if you ever find yourself in Longview and have tire problems I highly recommend them.

I finally found a sofa that I loved at Donny’s work. It’s an orangey tan. Most of their stuff is custom, but it’s all so foo-foo to me which would look great in someone’s traditional or formal home, but ours is more of a make yourself at home and get comfortable kind of place. I have to think about it because I still really like the sofa we have now too.

Day #93 – A Perfectly Perfect Day

On September 28, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Sundays are what I call our short day. Donny only works from 1-5, which is much better than his normal 9-7. I had decided to sleep in which was foiled by our cat Milo who woke me up at 5 because he had to go outside to use the bathroom. He doesn’t use the litter box but instead lets us know when he needs to be let outside. I just went with the early wake up because I’m a morning person and sleeping in is just until 7 anyway.

I let Donny sleep and started with a slow morning of coffee on the patio. Gavin came over and brought kolaches. I made chocolate chip cookies that made the house smell like a bakery. I made some tea. We still cannot find the missing lid.

After I cleaned the kitchen I headed outside to check on the pumpkin vine.

It’s getting so much longer and we have several flowers on it. Hopefully they will get pollinated and we may have pumpkins.

I need to harvest my basil. It’s so overgrown.

Hannah and Gavin left for Riverside Trade Days so I went inside and tidied up a bit and then decided to take a break.

Sweet tea and reading in the egg chair. I love reading and it seems like forever since I’ve taken the time to read. I decided on this book.

So far it is so good.

I then started the afternoon routine.

I planted some dill and cilantro.

I watered the new plants that Donny planted. We are hoping they spread and get a lot taller.

Gave the chickens fresh water.

My favorite thing.

Giving Wrigley his treat, brushing him and lots of belly rubs. I still can’t believe my neighbors just ignore their sweet dog.

Donny wanted to cook dinner. He made steaks and brussel sprouts. I contributed mashed potatoes. Why does food always taste better when you don’t have to cook it. It was so good.

So that was my simple, perfect day. No rushing. No stress. Just perfect.

Day #92 – Check It Off

On September 27, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

It seems like I have to make lists to keep on track. Not the everyday stuff, but things that I need to get done that I somehow get busy and completely forget about. The lists can be long or short, but I tend to like them shorter so I can get it all done in one day and it’s not hanging over my head. I do have goal lists that aren’t time sensitive, but those are for bigger projects.

Today’s was pretty short which was good because it was deep clean bathroom day. The patio wasn’t too bad, but it tends to get dusty so everything needed a good wipe down and the plants needed to be tended to.

I love sitting out here in the mornings and having my coffee and also in the evenings watching the night critters come have their dinner. I almost caught the possum tonight.

I don’t know why the pots and pans cabinet gets so much in disarray, but it does.

So much better. I hate not being able to just reach in and know where everything is.

The under sink storage area was SO bad. I knew that was going to take me a while.

That’s embarrassing, but it’s real life and it was driving me crazy. I scoop the litter boxes everyday, but I still don’t think we need that many bags especially when we have a full bag holder. I use different cleaning products for different jobs. I don’t think I need that many. Time to put it back the way it should be.

I try to stay with all natural products, but I found the best smelling cleaner and had to buy a few bottles of it. It will last me through winter. I just love the way everything smells after I’ve cleaned with it.

If you like spicy cinnamon like scents, grab this if you see it because it’s a limited edition and it’s flying off the shelves here.

I’ve also been looking for a good natural dish soap. I don’t like Mrs. Meyers very much. The smell becomes overwhelming to me. I tried a unscented brand that I just added some lemon essential oil to. It worked okay, but then when it had about 1/3 left I added my Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap to it. So far I’m really liking it. My problem with using only Dr. Bronner’s is that it does not suds up. Now that I’ve mixed them it’s much better and my dishes get clean.

It only takes a small squirt because the Castile soap is so concentrated. I’ll keep using it and see how much I like it after using it a while.

Day #90 & #91

On September 26, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

Donny and I had two wonderful days off together. On Thursday we had to run to Home Depot to get some nippers so he could cut some small trees down that were growing into the fence. We found the Halloween decor and I had a lot of fun pushing all of the buttons to make the animatronics come to life.

While Donny was cutting down the trees I decided to get the weed eater out. He has always suggested that I wear pants when I weed eat, but I never do because it’s just too hot. Well, something flew up and got me in the leg.

It didn’t hurt me bad enough to wear pants though.

Donny had to do an interview this morning. Afterwards we ran to his favorite shoe store to get him some new shoes. Since we were over on that side of town I suggested that we go to the Restore because I needed some paint. I honestly couldn’t remember exactly what I needed to paint, but we thought we’d go see what they had.

We found this yellow and red paint for 8 bucks a gallon. When we went to check out the guy told the woman that was there that they were supposed to have marked this paint up to $22. Oops, my gain.

We found some orange spray paint for 2 dollars a can. I’m going to spray paint the chair that Donny made because the red stain has faded almost all off.

We also picked up the gold and clear coat.

I also picked up some brushes. We lucked out on this trip to the restore because they normally don’t have any paint that I like. The Benjamin Moore store closed so I’m sure that’s where a lot of these donations came from. I have a lot of painting on the horizon. This morning was gorgeous. It was so cool outside, but the humidity was so high. Maybe I’ll start painting this weekend. At least the chair, maybe lol

Day #89 – What A Difference A Day Makes

On September 24, 2025 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn 100 DaysLeave a comment

We have been watching the weather all week and it was supposed to rain all day today which means that I HAD to mow yesterday. It had been a while because we have these pretty little flowers popping up all over the front yard. Donny said they were just weeds, but I think the difference between a weed and an actual plant is in the eye of the beholder and I just loved these flowers.

I will admit that the yard looks better mowed.

I’m super excited that my pumpkin vine is getting so long.

We even have a bloom, which if we are lucky, will one day become a pumpkin.

I had high hopes that I would get the yard mowed and do some weed eating. I just didn’t account for the temperature to be a feels like of 102. After I finished mowing there was no way I was going to get the weed eater out. I guarantee that I would have passed out.

I could literally squeeze out my hat and shirt. But when I woke up this morning it was so nice. The clouds started rolling in and the thunder started booming then the rain came.