Seriously.................

 saw this in Costco on August 25th............

Way, way to early for Christmas stuff 😔

Lazy Sunday...........

 I had a lazy Sunday yesterday.

Did manage to get a load of laundry done.  Popped to Costco to pick up a few bits and bobs, so I don't have to leave the house today.

I then alternated between reading my book "Fly Girls," and doing another 1,000 piece puzzle.  

Supper was a frozen PC Veggie Lasagna.  We had the regular size not the club size.  Enough leftover for hubby's lunch today.  It is really good.

Then we finished the day with watching the Netflix Show "Run Away," based on the book by Harlen Coben.  I will review that another day.

All in all a great way to spend a snowy Sunday.

What did you do on Sunday?

I'll take one please!

I was in Costco the other day and saw the viral Lindt Chocolate Advent Calendar.  I LOVE Lindt Chocolate.  It's around 5 feet tall and yes $249.99 CDN.  So of course I didn't buy one.  One, I am diabetic, and two, I have no room for those extra calories; but boy would I love to eat one of those!!!

We were at Ikea this week and I picked up this advent calendar for myself.  At $14.99 that seemed reasonable.  I am not an expert on Scandinavian  chocolate, so it'll be interesting to see what it tastes like.

Do you buy an advent calendar for yourself, and if so which one do you get?  I am going to pass this year.  I do enjoy the regular Lindt one though.

What are your thoughts?

Went to Costco the other day.  For those of you who do not shop at Costco, before you leave the building you have to show your receipt, as they check (sort of) what's in your trolley, matches what's on your receipt.

In front of us there was a guy with a bunch of red roses, sitting in the bed of the trolley.  The guy checking the receipt, says: "what did you do!!!"  He replied he was an Uber Eat's driver and this was an order.

Now I had a bit to say on this to dh!!!

Me: "If you're ever in the dog house with me, DO NOT send me roses via Uber Eats.  Because it shows you just can't be bothered going to the store to buy them yourself.  If you did that I would be even more peed off!!"

Dh: "Well I would never send you roses, as you can't stand roses (very true, I'm a carnation girl); and I would never order anything through Uber Eats, as I wouldn't want to pay the delivery charge (very true!!)  Also I try not to be in the dog house with you, as I don't want the grief."  

LOL😂

Now to be fair in all of this; we're just assuming that someone (male) was in trouble and sending these flowers to make someone happy.  However, it would never occur to me to get flowers delivered through Uber Eats, would you?

Now I happened to mention this conversation to my daughter and she was telling me the following:

A friend of hers works in a school, I am thinking middle school, which goes up to Grade 8, or 13/14 years of age.  She works in the office and she is finding more and more Uber Eats drivers turning up at lunch times with lunches for the kids.  Now whether it be the kids ordering lunches or the parents ordering lunches who knows?  

Once again I was flabbergasted with this.  Are parents/children that lazy they can't even be bothered to put up a lunch?????

Any thoughts on this also?

Costco trip and a couple of deals........

 Went to Costco on Friday.  I haven't been in a couple of weeks, so had to get/spend more than I normally would.

The bill included a pack of 4 golf gloves for hubby, which do have to go back, so that would put my total at around $100 for the groceries.

The pack of muffins are a super buy at 2 packs for $10.99  The muffins are that big that I have to cut them in half.

I wrap them in cling wrap and freeze them, so we get 24 for the price of 12 and they are really nice.

Popped into Walmart and they had this bag of leeks on clearance.

I find leeks expensive over here, so rarely buy them.  After I cleaned them up, I had this lot left.  Popped them in my Tupperware Fridgesmart container and will use them up later in the week.  By the way The Fridgesmart sets are on sale at Tupperware at the moment.  I love mine.

Also saw this big bag of bananas on clearance.

I was surprised how good they were when I got them all out of the bag.

Good thing we like bananas!!

Did you get any good deals this week?

