Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Wednesday, Use those points!


 I have 17.00 to spend at Albertsons before the end of the month or I lose the points.  So even though things are high I will get a few things this week. Sliced cheese is .77 limit 2, fresh corn .39 limit 8, ballpark franks 2.99 limit 2, and a large loaf of French bread 1.49. I will have to find something else to bring it up to the 17 dollars I have available.

I was also looking at a dozen bakery store bake oatmeal cookies and they were $6.97 for 12 cookies.  I just made 9 dozen large cookies.  I am trying to figure the cost.  Let's see...

flour  ww mixed with white.  WW was free. .50

1.5 cups brown sugar Paid .99 for 2 lbs so? .15

1.5 cups white sugar ? I usually buy my sugar in 25 bags and out into tubs.  I try and not pay over $12.00  .35

2 sticks of butter 1.00

2 sticks of margarine .50

vanilla free from Mexico gift

4 eggs well we have our own chickens ? if you had to buy at today's price .60

soda ?

oatmeal free from food bank throw away .25

choco chips $1.99 bought at Christmas

2 cups chopped walnuts free from food bank 3.00

raisins 2 cups free from food bank maybe $1.25

Even if I had bought everything, I don't think it would have been $1.00 a dozen. I will take homemade, plus who just needs a dozen cookies? I would need a dozen for me. Three to eat in the store and three more for on the way home and then... I could have really reduced the cost by1/3 if I hadn't added the nuts, but I have so many that were given to me in the freezer, and they need to be used. 

Cheryl at Cheryl's frugal corner one of my favorite blogs, (she is loaded with info and should write a book) posted about what we pay for convenience.  I know it took less than 5 minutes to put together this cookie dough.  Probably 1 hour to bake them, even with the help (not so much) from a 7 year old. I know there is a lot of sugar in these cookies, but also WW flour, nuts, raisins, eggs, good fats. Now I have to hide them from hubs as he has about as much self control around cookies as I do around donuts.

I am feeding my neighbors cats this week as she is gone.  She has three in cages in her garage, and two in the house.  I don't think I could ever raise a cat in a cage, but I guess she adopted them this way. I always give them lots of love and pets and make sure I get a good purr out of them before I leave.  Two of them share a cage and they both fight over who gets to me first.  If anything happens to her I will be taking those cats and they will not be in cages.  Such sweet things.  My neighbors health is not good and we watch her closely.

While I was in St. Louis we had a really bad wind storm and part of her fencing came down.  Hubs went out to fix it for her but he needed her on the other side to hold things erect.  The fence is very tall and he could not see her.  Pretty soon he could not hear her either.  He hollered and hollered.  Then went over and she had passed out in the yard next to the fence.  Scared hubs to death.  She suffers from real unstable blood sugar.  He was able to get her stabilized, but this is not the first time this has happened.  I have to visually see her everyday.  My shop window overlooks her living dining area so I can see into her house during the day. If I don't see activity I go over and harass her. That is what I tell her when she answers the door.  Wouldn't you just love to be harassed by me?

I had a wedding dress picked up yesterday and I have another to finish today as it was tried on this morning.  It will be at least 2 if not more hours of tedious hand work to finish.  I divide things up in my mind when I have major hand work to do on a dress.  Shorten the one strap, put in the hand darts, attached breast pads, finish the inside seams, replace the lace removed from sides, make sure it lays flat, and then re bead, now re attach lace by hand to bottom of dress,( halfway done hand sewing lace back on bottom)add 6 bustling loops, add three buttons, rehem front two base layers by machine.  So much work. I will be lucky to finish this this afternoon before I have to leave. I think I have another fitting coming in a little later for a final before I finish.

I did not get any bridesmaids done yesterday and I only just started on one earlier today. I have to take Kelsa up to her other grandma, who is coming down to the kids house this afternoon.  I also have to pick up the dogs from the sitter and take them up and then rush back down to teach daughter's dance classes for 2.5 hours.  I will be tired tonight, so I doubt I will get any sewing done this evening.

I will really have to get busy on Thursday. Boy these weeks go by fast.

So, area you a scratch cookie baker? Do you ever compare costs of premade to homemade? 

