Garage Sale Find!

Our family really enjoys going to garage sales.  It is fun to see who can find the best deal!  This past weekend, the kids and I enjoyed our time visiting the Perkins, Oklahoma city-wide garages sales.  It is an annual "event" in a small town about 15 miles south of Stillwater.  This was the first year that we had heard of it, so we decided to check it out.

We spent 4 hours traveling around this tiny town.  the second garage sale that we visited supplied what we thought was our find of the day.  I bought a clothes basket full of odds and ends such as C-clamps, steel cutting blades, an old telephone amplifier, plastic sheeting, a rolling pin, a small saucepan, and a few other items all for $2.  Actually the only reason I purchased the basket was for the C-clamps because I knew we needed them and knew they were worth well over the $2!  At this same sale, Savannah found a basket full of arts and craft paints and supplies, and I bought 3 salad size Corell plates (since I have a tendency to break my "unbreakable" Corell Ware).

The only other real find was a metal box of organizing drawers full of bolts, screws, and other odds and ends.  I actually paid $5 for it and later thought....why did I even buy that!  It was even missing a drawer, but I was just thinking about how many bolts, screws, washers, etc. that we have purchased over the last few months for various jobs that Jason has been working on, and the cost really adds up!  I brought it home to Jason and could see that he thought I did alright but not the greatest.  I took out each drawer and began digging through it.  In one drawer there was $1.03 worth of odd change so that brought down the cost to $3.97.  A little better! He did eventually say that I did alright because there were definitely things that he would use so I felt a tad better about my purchase.

However, as we continued our digging, I found a coin collectors plastic case with 2 coins in it.  
One was a 1876 dime and the other was a 1858 quarter.  After a little research online, the total worth is about $25-30 for both of the coins (Ebay here we come!).  The quarter is actually the most valuable of the 2.  We also thought it was really neat to think that we were holding coins that were 153 and 135 years old.

This crazy nuts and bolts find ended up being the best buy of the day!

Pumpkin Puree

Homemade pumpkin puree is a fairly inexpensive way to enjoy some very tasty goodies.  A few years back, I decided to make my own pumpkin puree for the first time.  I purchased 2 medium size and one large pumpkin for $5 from a local farmer who was selling them in a plaza parking lot.  I took them home, and began preparing them for pureeing.  Of course, we carved all 3 pumpkins before cutting them up for cooking!

2006 pumpkins....soon to be puree!

This year, I decided that I wanted to make my own puree again.  After all, it is not very hard, and the end result is excellent tasting free pumpkin puree.  I began researching how to puree pumpkin.  In 2006, I cut the pumpkin into strips, peeled it, and then cut it up before cooking.  I cooked the pumpkin in the oven on 350 until it was tender.

I decided to "google" how to puree pumpkin and see if there was another way I could puree it (and to help refresh my memory as to how I had previously pureed).  I found some really good illustrated directions at thepioneerwoman.com.  Here is the link to the directions.  She also had a lot of really beneficial ideas.  First, the use of freezer bags that can easily stack and take up less room in the freezer was a great idea for me.  Last time, I used the 16 ounce containers. It works as well, but it does take up more room.   Also, turning the opening of the bag out before putting pumpkin in it really helped cut down on mess when you try to seal the bag.  I did not have the mess around the rim of the bag from putting the spoons of pumpkin in.

I decided to give the Pioneer Woman's method a shot.  Here is what I did this time:
Step-by-step Pumpkin Puree 

1. Choose your pumpkin.  I chose a larger pumpkin that was on sale at my local supermarket for $3.33 each.  
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. Use a butcher knife to cut out the vine topper.  
4. Let your kiddos remove the "slim" and the seeds from inside.  Save the seeds for making toasted pumpkin seeds!  
5. Cut the pumpkin in half from the stem to the bottom and around.  Use a metal spoon to lightly scrape all the goo from the inside.  
6. Cut each pumpkin half into strips and lay the strips on cookie sheets for baking.  
7. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until your pumpkin is tender.  
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for some time in order to be able to handle it easily.  
9. Remove the outer skin by peeling it away.  
10. Cut the cooked pumpkin into pieces and put it in a blender.  
11. Puree until smooth.
12. Put 1 cup of pumpkin in each quart freezer bag.  I used a scale to weigh 8 ounces in each bag.
13. Flatten the bag to remove most of the air and seal the bag.  Lay flat to store in the freezer.