Back when I was working

outside of the house, Sunday's used to be when I cooked meals for the upcoming week.  Haven't thought about that in a while.  It made life easier for when I came in from work. 

On Sunday I prepped a few things to take us through the week.  From left to right.  Apple and strawberry sauce, garden salad, potato salad, boiled eggs and couscous and chickpea salad.

I did a rough puree of the apples and strawberries, I like a chunky sauce, we will have that in individual bowls with a tub of yogurt on the top.  I made enough of the potato and couscous salad, so hubby could take it in his lunch bag for work.  

I went to Costco on Monday as hubby really liked this bagged salad I got last week.  I was shocked as it's Dill Pickle flavour, not something he normally likes.  However for $7.99 for two bags, I thought it was yummy and great value for money.

They also had cans of salmon on for $13.99 for the six cans which is a super price.  I am going to make a big batch of fish cakes to put in the freezer.  I got a 10lb bag of potatoes in my produce bag the other week, so need to use them up.

Canned salmon is not something I buy normally, but I do like it in fish cakes.  I remember when I was a child, we would go to my aunt's house and she always made canned salmon sandwiches.  She used to mix the salmon up with salt and vinegar.  My mam never normally made them, but her sister always did.

Do you use canned salmon, and if so what do you make with it?

Busy day on Tuesday........

 Not sure about you, but I don't leave the house everyday.  I hadn't left the house since Saturday, so on Tuesday I ran some errands.

Headed out to Costco for a few things.  This little lot cost just over $86.  I spent $105 at Walmart on Friday.  I guess you just have to smile and pay up right?  Pointless complaining about it, despite the fact it's ridiculous the price of food nowadays.  

The good news, some of this stuff will last multiple weeks.

Popped into HomeSense and picked up these dryer balls.  I have some wool ones and they are icky, so figured I would try the plastic ones.  I paid $9.99 for these.  I could have got a pack of four for the same price, but they looked a lot cheaper quality.  I only use two normally so figured I would give them a try.

Thought it was interesting that it had this little comic strip on the side of the box.

I also picked up this art kit on clearance for $12 and the little sketch book.  I figured I would give my artistic side a whirl with the help of the tik tok videos, to see if there is an artist lurking inside of me somewhere?

I decided to make a quick couscous salad.  1 cup of couscous in a pan of boiling salted water (1 cup of water)  Leave for five minutes or until cooled.  Add in veggies : finally chopped red onion, grape tomatoes, baby cucumber, and a handful of crumbled feta cheese.  Add salad dressing of choice, I used the Kraft Balsamic. 

I decided on a different plan of action with this flipping puzzle and sorted the remaining pieces into same shaped piles.  I WILL GET THIS PUZZLE FINISHED THIS WEEK!!!

Decided to get a 45 minutes session in on the treadmill.  I try and do this a few times a week.  As you can see I walked 2.362 miles or 3.8 km.  The 317 is calories and my speed was between 3.0 - 3.2 miles per hour.  Incline only got up to 2, as my ligaments are tight behind my knees.

Wednesday will be a day spent in the house.

Update: by supper time on Tuesday I had finished the puzzle, sorting out the puzzle pieces into shapes helped a lot.

Costco and cooking

Went to Costco on Monday morning to pick up a few things, as we are forecast for snow for the next few days.  Just renewed my membership, so going into my second year with the membership and very happy with it.  I did spend $75 on that lot, but there is 3 weeks worth of bread, probably the same with the yogurt.  Same with the fruit snacks.  There are ten pieces of garlic naan, so that will be part of five meals for the pair of us.  The hummus was a great deal at $6.99 for 24 mini containers.  I have one with rice crackers for my lunch every day.

Now one thing I did buy were these kitchen garbage bags.  It's the first time I have bought them.  They were $19.99 and they will last me probably just over 2 years.  I normally empty our kitchen bin a couple times a week.

This is our kitchen bin, it's under the sink.

