Five Frugal Things | cherry chia
1. I used leftover cherry "juice"
I finished a jar of cherries from Aldi, but saved the colorful syrup, which is not at all syrupy. It's more like a juice; very different from what comes in, say, canned peaches in syrup.
Anyway, I used it to make some of the three-ingredient chia seed drink I shared here, and it worked great.
2. I did two work extras
I attended a quarterly online staff meeting, which got me a very easy hour's worth of pay (plus some helpful information!)
I also attended a free educational webinar about dignity in healthcare, and I downloaded the completion certificate to go toward my continuing education hours.
At my hospital, if you do enough continuing education and other specified activities, you can qualify for a $2,000-$5,000 bonus.
And obviously, it behooves you to find free continuing education activities. Then the bonus is actually a bonus. 😉
3. I got the free windshield wipers
Ok, so you know how a mobile repairperson was supposed to come replace Zoe's cracked windshield? They never showed up.
So, on my lunch break the next day, I called to inquire, and apparently, the appointment got canceled on their end, and no one told us.
I decided to take the option of going to the shop (they can't forget about me if I'm RIGHT THERE), and snapped up an 8 am appointment for the next day.
Zoe already had plans, so I drove her car there. During sign-in, I doubled-checked with the guy to make sure that the order included the windshield wipers that Erie gives with windshields, and he said yep.
Then, when the technician came in to tell me the car was done, I said, "Oh, thank you. And it has new wipers too, right?" and he looked confused. Somehow, the order hadn't gone through properly.
Good thing I checked! He went back out, put the wipers on, and then I was all set. Yay!
Annnnd my "very nice but also very persistent" strategy pays off again. It's the same energy to the hospital when I need to chat with doctors; I'm super pleasant, but I will get what I need for my patients. 😉
(BTW, I know these wipers aren't "free" per se, because we pay for insurance. But dang it, I want to get the full benefit I pay for.)
4. I mended a placemat
These black placemats are many years old, and during lunch the other day, I noticed that the stitching on one was coming apart.
Mending is more effective when you catch a problem early, so I did a quick little stitch on my machine before the problem got worse.
5. I bought a $10 leaf blower
I have been wanting a little plug-in leaf blower to make it easy to clean out my carport because sweeping is a little bit annoying and honestly, not all that effective.
So, I poked around on Facebook Marketplace and found a pretty crusty one for a mere $10.
I think it's missing the original extension piece, but I don't care. It's gonna work fine for blowing out the carport; it's not like I'm not doing industrial leaf removal!
And $10 is a price that's hard to beat.
This is a very kitchen-centric FFT! 😛
--I used aquafaba (i.e. chickpea goo) in a vegetarian "meat" loaf recipe because we were low on eggs. The substitution worked treat! (We're not vegetarian but are doing Lent this year. My husband's doctor asked if we could go from three meatless days to four, and my husband decided to go all in. :P) As with all meatloaf variations, this one used up several bits and bobs, including leftover red onion, homemade pizza sauce, random cheese, and mushrooms.
--Since I had to open a can of chickpeas for the above, I made hummus. This handily also used up lingering cilantro and a jalapeno and made for a filling lunch when eaten with naan.
--I slit open a squeeze tube of sour cream to get the last bit out. This was used in place of heavy whipping cream in a mushroom and lentils recipe; the change was a delicious one!
--A few weeks ago, I started using a homemade honey sugar scrub to exfoliate my face and hopefully help calm my complexion (early menopause sucks). Oh my gosh, the difference!!! And it's SO cheap!!! One tablespoon of honey + as much sugar as it will absorb (1/4 ratio, more or less) makes enough sugar scrub for a month. Mine is in a small recycled mason jar.
--Related, my jar stash is growing nicely in anticipation of preserving this year's harvest. I'm so excited to winter sow in the coming weeks!