Category: Weekend

One On One Time

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn WeekendLeave a comment

I love when Jackson and I get to spend time together. Yesterday he woke up early and wanted to go to Game Exchange and Games 2 Go. He collects vintage gaming systems and wanted to try to find some new games. He was also looking for a game for Hannah. We didn’t find anything so we decided to go to the thrift store we call relish. We call it this because the wax warmer scent they use smells like relish to Jackson.

No trivet there, but Jackson found a Pepto Bismol hoodie for Hannah that he thought she’d like and I found two pairs of jeans and 3 tops. Because it was Saturday we got to spin the wheel they have by the checkout to see what discount we would get. I got $5 bag of clothes which took my total from $20 to just $5.

These jeans fit so well and are wide leg. Perfect for Fall/Winter.

I thought these were just cool with the patches on them.

These will be good to transition from out cool mornings to warmer days.

I also picked up two books by one of my favorite authors.

We then decided to go to Gifts of Grace which we call the big one. I didn’t find one dang trivet, but Jackson found a whole slew of concert tees. He came up to me and showed me the 2001 Jimmy Buffett shirt. He knows how much I loved Jimmy and told me that I could have it. Funny though, it’s still in his room. I have been to several of his concerts and am really sad that Donny and I never got to go to one before he passed. Those were such fun concerts.

He found an Elton John one, a Kiss road crew, a SZA and I found the Oysterhead head tee. I really liked that one, but so did Jackson so, of course, I let him have it.

I did manage to find one he didn’t want that I thought was cute.

By this time I was starving. The blood sugar had dropped, shaky hands, might pass out starving. Since Jackson and I are the only ones in our family who likes Taco Bell, that’s where we went. I haven’t eaten Taco Bell in ages. I haven’t gone inside to eat in years. Holy cow, it has definitely changed. You don’t even order from a person, but a kiosk. It was fun hanging out and having some good talk with him. He’s such a good kid. Very thoughtful toward other people.

And just because my second oldest, who lives in the hill country, makes fun of me for how much food I leave out for the animals here is their buffet from last night.

Guess what? We not only have two raccoons, but THREE now. I guess word gets around.

Saturday

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn WeekendLeave a comment

I rarely leave the house on Saturdays. Mainly because it seems like every person who lives in our town is out and about. Today, however, Jackson asked if the thrift stores were open. You know what that means, a mom son day out. I did find some cool things though. Jackson did too, but I never post what he finds, just because he really doesn’t want me too.

I’m always on the lookout for the 18th book in the James Patterson Women’s Murder Club series. I didn’t find that one, but I found a John Saul book that looks really good. This store has all of their hardcovers for 50 cents, so I really couldn’t pass it up.

I found this vintage basket, that can finally replace the kinda falling apart one in our bedroom, to hold our blankets.

I lucked out and founds this super cute navy top, a cute casual Tshirt and a denim dress that I’m sure I’ll wear a lot this summer.

I have a thing for pillows and couldn’t pass up these Pier 1 embroidered ones.

These wooden vintage placemats match the new chairs. I’m really liking them on the table.

I had purchased these crystals months ago and decided to use them on a planter that I had painted gold. This picture does not do it justice at all. It’s so sparkly and casts prisms all over the patio.

When cleaning the bedroom I found these 3 cookbooks I had completely forgotten we had. Some of the recipes are very interesting, but there are some that I really want to try. I’ve gotten kind of bored with cooking lately. I always seem to just make the same things. Maybe these will inspire me.

We ended the evening at the fire pit. Which was much needed.

Everything was going great until I felt the chair I was sitting on start ripping. It is 6 years old, but still.

Donny is off tomorrow, so hopefully we will be able to sleep in. Every time I think I’ll be able to sleep in, I always end up waking up around 4:30. I’m hoping that won’t happen tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Good Things

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn WeekendLeave a comment

Yesterday was full of so many good things. Donny had asked me to run by Jake’s feed store to pick up some tomatillo and jalapeno plants. When I went to pay I heard dogs barking and there was an adoption going on in the back. There were so many cute dogs. Four got adopted while I was standing there loving on the other cute pups. I also think I talked a man into getting an elderly dog whose owner had died. I hope he ended up adopting him because he was such a sweetie.

Donny just needs to harvest the potatoes then these will go in for the salsa garden.

After I got home I decided that I needed some plants to go into some pots that were empty in the front flowerbed. I’d always wanted to go to Longview Garden Center. The only reason I knew about it was because when the kids were at their old school construction was being done on the roads and we had to take this weird back way. The nursery is tucked into the woods on this little street. The people there were so nice and actually knowledgeable about all the plants. I will for sure be going back there again.

