I went to a Canning Seminar over the weekend.  Josh planted 38 tomato plants, so I figure I better get prepared. I went to the local nursery holding the seminar having no idea what to expect.  There were all types of people that showed up to the seminar. But we all had one thing in common.  We all valued growing our own vegetables and getting precious information from our elders.

I knew I was in the right place when I saw her. She was an older lady with a straw hat and a shirt that read " Attitude is Everything. Better pick a good one." She was bright and cheery. It was obvious she LOVED sharing knowledge with others. Little did I know that she was a professional. She had been winning blue ribbons at county fairs for years. Matter of fact, she said she had someone call her that morning wanting her to judge a canning competition. Good thing we had our appointment with her first.   The first thing she did was bring in a 12.5 lb cabbage. No ladies and gentlemen that’s not a typo. She entered it into a contest and lost by 9 oz. She wasn’t upset though. She said she could have easily beaten the competition, but she got her plant out late. I guess there’s always next year. The cabbage, by the way, was to teach us how to make homemade sauerkraut.

Next we learned how to make dill pickles. She gives us very specific instructions. Lay your jar on its side, insert the branch of dill. Then you take a clove of garlic and lay it in the indention the "a" in "Ball" makes on the jar. Someone asked why that was important. She stopped, turned around and said, "Its for presentation!" A veteran canning student said that we were actually in "Competitive Canning 101". The teacher looked at him and said, "Well, if you are going to do it, you might as well do it right." She went on to hand pick cucumbers that were close in the same size and color. Of course, they have to all go stem up in the jar. The smaller your cucumber, the crisper they are. Someone asked what type of cucumbers she used because she was going to go to the store and get them. She looked at her like she was out of her mind. She had an heirloom white cucumber that was her great great grandmothers. We were secretly plotting on how we could snatch a cucumber for the seed and sell it on the black market.  Also as an FYI, you must use canning/pickling salt and pure cane sugar. Nothing else will do.

She started to get confused, because she "has thousands of recipes in her head and its hard to keep them straight!" had to reference her cookbook for measurements. I swear I heard angels singing as she pulled it out. It was a 3 ring notebook FULL of recipes. Several of us were wondering, and someone finally asked how you get one of these cookbooks. She said you can’t, they quit making them. People thought they’d have a hard time selling them. My heart sunk. What do you MEAN I can’t get one. That is the BIBLE of cooking. I HAVE to have one!! So me and a new friend of mine broke out our assignments on our quest to get a copy of this cookbook. SOMEONE has to have some left. I’ve emailed the publisher and the society that organized the cookbook. I am anxiously waiting their response.

People just don’t live like that anymore. Mrs. Marjorie grows all her own vegetables and lets nothing go to waste. She said why would you buy a canned vegetable and not know what all is in it. You know, she’s right. I think there is something to be said for having the pride of growing your own vegetables. Keeping things "organic" and keeping life simple. Get your exercise by plowing your field to feed your family. Our society has gotten lazy by depending on Kroger to bring our food to us.   The sad thing is, as these people slowly fade away, their art of simple living will fade with them. We must get every nugget of information we can and cherish it so we can pass it on to generations to come.

Next week I go back to learn how to make preserves and jellies. 

Last night Josh and I went to the Drive In Movies with some friends. I’ve never been, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I must say, this is the best value if you feel the need to go to the movies. It was $7 a person, and you get to see two movies. The only downside is you don’t get to pick the movies, what’s playing is what you are stuck with.  Even the concession stand was a value. A Burger basket was $6.50 (about what you’d pay at MCdonalds) Snow Cones were $1.00. A large tub of popcorn was around $3.50.  You can bring your own food but you have to pay for a $5.00 food pass. You get to sit with your friends and you have more freedom to converse without disturbing others. Plus you can still see/hear the movie if you go grab some food. You don’t get quite the dramatic effect as you would in a closed in theater, but it was a pleasurable experience nonetheless. I think Josh and I will go back. Good family fun. Two thumbs up.