It turns out that they are exactly the same as the ones I buy in Walmart and they are about a 1/3rd cheaper than if I were to buy the same quantity in Walmart, so a win, win situation.

Made a garden salad on Monday morning for a couple of days.  This is the before:

This is the after.  It's a bit heavy on the tomatoes, as they needed using up as they were going soft.

Also had some potatoes that needed using up.  Diced them up and put the dressing over them and will roast them in the oven while I bake a quiche.

Now granted prepping all those veggies took a while, but supper is now organized for the next couple of days.

Do you cook once and eat multiple times in your house?
 

Trip to Costco

R came up to see me on Thursday, so we went to Costco.  I paid for her membership as part of her Christmas gift, so it was an ideal opportunity to do that while she was here.

She was a love and paid for lunch.

Now I have to admit, I LOVE the sausages at Costco and for the grand total of $1.50 you get a sausage in a bun and a drink, you just can't beat that price.  Also as I would never think of cooking those types of sausages at home it's kind of a treat I find.  R had chicken strips and fries.  Again I am not a huge lover of french fries, but do love the ones at Costco.  So all in all, our lunch came to well under $10.  Quite a bargain I think?

Ever since I have got the membership for Costco, people have been raving about the cooked chickens they sell.  A while back I got one, and since then have had a couple more, as they are so moist and juicy.  Also at $7.99 you can't go wrong.  We get three meals out of one chicken, sometimes even more.

My hair is super short in the photo as I had two haircuts in less than 24 hours.  Quite the pain in the butt situation with the hairdressers.  Fortunately my hair grows quite fast!!

They were saying at Costco, that you have to register a credit card when you take out a membership, so that Costco can automatically renew your card each year.  I didn't know that, did you?

Update on Costco

So I have had my Costco membership now for around 3 months.  It seems as though I am popping in there every couple of weeks.  It helps it is just around the corner (a five minute drive) from where we live.  So it is very handy.  The one thing I am buying there consistently is yogurt.  What I am paying for 16 in Walmart I pay the same for in Costco and get 24 yogurts.  So at this point the membership is paying for itself by the savings there.

Now if Costco was at the north end of the city I wouldn't be visiting as often and would probably say it wasn't worthwhile.  However as I said, so far so good.

On today's visit I bought the following:

As well as the usual yogurt's, bananas, and fruit snacks.  I got enough Bounce dryer sheets to last me a couple of years.  16 bars of Dove soap, which should last me at least 6 months!!  Some t-shirts for hubby for work, $15.99 for 4 and a new pair of swim shorts, again $15.99.  Both the dryer sheets and soap had extra savings on them, making it a worthwhile buy.

Spent a few cents under $100, but I do think it was money well spent.

Past week catch up......

I seem to be getting into a routine on what things to post and when.  Friday's are my weekly favourite things posts.  Monday's seem to be "a what happened this past week," type of post.  I am a woman of habit, and I enjoy routines.  It's a good thing in my book.  

We had the coldest week of the 2022/23 Winter season so far this past week.  The heating seemed to be on constantly Thursday though Saturday.  I paid January's gas bill on Wednesday and saw quite a jump in the bill this time round, wasn't happy, but the older he gets the more hubby feels the cold, so turning down the heat isn't an option.  Me, I am still "hot-flash" Annie, so rarely feel the cold.

Took grandson for his swimming lesson on Friday.  That will now be a regular thing in the hopes we get somewhere with his swimming.  He is not confident in the water; hates putting his head under water.  Which would be fine but they have an inground pool in their back yard, so being able to swim is a priority.  It's a life skill everyone should have.  Won a new two piece swimsuit at this week's online auction, as I haven't bought one in years. 

Popped into Costco earlier in the week, to pick up a couple of things and nearly got mowed down in the store by a woman on one of those motorized wheelchairs.  Let me tell you the story..........

