Bag of Bananas for a Buck

Yes please
Ok, actually 1.30
Still less than 12 cents for banana
Can you imagine...getting a snack for 12 cents
But the bag will yield good things

I have already used 2 (plus one that was in the freezer) to make a batch of banana bread.
I made mini loaves, gave 4 as gifts and we had one for breakfast

I see many smoothies in our future
Strawberry banana
And P-butter choc banana

I make a killer fried p-butter banana sandwich (With honey and cinnamon)
I will freeze the remaining bananas, so I can use them when I need them.

So next time you see the poor lonely single ripe bananas in a bag, buy them

Christmas gifts

Oops I started this post in Oct/Nov, but never published it

Here is what I have made...so far

I beaded over a Christmas Ball

This is an old T-shirt, then I added beads

Knitted Dish Cloths

Gift Giving

How many gifts do you really need for your birthday?
Well, my son gets an experience this year.
Small amount of friends and I think rock climbing.
It is a tad pricey because of the small amount of people to invite.
But if I was buying a ton of gifts plus goodie bags and pizza and cake, it would really add up.
So what I give this year is an experience, with a small group of friends.
Cake and ice cream back at our house
About 1/2 the price as last year.
And Yes, I did get a couple gifts.  Purchase during the after Christmas sales.

Venting

There was a dryer vent fire in my neighborhood
Scary part is we are a townhome community 
It could have spread
When we moved in  2 yrs ago, we cleaned our vents because we didn't know when they were last done.

On that note, VENTS...Clean them (See ounce of Prevention)
Spend a little now to save lots later on fire repair.

I also recently cleaned my air vents in the house intake and out
I cleaned all the lint off my hairdryer filter
My hubby cleaned the fan in the convection oven 
You get my point

I leave you with pictures of the dryer that caught fire.
It was on the upper floor of the home

Re-evaluating Value

Kids get way too many gifts for Christmas.
With that many presents, it make them lose their value I think.
Hmm a devalued Christmas gift.  Sad.
I can easily get caught up in wanting to buy for my son.  Fun to shop and great to see how happy it makes him.
But he already has more toys than he needs.

Gifts would have more sentimental value if they were special, not just one of the pile of presents.

I doubt anything will change for this Christmas, but I know I will focus on experiences and not material things for his birthday in Feb.

End of an Era

My Grocery Store is changing its policies.
I blame Extreme Couponers, the show not the original people who do it.
My coupons will only double UP to 1 dollar
So, if I have a .75 coupon, I will only get up to a dollar not 1.50
Plus I am finding it harder and harder to match a coupon to items on sale

Changes need to be made.
In order to keep my budget in check, I am going to have to change the way I shop or give up some items.
I will probably do both.
Coffee, yes I said it.  I don't go out to buy it.  I make it at home, but still with that, the creamer and the filters, it adds up
I spend 5.00 a shopping trip for 1/2 and 1/2..  60.00 a year.

I will try to make more homemade snacks
I really have to think on this to see what I come up with....

Corks

Made some ornaments out of used corks.
I did my best to drink wine to supply my own corks, but I did get some from friends
I got some of the beads from my sister who sent me a Christmas bracelet she no longer wears.