Check out http://www.stardustdrivein.com/

Just when we thought no one could suck worse than ESPN in covering Nascar Racing, TNT proves us wrong.  They referenced tonight as a game. It’s not a game. It’s a race. Football is a game. Larry McReynolds tried his hand at magic. No one cares. Kyle Petty even commented on it that know one cares!! Bring back Boogity Boogity and Digger!!! All TNT has is stupid graphics showing is which lane Pit Out is, because you know we all get confused as to which lane is the exit for Pit Lane. The Restart graphic is just as helpful.  Down with TNT.  I wish they let the fans decide who covers the races. 

Josh and I recently started getting the Sunday paper ( I had a coupon with my CitiPass book) This week I’ve found the following deals I thought I’d share:

Kroger is having a buy 3 and get $3 off certain items including Charmin, Downy and Tide. I just so happen to have a 25 cent off Charmin, 25 cents off Downy and 35 cents off tide. So, with the $3 and the coupons, I’m saving $3.85 when buying all 3 items together.

They also have any General Mills cereal 2 for $4, and I have a buy 2, get $1 off coupon. woohoo for $1.50 for cereal.

They have their Herbal Essence shampoo 2 for $5, I have a $3 off when you buy 2 coupon so I’m getting it for $1 a bottle!!!!!! 

I’m excited about my finds. I think I may have found a new, cheap, hobby.

Today I had an awesome day. But my justifications for it being an awesome day is a little different than it normally is.  I realized today that Josh and I did things today that we always wanted to do as a kid but was told no for one reason or another. For one, I got to sleep with my dog. Mom wouldn’t let my dog sleep with me when I was little. I woke up late (9 AM, which is late for me, when I was a teenager I could sleep until 11 or so) got dressed, and Josh and I decided to go get cheap fireworks.  We go to a stand and they have everything on sale trying to get rid of it after the 4th.  Josh shared with me that the shells he got was something he always wanted but his mom would never let him get them. He had a little kid grin on his face all the way home.  I decided on the way home that I wanted an Icee. So we stopped by the gas station and went inside. At the drink station, there was the options of small, medium, large, extra large and Batman size (which is 32 oz.)  Josh and I both looked at each other and grabbed the Batman size!!!  When I was little, I always dreamed of getting the BIG Icee. But no, I had to get the small size.  But today I felt special leaving the gas station with that huge cherry frozen concoction. As we were leaving there was a kid going in, and I knew, secretly inside, he was jealous. Tonight we are having friends over and we are making homemade pizza (another fun activity from my youth) and we are going to play video games (probably the new Aerosmith Guitar Hero I told you about) and eat brownies and homemade ice cream. Yep, my day will end staying up as late as I want and doing what I want. Ahh, the joys of grown up-dome. Well, until the next bill comes in..

As a present to my dear hubby, I recently purchased Guitar Hero Aerosmith Edition. (Target had it on sale and you get a free Aerosmith Greatest Hits CD) We debated as to whether we should keep it or not. In a moment of weakness, he tore it open and it was un-refundable.  The first couple of songs are not that great. It’s only when you get 5 or 6 songs into it that you finally get into the good stuff. It has Walk This Way with Run DMC, Sweet Emotion, Love in an Elevator, Dream On, Pink  etc. The graphics are awesome. Steve Tyler’s a little scary, but no worse than he is in person. Overall, it’s typical Guitar Hero fun. The thrill of unlocking the songs to see what new songs are available is a wonderous feeling. I give it two thumbs up.  Rumor is Metallica  is coming out with a version. There should be a Kiss version. If anyone knows Gene Simmons, please pass along my request.

Yellow watermelon. Yes, a yellow watermelon.   The other day I was at the grocery store and I stumbled upon a yellow watermelon.  If you know me, you know I LOVE watermelon. I will eat it until I get sick.   Every year Josh and I will get a watermelon while we are in Florida and eat it while we overlook the ocean.  I was skeptical at first. I had to buy one just to see what it tasted like.  The guy who checked me out questioned my purchase.  I run home, grab a fork and dig in. It was REALLY good. I think I may like a yellow watermelon better than a red watermelon. I think it is sweeter and has a little more of a honey taste as opposed to a red watermelon. I’ve had two now and they were both excellent. So I either had really good luck or they are just sweeter. As an added bonus, they are seedless.  So next time you go to the store, pick up a wedge of yellow watermelon and let me know what you think.