Here is what we ended up with:

16 - 8 ounce bags of pumpkin puree

Seeds for drying

Toasted Seeds - take about 2 Tbsp. melted butter
 and top with salt.  Bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven)  until golden brown

 Tips:

• While the above method is good and worked just fine, I have to say that I think the other way was maybe a little easier in the long run.  When I peeled the pumpkin and already had it cut into chunks, it seemed to cook faster and more evenly.   
• I added about 1 Tbsp. of water to a full blender of pumpkin to help it along in the pureeing process.  It just seemed to blend smoother.  
• 1 full blender of pumpkin chunks for my blender yielded about three 8 ounce servings.
• I tried to use a food processor (small one), and it did not work very well.  The small food processor was taking too long.  I decided switch to my blender so that it did not take forever to finish.  It also seemed to give a more even consistency.
• I froze the pumpkin in the 8 ounce portions because that is the amount of half of a small can of pumpkin that you buy at the store.  When I make a recipe, I usually only need 1/2 of the can.  This way I have just what most of my recipes call for.  
• I placed my completed bags in stacks in my refrigerator freezer in a 9X13 pan to do the initial freezing so that they would freeze flat.
• The 16 ounce sour cream or butter containers work well for storing the pumpkin in the freezer as well.  They hold the same amount as a small can of pumpkin.
• I had no idea that cooked pumpkin actually tastes pretty good (sort of like a cross between a squash and a sweet potato) when it is baked.

That is about it.  I look forward to sharing some of the things that we use our pumpkin for in the near future.

As far as cost, here is the break down.  We paid $3.33 for the pumpkin (about 12.5 pounds) and $1.00 for the freezer bags (40 bags for $2.50).  Of course, we did have the propane for our stove, but I have no way of figuring that in. I know that it was not much though.  So...for the extras in gas, we will round up and say that we made 16 - 8 ounce servings of pumpkin puree for roughly $.38 each.  That would result in a can of pumpkin costing about $.76, and  homemade is healthier without all the additives and preservatives.  Plus...the kids had a great time getting slimy!

Then, there is my least favorite part...the clean up!  I would never win the award for "the clean cook."  I like to have a clean kitchen when I start, but I sure seem to get it messy when I am cooking!


1 Small Can Libby's Pumpkin = 15 ounces or 2 of my frozen baggies.  If you typically use a whole can of pumpkin, you can either a freeze a full 15 ounces in one bag to save on bags, or you can fill a sour cream bowl (the kind you reuse from the store when they are empty).  The sour cream/small butter bowl filled almost to the top will equal a small can of Libby's pumpkin (don't fill to the top because you have to have room for freezing and expanding). 

Great Deal...Great Fun!

The kids and I made our rounds this week to our favorite thrift stores.  While we did not find much, I did make one great purchase...tracing paper.  They had a table set out of items that people might purchase for back-to-school.  There were pads of artist tracing paper for $.50 each.  I thought it might be fun for the kids to try tracing. I realized that they did not have much experience in tracing because it is just not something that I ever thought to do with them.

After school today, I decided to let them have a go at it, and they loved it.  They got out old coloring books and traced pages of their favorite pictures.  I thought they would do maybe one and be ready to move on to something else but no!  They traced pictures all afternoon.  Here are some of the results:

Savannah's First Page
It is a copy of a "fuzzy marker poster."

Savannah's Second Page

JJ's First Page

JJ's Second Page

We used regular pencils to trace the original outlines and colored pencils to shade in the areas.

I know one activity that is found in many beginning handwriting books is having the kids "trace the path."  The object is to following the path and stay between the lines.  Even the beginning warm up pages in JJ's handwriting book this year had him tracing paths all over a page.  This helps teach the coordination kids need to learn to progress to better writing.  So, why not have them trace a picture!  Great activity for working with pencil control!

Painting and Great Deals!