I was walking past a food sample location and the lady was giving out samples of Krispy Kreme donuts.  Now I haven't had those in years; I find them too sweet, but decided why not try a sample to see if I still felt the same.  I politely asked for a sample and stepped back from the area, only to hear "watch out behind you."

A lady on one of those motorized wheelchairs with the shopping cart on the front came zooming up behind me.  I stepped out of the way, and was just going to ask her if she would like me to get her a sample, with her being in a wheelchair.  When up she popped from the wheelchair, like a woman on a mission.

Now before I could put my filter in my mouth, out pops the word's, "oh you can walk then," from me 😳  She turns round after grabbing her donut and said, "I have just had a heart attack, that's why I need to use the wheelchair."

Both me and the woman giving out the samples just look at her.  Hopefully I remembered not to roll my eyes............oh, and yes the donuts are still too sweet for me.

Then this for my fellow Canadians, got my Zoomer magazine this week and there was a really interesting article about Chrystia Freeland.  I must say I actually like her.  Don't have much time for most politicians but do like her.  There was also a lot of interesting articles about vacations.  Oh and yes we are going to Charleston, South Carolina this year for our vacation, that's why I picked up that puzzle.

Bitter Cold

Over the past few days we have had some bitter cold weather, so it's hibernating weather.  It's February so no surprise, so far we have had a very mild winter.

I was in Costco this week and saw some puzzles, so decided to purchase one, as that's a perfect thing to do on a cold day.  They were on sale for $11.99 plus 13% tax.

It even came with a poster.

Wasn't very hard, enjoyable to do.

Guess where we are going on vacation this year!!

First trip to Costco

Hubby and I had our first trip to Costco last Friday.  After wandering around for nearly an hour and again being totally overwhelmed with it all, we walked out with this little lot:

There was one thing missing from that photo and it was the box with the Turbo Tax cd in it.  We buy it every year to do our taxes.  It was $34.99, we normally pay $39.99, so a savings of $5.  All of the things above came to $55.05 (not including the Turbo Tax)

Everything I got was a bit cheaper than if I had purchased them in Wal-Mart.  The 24 packages of yogurt were on for $5.49 with a mid-February expiry date.  We go through a lot of yogurts and I pay that price for 16 yogurts.  The cheese slices were $9.99 for 60.  If I can get them for $3.99 for 24 I am doing well.  The hummus was a good deal at $6.99 for 16 individuals tubs, I pay that for the 12 individual tubs.  The bananas were $1.69 for I am assuming 3lbs which is the going rate.  The 5 pack of deodorant was $12.99 again a good price.  Finally the fruit snacks were $9.49.  I paid 13% tax on the fruit snacks and the deodorant; and of course the tax programme.

Check out was a breeze, we went for 9am and I took your advise and checked prices before I bought.  Produce was big quantities, so unless I am feeding the whole family, I won't be buying there.  The milk was $5.69 (I think) which is what I would normally pay.  However Shopper's Drug Mart quite often has it on sale for that price, so would rather pick it up there and get the points.

I was quite happy with what we got.  I won't have to buy deodorant for quite a few months.  The snacks and hummus will last a while; as will the cheese slices.  Dh takes them as part of his lunch.

It's going to take a bit of getting used to but I can see us using it more and more.

Thank you again for all your advise.

Costco

Got a Costco membership from the kids for Christmas.  Went to activate it the other day and had a wander around the general merchandise area to see what there is.

We had a membership through dh's work many moons ago, and from what I could see it hasn't changed too much.  Our location is ALWAYS busy, but my neighbour works there and told me to go on a weekday for 9am, so I did.  I personally thought it was still busy but I am no expert.

As there is only two of us living in the house we don't need huge quantities of things.  However some people, including the woman who activated my membership (there was only her and her hubby) swear by Costco.

So I need advice.  If you are a Costco member what things do you always buy there?

I know my kids will use it; they'll have to drag me along though!!  I just hope I can get the benefit from it.