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim


20 comments:

  1. Yes I scratch bake and cook. It's cheaper, I know what is in it and it tastes better. We've eaten this way for so long store bought and even some restaurant food doesn't taste good.
    So sad about your neighbor and the cats living in cages. I don't like to think about animals living in cages.
    Have a great day!!

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    1. I am having a problem going to restaurants now, as the food quality is not what I can get at home. Fast food does not bother me as I know it is fast food, but a restaurant I feel should be better than what I cook. It sometimes isn't.

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  2. Poor cats :-( We hardly eat out all and I do more baking now than I ever did. Mostly due to keeping costs down. We don't mind it at all.

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  3. The cost of convenience is so high and sometimes not even all that convenient. Plus, Schmills will remember baking with grandma forever.

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    1. Actually, I have found if you bake enough and have all ingredients handy it does not take that much longer. I can whip up a batch of baking powder biscuits in 5 minutes. It takes longer to heat up the oven.

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  4. You go girl. Get that $17 worth of food or goodies. Got to love free money. You know those cookies you made not only were cheaper but they will taste SO much better!!!!!! Thanks for the shout out. I appreciate it.
    It is nice you watch out for your neighbor. We used to have a guy across the street, that when I saw his curtains open I knew he was ok. One day they didn't and I called his emergency contact and sure enough he has passed. It is nice to have people watch out for us.
    Thos poor cats. I hated having my baby in a kennel while she re-cooperated, I sure can't imagine them living like that. That seems cruel to me.
    Don't work too hard!

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    1. I know I just cringe every time I go over there, so I love on them on them as much as I can. I do think we should always watch out for neighbors, you just never know.

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  5. I've rarely met a premade cookie I like. There is a store in McCall that has "brown butter choc chip" THOSE are good! We can't have cookies around. We can easily down a batch in 3d or less and we are both significantly overweight!

    Dang straight take advantage of every free A-store $$$.

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    1. Well Hubs has always had a weight problem and he finally lost 50 lbs over COVID and has kept it off, so I really need to watch the treats for his sake.

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  6. I can't even remember the last time I've bought store bakery cookies! They are SO SO OVERPRICED!

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake! Hate to cook, but love to bake! COOKIES FOR DINNER!!! lol
    I love to do cut-outs & decorate them for family & friends - if I can keep hubby from eating them before I get them done! Love to make home made snicker doodles, too! Really, I make so many kinds of cookies - Christmas is probably when I do the most to give mixed boxes to the neighbors.

    You just can't beat a home made cookie made from scratch in our very own kitchens!

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    1. I love to bake cookies also. I think it is part of my heritage.

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  7. There is the rare frosted sugar cookie from a fantastic bakery that I love, but only because I refuse to learn to make them myself. That would be the fast train to gorge town for me. Instead, I'll enjoy the rare (once a year, or whatever) overpriced $5 cookie & call it a day. The rest of the baked goods we make are all homemade.

    Go take advantage of that $17 offer. I'm confident you can find some good options.

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    1. There is a crumble cookie here next to Joanns, but I refuse to pay 5.00 for a over frosted cookie, that is not quite done in the middle. I can see why you would only go buy one a year, as it would be expensive plus it does help with self control. Which we all know I have very little of that.

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  8. Get those points! I don't buy bakery cookies or store cookies except for Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip. It has been several years since I bought those. Yet, I don't bake cookies anymore. I prefer fudgy brownies I bake. Bakery cookies are tempting, but they are too expensive. One huge cookie is my limit at the cookie shop here.

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    1. I really don't like bakery cookies either. I think they use less butter and they just don't taste as good.

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  9. I love how you broke down the cost of the cookies, Kim. I would definitely want more than a dozen too. Lol I’m glad your neighbor is OK. I would have been scared of that too. Good thing your dh was there.

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    1. Well, I do that a lot in my head, when I look at convenience food. Just how much would that cost to make at home with what I have on hand?

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  10. I don't buy cookies - they are too dangerous to have in the house! Needless to say, I don't bake them either!

    That is scary about your neighbour. I feel bad for those cats in cages - cats are territorial and need space to roam!

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  11. I know my heart breaks for them. I have a real sweet tooth and yes, it is a problem.

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