Hannah woke up with a bad cold, so Jack and I ran to Walmart to get her some snacks and juice. I realized I needed more potting soil so I picked that up. While I was searching for the soil I found a snake plant. I had a big one in Baton Rouge that died in the flood. Happy Mother’s day to me. Actually my Jasmine plant was my mother’s day gift, this was just a little add on.

I noticed when I got home that most of our neighbors were out mowing so I checked the weather forecast. Sure enough, rain for several days. Peer pressure forced me to get our mower out. Our yard is not the easiest to mow because there is so much to move. I managed to get it all mowed and really wanted to use the weed eater. The only problem was that I can’t hold the darn thing and pull the string to start it. So I did the next best thing and used scissors. I don’t know why people think that is so weird. I’m sure there was a time that weed eaters didn’t exist. Scissors work nicely.

One of the very best things that happened between mowing the front and the back was this:

My oldest daughter, Nikki, graduated with her associates in Biology. She knew we weren’t going to be able to go because we had just been up there, but I got to live stream it. Thank goodness for technology. Now on to her Bachelors.

While I was waiting for her group to be called, I managed to get all the new flowers potted.

By this time I was beat. Like I couldn’t do anymore even if I wanted to. I checked my Fitbit and I had apparently done 2 hours of mountain biking, even though I don’t own a bike, and taken 14,000 steps. I got the best text ever from Donny asking if I wanted to go out to eat.

We ditched the kids and had a date night at Tia Juanita’s Fish Camp. It had recently opened and we were excited to try it. It was SO fun. It was loud, bright, colorful and had live music. The food was incredible! Donny had the seafood enchiladas and I had the Cajun Girl Po’boy. And they had slushy drinks.

The guy playing was really good.

Donny knew every song he played and sang quite loudly to them. Thank goodness it was really loud in there.

I had the drink called The Painkiller which was like a Pina colada on steroids. I rarely drink, which explains how I ended up falling asleep with all my clothes on and cats laying on me. It also could have been the 6 hours of yard work I did. Probably both, but the flowers sure brightened up the place. What a very good day it was!

One Done

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Today I finished one chair. I just wanted to see if I liked the colors we chose. If I didn’t, I didn’t want to keep sanding down all of the bases because that is hard work.

Anyway, I absolutely live the way it turned out. The warm caramel is more of a terracotta color. The oil rubbed bronze base plays off of it nicely.

Now only 3 more to go.

Hannah and I also created and ordered her graduation announcements today. I think they turned out fabulous. Go Walgreens!

A Little Shopping

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thrifting, WeekendLeave a comment

We had a little bit of time to kill the first day in Dallas, so we decided to check out the Goodwill outlet a.k.a. The Bins. I forget how long it actually takes to get anywhere in the DFW metroplex.

If you have never heard of the bins, it’s a giant warehouse with row after row of bins that you just dig through. When we got there they were bringing out new bins. Everyone has to stand behind a red line and after they put them out they say “GO” and the race is on. People run and grab. I had no idea what to expect, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Even Donny and Hannah were having fun looking through everything. There are no prices, you just pay by the pound. I think clothing was $1.49.

These were the “older” bins.

It’s such a crazy fun experience. Well, if you like thrifting that is.

This is what we came away with.

A pair of Levi cropped jeans and an Old Navy dress

Donny found the Bob Seger Tshirt for me because I absolutely love Bob Seger. I found this Johnny Cash shirt.

Hannah found an H&M dress, hoodie and some Pink yoga pants. I also found her some Seven jeans that aren’t pictured. It was a pretty good haul for the short time we were there. I wish we had something like this here.

The next day, on the way home, Jack asked if we could go to one of his favorite stores. Well, of course!

We made it inside before a torrential downpour. We decided to have lunch in their cafeteria and to our surprise most everything was half off. Jack and I weren’t really hungry so we shared chicken strips and fries. They were only $4.49. Hannah had the salmon and Donny had what we had. They always have such good food. The Daim Bar cake is Hannah’s very favorite.

Here’s what we bought.

Both of the kids got these stuffies. Jack’s was a cat astronaut that he took the suit off of and put on the alien. Apparently, these stuffies are popular with the teenagers. Who knew? I got two candles that were on sale. Pillowcases, also on sale. Veg peelers and kitchen scrubbers. I love their light bulbs, so I picked up 2 boxes. Jack needed a new charging cable and I found this awesome collander that stretches across the sink, also on sale.

Can’t wait to go back to both places!

Copper + Flashback

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn WeekendLeave a comment

I struggle with carpal tunnel syndrome. It started when our home flooded and we did the clean out ourselves. All the scraping of floors and then painting once everything was finished caused it to flare up so bad. I used to wake up in the middle of the night with my hand feeling like it was on fire. It would cause me to actually cry because it hurt so bad. Every time I used my hand/arm in a repetitive motion like painting, sweeping, pulling weeds, you get the idea, it would flare up again.

