Frugal Friday

Another Frugal Friday is here. I have lots of things I want to write about, but today's thoughts out loud are focused on health.

It's cheaper to be healthy than unhealthy. It makes one feel better, too.

Currently I'm on two medications, one for high triglycerides and one to help me sleep. $50 a month, and that's with insurance. (And yes, I know that's cheap compared to what some people are on.) It's highly likely that if I were to lose weight and exercise daily, I could get off that triglyceride medication. Perhaps the sleeping pills, too.

I always feel icky. I have aches, pains, headaches. My back hurts, my feet hurt, my legs hurt. I get out of breath, I have no energy and I just feel blah.

I used to be a member of Weight Watchers. I love the program. I know it inside and out. I've decided to not spend the money and join again, saving me about $14 a week. Instead, I'll do it on my own. I'll be accountable to myself.

That is the single-most important thing for me to focus on at this time: my health. It wills save me money in many ways.

Exercise is another important ingredient. I'm not going to join a gym -- too expensive, plus I don't like gyms. I was a member of Curves for a long time a few years ago. I liked it okay, and I was able to maintain my weight loss with exercise alone, but it was $30 a month, Thomas was in school then and so I was able to get there at convenient-to-me times (when it wasn't crowded) and I had the money to do it. Now I prefer to save the money, I don't want to go when it's crowded, and I choose to stay at home.

Right now I just need to get moving. I have a puppy, he needs to walk. Free exercise. When it's icy out, we go to one of the city parks because they keep the sidewalks there ice free. So no excuses. I also have a million exercise videos. I love Richard Simmons. I have many others to choose from, too. (Garage sale finds!)

Food: Well, eating healthier will cost a little more starting out. I'll need to stock up, watch sales for chicken, turkey and healthier protein choices and pantry items. I'll have to watch sales very carefully. I'll also be making more trips to the store to stock up on fresh foods.

Careful menu planning will help. I took all of my favorite WW recipes and organized them on one sheet into categories such as Mexican, Italian, beef, chicken, crock pot, etc. That helps a lot when I'm planning. I then plan one month's worth of dinner menus at a time. That way we're able to get variety in what we eat, and we have a little leeway if we're in the mood for something -- I can move things around.

I have looked into The Grocery Game but I don't know that it would work for us. I rarely use coupons because I don't use a lot products that offer coupons. I might revisit this and try their $1 trial, but I have my doubts. I think watching sales ads on my own will work better.

My favorite source of Weight Watchers recipes can be found here. Homemade snacks for Thomas and Bob are in order, which means me being in the kitchen more, but it's cheaper and healthier than buying prepackaged stuff.

Good health is more cost-effective than bad health. If I can take the steps to be healthier, I will save money because I'll have more energy to do more.

hmmm...not your average frugal post, is it?

Just think of all the books I can buy if I get off those medications...$50 a month!

Some cheese with that whine?

It's 1:08 am. I woke so hot that I thought I would burst into flames. We went to bed early tonight because this mom's sick. Fever, aches, pains, sore throat, and full of whine.

Our back to school has fizzled. Wednesday Thomas did math and then complained of not feeling well. I felt his forehead and he was burning up. He spent the rest of the day on the couch, and was feeling much better by evening.

Thursday was my turn. Only I'm not feeling any better. Thomas did math with me by his side, then he did science on his own. He then read. He's started one of the Harry Potter books. Amazingly, he hasn't read any of them yet. His comment to me was cute: "Mom, reading the book is like *being* there. I love it. It's much better than the movie." Gee, I've been trying to get him to read all those HP books since forever. Although the movies are great, the books are better.

My house is a pit. I have bills stacked to pay. I do have groceries, though. I hate it when my house is a pit and I have bills to pay. Huge weight on my shoulders. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a little more zip and will be able to get some of those tasks done.

Tesla, our second puppy, will be coming this weekend. Finally. He had a virus and ran a slight fever so she couldn't vaccinate him, plus she put him on antibiotics. He was fine and back to normal a couple days later, but she had to wait a few days before vaccinating. Then she had to wait a few days more before shipping. It all worked out for the best as we were supposed to get him December 27. That's the day we lost Jerry, so we really needed that time to mourn. Now we'll be in happy moods for Tesla's arrival.

We'll be very busy this weekend! And it's supposed to be warm, near 40 -- shorts weather! -- an added bonus.

So I think I'll try to go to bed again. My Motrin has kicked in and I'm feeling a tad bit better. Wishing I had Harry Potter's wand so I could wave it to clean up the house!

Happy New Year

From our home to yours, we wish you the best for 2008!

And may it be happy -- as Thomas is with his new puppy.

Africa Studies

Two links useful for studying the Africa countries and capitals:

Name the African Countries -- the country name is give, you click on its geographical location.

Learn the capitals of African countries, after you've memorized the countries, that is.

Nations of the World

Here's a cute video that sings the videos of the world. It's dated and there are errors in it, according to today's geography, but fun nonetheless.