I had an interesting experience at the grocery store today.  I was in the produce section and noticed they had strawberries on sale. Josh and I are trying to eat healthier, so I thought I’d grab some. There’s another woman looking at strawberries too. I then realize these are some acquaintances of ours.  Not wanting to get into a big long conversation with them, (They are the type that, without meaning to I’m sure, make you feel inferior. Their life is SO wonderful, blah blah)  I devise a plan. I looked intently at the strawberries until she went on to lettuce. Then I nonchalantly turned the other way and worked my way backwards in the store.

I NEVER go backwards in the store. You always get frozen stuff last that way it stays cold longer. (that’s okay though, I organized my cart and put all the frozens together so they would help each other stay cold)Not today. Today all I cared about was making sure I didn’t run into our dear little friends.  Several things happened as I was doing this.  For one, it got me out of my normal routine. ( So I will probably have to go back at some point because I forgot things) But it made me think more as to what I need. I did no browsing whatsoever. Got what I needed and get the heck out of Dodge.  It also made it into a little game. I felt like I was 5 again and I was playing hide and seek.

This exercise tonight made me think. You can turn grocery shopping into a game. You could set a certain amount and no matter what you buy you can’t go over it.  (not so much for a budget, but that’s a nice little added bonus)  You could pick out a random person you don’t know and do as I did and avoid them at all cost.  See if you can save more than you spend (use coupons, sales etc to actually SAVE more than you pay them) Categorize your buggy as you put items in your cart so its easier to unload when you get home (you can even pester the bagger to make sure they keep your organization.  )

I challenge you to use your imagination next time you go to the store. If you have any fun ideas, please share.

One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve changed jobs is, some people pay what we tell them to and NEVER question it. There are people that their homeowners insurance went up by 80% and they’ve never called to ask why.   This has opened my eyes to our own spending.   I decided to analyze some of our spending to see if we are wasting money.

I actually saved us $32 a month by looking over each bill to see what we are really paying for. Apparently, I’ve been paying $12 a month (for the past 5 years) just so I could have "Deluxe caller Id" which means if someone calls while I’m on the phone, it tells me who’s beeping in. I’ve used this a couple of times, but it’s not worth $12 a month to me.

Another thing we did was suspended the insurance on the Blazer. This is something a lot of people don’t think about.  We had liability on it, but by suspending it and just holding comprehensive on it, I saved $20 a month. Now, this does mean Josh can’t drive it. If there’s a weekend I know he’s going to be driving, I’ll bump it up then bump it back down. Comprehensive only means if  a tree falls on it or it gets stolen, it’s covered. If he drives it and hits someone, we are screwed!! So I only recommend this if you have a vehicle you NEVER drive. If you do this, lock the keys somewhere so no one will drive it. But at the same time, why pay for something you aren’t using.

With gas prices the way they are, a lot of people are more cautious of what they spend. To me, it’s sad that it takes our economy going to the crapper before people start realizing they are wasting away their money! If they had done this a long time ago, they’d be in a lot better shape. 

So I urge you to sit down and actually look at what your spending each month. Are you really using all of those cell phone minutes you pay for? Do you have a feature on your cable bill you didn’t even know you had? Are your credit card interest rates from where you first got them? If they are, and you have better credit now, call them and negotiate your interest rate! If they don’t want to help go to someone who does.   Use those coupons restaurants send in the mail. $5 is $5!!

Apparently I had an allergic reaction to Renu Contact Solution.  I usually use Opti-free, but Renu was on sale so I thought I’d try it. It took about 3 weeks, but it got to the point where I couldn’t wear my contacts. I would put them in, and by the time I made the 15 minute drive to work, I had to take them out. My eyes were all red, things were blurry then they’d start to burn. It was like I had sand in my eyes.  I even changed contacts thinking I got a hold of a bad pair (you know how some feel better than others?) I was about to call the doctor and then it occurred to me that I switched solutions. I went to Walgreens that night, got my reliable Opti - Free Solution, and haven’t had a problem since. I don’t know if I got a bad bottle of Renu, or it they are going to have another recall, but it was definitely the problem. Has anyone else had problems with Renu?