About 2 years ago I started wearing copper cuffs. I used to have to sleep in a wrist brace and just got so tired of doing that, that I decided to give the copper bracelets a shot. They worked. I have added to my collection over time and now I wear 4 of them religiously. I only take them off to shower. My favorite one I found in the antique mall here. It has little designs on it and is very light weight. If you suffer from CTS you really should give copper a try.

When I was picking Hannah up from work a J Geils song came on the radio. For a split second I was 16 again cruising in my car on a Friday night. I turned to her and asked her if she wanted to go hang out at the Quarterdeck and then go cruise Everhart. I threw in that if we’re lucky someone might want to go with us to Goatman’s. She looked at me like I had lost my mind. It’s hard to explain the freedom we, as teenagers, had back then. No social media or cell phones. Life seemed so much easier and freer. Trying to explain to her that we would go hang out at an arcade and then cruise down a street that all high school kids in my city used to cruise down only to turn around in the sonic drive thru just to do it all again, didn’t seem fun to her. To us, back then, it was the best way to spend a Saturday night. Goatman’s was terrifying because it was a brushy area that the Goatman supposedly lived. You”d drive through hoping to see him. One time some guy in a mask jumped out with a baseball bat. We high tailed it out of there fast. Sometimes I really miss those days. Now that I drive my little hatchback I crank up retro music and still feel like I’m in high school, although I drove a ’77 Buick Skylark back then.

My purple Mardi Gras baby living its best life. Ignore the pollen. It’s that time of year.

Yes, I still listen to CD’s and #9 Narrow Daylight has become my new favorite song. If you haven’t heard it you should give it a listen.

I also had to run into Hobby Lobby to get the kids their eclipse shirts for school. I generally cannot stand the mass over produced products they carry, but I did find the perfect wind chimes. Shirts and wind chimes were both 40% off so I couldn’t pass them up. They give off such a peaceful sound.

Yard Day

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home life, WeekendLeave a comment

This is how my day ended and I very rarely drink. It was actually a very good day where the temperature was not in the 100’s. I got a lot done, which means I am TIRED.

My yard was bad. It needed mowing, all of the dead plants needed to be pulled up, we needed mulch. You name it, it needed it. Up until a few weeks ago Donny was working an hour and a half away. He’d leave at 6 and not get back until 10. He was also working 6-7 days a week. It was rough. He was exhausted and I was juggling everything else. With the awful heat and his being away, our yard suffered. So today, we woke up, and got busy.

We have white vinyl siding on our house and it will grow green algae after a rain. I got that wiped off and the windows washed. The beds needed a bit of weeding so I got that done while Donny mowed the backyard. While he mowed the front I got the shed cleaned out and pulled out all the Halloween stuff.

I moved 27 pots that Donny will be able to use in his greenhouse that I got him for his birthday. Hopefully we will get that put up soon. We ran to Lowe’s and picked up 4 bags of mulch and 3 small mum plants because after I pulled out all the dead cucumber vines I had a big ole empty spot.

I was shocked at the price of plants. A solo cup size Rosemary was $19.98! A Black Eyed Susan, same size, was also that price. Are they insane??? Anyway ours were 3 for 10, not too bad.

The new mums all potted. I’m going to repaint the stepping stones. They’ve seen better days.

No more algae.

Freshly laid mulch!

How cute is the Boo Yah sign? I love Halloween!

I still have a lot to do tomorrow, but I’m feeling so much better with all we accomplished today.

You Deserve a Donut

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home life, Weekend2 Comments

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I love breakfast food, just not in the morning. This household tends to eat brunch. I love brunch. It covers two meals with one, but teenage kids tend to be hungry in the mornings (all the time) and I honestly hadn’t planned a thing for breakfast. Oops.

I got Donny up and we decided donuts were in order. Only problem was, since we moved, we didn’t know where the closest donut shop was. I suggested going to Jimmy’s Donut where we used to go before we moved. Donny wanted to find something closer.

Disclaimer: Jimmy’s is roughly 2.5 miles away, but when you live in a smallish town, anything over a mile seems FAR.

Problem solved. Less than a mile away we found this.

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I judge every donut shop by their eclairs. If they can’t make a good eclair, it’s a no for me. Eclairs are my all time, I should just chew them up and plaster then on my hips, pastry.

I spied some in the very back of case. Whew, we didn’t have to go anywhere else.

Another problem I have is wanting to choose a little bit of everything. Donny is MUCH better at ordering so I just stepped back and let him do it so we wouldn’t have a 50 dollar donut tab. Not kidding, it’s happened before when I went by myself.

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Let the feast begin.

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For the record, us hungry adults had already taken ours out when I took this.

But the best part was…

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My oh so delicious, completely passed the eclair test, breakfast. Didn’t you know that weekend breakfast calories absolutely do not count.

