Punxsutawney Phil Sees 6 More Weeks of Winter, How To Save Money Watching TV, Saving Money On Cell Phone Bills

Punxsutawney Phil Sees 6 More Weeks of Winter-

With another little snowstorm on the way here, and lows in the teens this week, sounds accurate....

How To Save Money Watching TV-
I read this excellent blog post here, Adventures in the Goodland and it got me thinking. We haven't been happy with our Dish bill, and many of my favorite shows are either gone, or available in another format. We may get a wii for Netflix, much cheaper than our current bill, with sports/exercises included. I can watch HBO, etc. in another form. My former favorite SYFY channel sucks now, with Eureka, and Warehouse 13 gone (soon). Only Haven left, sniff. Who watches wrestling and cheasy movie with poor spcial effects on SYFY? Anyway, the savings- $800.00 a year. I think we'll switch over in the spring since we'll need to install an antenna, and do more research. And finish up True Detective  Interesting reviews on antennas here by Consumer Reports. You can find your area here, as far as what's available channel-wise and what the signal strength is- FCC DTV Maps

I like the look of this antenna-

Saving Money On Cell Phone Bills- 
I decided that since I'm paying $30.00 a month to use a smart phone, for the data pack connected to ATT, that I'm going back to a texting, NON-smart device. I'm due for a free upgrade next month. I get a good discount thru my employer, but I have 2 computers at work, and 2 at home. I always have ZERO data usage, so what am I really paying for? Back to the basics for me. I am also looking into a "GoPhone" for $50.00 a month with unlimited text/talk and wireless. Just no data connection/use to ATT.  I can save $360.00 a year, or more, no loss of convenience for me. 

Total savings- over $1,000. per year I'd rather take a vacation, or, ah yes- all those home repairs :) 

Independence Days Challenge, Thrifting, Dark Days Meal, What Game Day? My New Favorite Singer!!!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Independence Days-
1. Plant Something- Nope

2. Harvest Something- Eggs, kitty cuddles :)

3. Preserve/Store Something- More stuff to the freezer.

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Converting tea bags to use in the Keurig coffee maker, easy peasy! Just snip and dump.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- I found a new recipe for eggs baked on top of mushrooms here Sauteed Mushrooms W/Baked Eggs and Flatbread Will try that later this week.

6. Build Community Food Systems- Nope

7. Recycle/Re-Use- Bought some thrifted goodies below.

8. Skill Up- Got some new ideas for my job, from other school peers. Learned some new medical stuff sadly about upcoming treatment. Something common, but was not ready for this at my age. More later :(

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Dave added a new coop vent for better air circulation in the winter. It was $2.00, small vent slots and weather proof. Will regenerate part of my body :)

Wooden Rosemaling folk art plate, $3.00 

Thrifting-

We hit a couple of places today out running errands. All of these were less than $20.00 I found a like-new blow dryer, and big barrel curling iron. $3.00 each. I also bought the really Rosemaling wooden nice plate (above) at the Habitat For Humanity used building supplies store, $3.00 also.  Dave scored too! He found a vintage Kodak (Made in America) metal pictures bin, full of parts, for $5.00-

We may fill it full of old cameras, or turn it into a indoor planter

I also found this wonderful blue French-made ceramic bowl, our new salad bowl. Anya had to investigate-

Can I sit in it?

I wadded up the receipt, play time!

Dark Days Meal-

Tonight it's homemade pizza with local dough, and homemade pesto! Yum!

What Game Day?

While I find football incredibly BORING, I did find this fake beer ad video really funny! Some bleeps so watch when the kids are gone-

Anna Kendrick

My New Favorite Singer!!!-

I caught the end of this concert late one night with Sara Bareilles, and about fell out of my chair. I had heard her singing Love Song quite a while back. What a set of pipes! She also writes and plays the piano brilliantly. Crank up the volume on the first one, it's a very unusual cover- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I read when Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics they were directed at Elton John. Bernie wanted to stay simple and be behind the scenes as a lyricist. Elton, not so much obviously... Makes perfect sense...

Love Song, funny video! Pop fluff :)

                                          

How to Make Water Kefir, Choc Chip Oat Pecan Cookies, Freezing Rain, Ice and Snow's Coming...

How to Make Water Kefir-
I had heard about Kefir years ago, but I only found out about Water Kefir a month or so ago. A friend introduced me to it, and she thought it might help me. I'll try any kind of holistic stuff, so I tried this! This supposedly has all/most of the probiotics you could ever want, and you can make it cheap.
I watched my pal make it at her house, she gave me a batch, then I made some at home. It's easy to make, and it's kind of like sourdough- you just keep some of it alive for the next round. Basically you can make it indefinitely, unless you kill it. It has helped my acid reflux. I'm hoping over time it will help y allergies and asthma. When I don't take it things spike back up. I drink about 4 oz. on an empty stomach first things in the morning. You can add flavorings to the batch that's ready to drink. You can buy the grains online if needed. My friend got hers from another mutual friend, who bought hers from Cultures for Health I'm going to make fermented pickles this summer with some of their cultures. It's pretty simple, but there are a couple of strict things-

1- Treat this like canning- everything has to be STERILE. Jars, strainer, spoons, etc.
2- Disinfect your counters tops when done, as this is a type of BACTERIA.
3- Best to use organic ingredients.
4- You can leave it at room temp for up to 72 hours, and then you need to make more and separate it. It eats up all the sugar. If you don't want to make it that often, putting it in the fridge will slow it down.

I make mine about every 5 days, using a qt. canning jar. I use Sucanet and raw sugar, spring water, unbleached coffee filters. That's it. It's really cheap to make.

Do your own research before you start this. There are many health benefits, and NO dairy, but it may not be for everyone. Some use small amounts for the dogs and cats. I give Anya about 1/8 teas. every few days.

So here's how I do it- sterilize everything, lay all on top of a clean towel. The "recipe" for the sugar water may vary depending on personal preference (flavor) and the grains you buy. My version tastes like diluted brown sugar water. The kefir has no flavor of it's own. Many people add a citrus peel, grated fresh ginger, or whatever to the ready-to-drink batch.

My two sugars

For 1 qt. I use-
3 TBL. Turbinado sugar, and 1 TBL. Sucanet sugar,  1 qt. spring water. NEVER use tap, or home filtered. You need the minerals. If you have our own, clean well, or spring water, all the better. Mix all this well in a sterilized jar, and leave about 1" head space. Shake well til dissolved.

Sugars and water ready to shake

Strain the existing Kefir water into a new sterilized jar, using a fine mesh strainer, or coffee filter, set aside.

strained

ready to drink

Kefir grains, sorry no macro lense

Cover new batch to drink with a coffee filter, so it can breathe, flavor if you wish. Set aside.

Now take your kefir grains, about 1 TBL and add to your new sugar water. Do NOT shake.

Kefir grains floating

Kefir grains at the bottom

covered and ready to sit for 72 hours

I run the excess grains down the sink. Cover with filter and set aside for up to 72 hours. Then repeat. I keep my two jars in separate spots in the kitchen. Enjoy!

Choc Oat Chip Cookies-
While the cookies baked I made kefir. I like these the best as they have oatmeal and some good fiber, etc. I used 1/2 w.w. pastry flour. They're awesome!!! Choc Oat Chip Cookies recipe. I added 1 cups pecans.

Freezing Rain, Ice,  and Snow's Coming...
Just when you think the weather can't get worse... we're going from WEEKS of a foggy, bad air inversion, highs in the 20's to....FREEZING RAIN, THEN SNOW. OMG, I'm so hoping for a ...

Snow Day!!!