While the kids were just hanging out and Donny and I were watching Harlen Cobin’s mini series Safe. (He’s one of my very favorite authors and if you like a good, twisty, who done it, you should definitely watch it on Netflix) I had an idea I wanted to try and that meant a trip to Hobby Lobby.

I’m hoping it’s going to work. I’m going to work on it today and if it does I’ll share it. It includes this.

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900 feet of jute rope!

It doesn’t include this, but when you find your favorite candle that you thought was discontinued, and it’s 50% off, you add it to the cart. We had a 40% off coupon so it’s kind of like the candle was free. (My frugal rationalization kicking in)

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It smells clean and fresh and is not over powering to where it gives you a headache.

We ended the evening picking up Taco Bell (I know it’s not real Mexican food, but it’s my guilty pleasure and I’ve loved it since childhood) chilling on the couch and finished watching Safe.

I normally skip the intro, but the theme song was SO good, I listened to it every single episode, then I even looked it up on YouTube.

You really should listen to it. You can thank me later.

Backyard Campout

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home life, WeekendLeave a comment

With the quarantine being lifted more and more each day, we decided to let the kids each invite a friend over for a backyard campout.The weather has been so iffy lately, but today there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

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The guests were due to arrive at 3. Donny and I decided to work on the yard before everyone showed up. I finally repotted some plants, got my planters hung up and found a useful place for our chalkboard that no longer fit in our house.

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When the kids arrived they all piled into my son’s room to play jackbox. It’s a super fun interactive game. You buy game packages and everyone plays on their phone. Hours can go by and you don’t even realize it. It’s been a great distraction with being stuck at home.

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With the sun getting lower, it was time to set up the tent.

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After we chowed down on hotdogs I asked the kids if they wanted to walk to the park. It’s half a mile away and I fully intended to go with them. Donny was pressing me to let them go by themselves. I was sure, 100% positive, that they’d want me to go. Nope, they didn’t. I have to admit that I was a little crushed. The helicopter parent in me was panicking. Thoughts were running through my mind about everything that could and surely would happen to them. Thanks to Donny, the sane more rational one of the two of us, he talked me off the ledge. For the record, they did call me to come pick them up, so that’s a little win, right?

When it got dark we made the quintessential camping dessert. Smores for the win.

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By this time it was getting late. Donny and I were tired and the kids were ready for parents to go in so they could hang out. Yes, there are both boys and girls staying in the tent, but they are all just really good friends. Remember, helicopter parent here. I watch and listen very closely.

They wanted the giant, bright gulag-ish interrogation light that we have in the backyard off. I’m sure my neighbors were happy about that too because I’m pretty sure it illuminates their bedroom pretty good. We left them with glow sticks, flashlights and I left the twinkle lights on in the patio (aka carport).

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Now it’s bedtime and morning is going to be here before we know it. I hope we get some sleep.  I’ve checked on them more than I care to admit.

Crazy Weekend

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home life, Home Stuff, WeekendLeave a comment

This has been a crazy weekend. Friday started off pretty normal. We ended the day by walking to the park and letting the kids hangout.

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IMG_20200521_195102 Saturday morning my dog woke me up at 4:30 to go outside and when I was letting him in, my son’s cat Monkey, ran outside. I couldn’t catch her. She still hadn’t come back when we woke up. He was devastated. I asked all the neighbors and put her picture up on the Next Door app. Nothing.

We had disconnected our horrible, terrible satellite internet service we had at the other house. Our 2 year contract was finally over. We received the boxes to send the modem back and lo and behold, we had to have a part off of the actually dish that was on the roof of the other house. Donny called them to explain our situation, but they said if we didn’t have it they would charge us $200!

So guess what we had to go buy.

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The house had already been rented again, but luckily they hadn’t moved in yet. We just kind of snuck in and took the part off.

On the way home we found this little guy just standing, head out, in the middle of a busy street. I got out, stopped a car before they ran him over and brought him home with us.

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Still no Monkey and the weather is getting bad. After the rain storm, guess who comes wandering up?

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She’s been following my son around like a puppy and is now napping in my laundry basket. We are all so relieved because right after she showed up the most evil looking clouds started rolling in. The wind picked up. Then the rain started and it began to hail. I thought it was going to break our windows. Donny and I were scheduled to work Waitr in 45 minutes. It finally quit hailing, but it was pouring. The only thing that saved me, because we had 14 deliveries and I looked like a drowned rat, were Belly Flops.

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They are the irregular Jelly Belly jellybeans. It’s VERY important to have snacks when you’re delivering food or you will be starving from all the delicious smells.

I do not like working in the rain, but it’s so busy when there is bad weather. I guess this week is going to be very busy.

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I hope your Memorial Day is sunny and warm. I’m watching the rain pour down out our window and I don’t think it’s stopping any time soon.

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