We recently decided it was time to paint the inside of our house.  The kitchen was in great need of painting, and the rest of the house had an interesting array of colors (not bad, just not what we would have chosen)!  We are renting, so we have not wanted to spend the time or extra money just to change colors.  However, after living here for 2 1/2 years, we decided to go for it.

Jason had built the kids a doll house a couple of years ago, and there was almost a full gallon of yellow paint left over.  It is a bright yellow, and we were not sure if it would be too overwhelming in our small kitchen.  I also new that the dark country blue that was in our kitchen would need either primer or extra coats of paint to cover it up.  So, I began with the bright yellow intending to purchase a softer yellow to finish the final coat.  After all, it was not going to cost us anything to get started because we already had the paint.

We also began looking for discounted paint at Lowe's and Wal-Mart.  You can get really good deals on the mistint paint as long as you are patient and not extremely picky about color.  We found a semi-gloss "Shetland Grey" (which is almost white) for the walls in our kitchen.  You can not even tell it has any grey in it unless you hold a bright white up to it.  We paid $7.48 for the gallon (half price).

This week while Jason was purchasing supplies at Lowe's for one of his handyman jobs, the kids and I decided to check the paint aisle.  We had already looked the week before so I was not expecting much.  However, there were 2 gallons of a light beige color (just what I was looking for!), and both were marked at $5.00 per gallon.  It is the Valspar Signature Color.  When we went to check out, the original price was $35 per gallon.  I paid a total of $10.98 for $70 worth of paint, but that is not the best part.  When the cashier rang out my purchase, there was a $5 mail-in rebate per gallon that printed out with the receipt.  All I had to do was fill out my name and address, pay for a stamp, and put it in the mail box leaving a grand total of 2 gallons of high quality paint costing me $1.42 (tax and a stamp).

We will be painting our whole house for under $15 in materials (when we get the rebate back)!  I have almost finished the kitchen.  I will post before and after pictures as soon as I am done with each room.

Another Murphy's Gas (Wal-mart Gas Stations) Coupon!

For those of you who signed up for the Murphy Gas E-mail....There is another $3 off of a $20 purchase or more of gas coupon for today and tomorrow!  This is a great deal for just the cost of printing off your coupon.  Also, if you print your coupon on "Draft" then you will save some ink.  The draft or low ink option is usually found in the preferences or option portion of your printing screen.

Murphy's Gas (Wal-mart Gas Stations) Coupons!

For those of you who have a Murphy's Gas in your area (these are the gas stations that are found at Wal-Mart), they frequently offer discount coupons on gas, diesel, and sometimes sodas.  If you sign up for their e-mails, they will send you an occasional e-mail announcing their deals and often give you an opportunity to print off a coupon.

The coupons are typically for a specific short time frame so make sure you read it.  Today, I printed off a $3 off of a $10 gas purchase coupon that is good today and tomorrow only (May 22nd and 23rd).  If you are interested, here is the link: http://murphyusa.com. All you have to do is visit the link and click on the the image in the upper right hand corner that says "Murph e-offers Sign Up Now!"  to register for their e-mails.

Disclosure:  I am not in any way connected with Murphy's.  I just wanted to pass along this great method of savings!

Swagbucks...want to earn free prizes!

Have you ever heard of Swagbucks.com?

A few months ago, I signed up with Swagbucks.com.  It is a search engine that you can earn prizes while you are searching the internet.  I joined Swagbucks in August of 2009 and since then, I have earned $20 in Amazon gift cards, $5 in PayPal gift cards, and $5 in Alice.com gift cards.  It is really easy.  You just sign up for Swagbucks and use their search engine which is powered by Google.com and Ask.com.  As you search, you will be randomly rewarded with various amounts of Swagbucks that are instantly credited to your account.  You can save your points for a variety of prizes listed on their website.  You can earn extra Swagbucks by referring friends to the program.  There are also various other ways to earn Swagbucks that you will find on their site.

If you are interested in signing up, just click on the below referral link picture.  It will take you to the Swagbucks site to sign up. 

Grabbin' Great Deals

Yesterday was the Annual Glencoe, Oklahoma city-wide Garage Sales.  Glencoe is a small town located about 8 miles from our house.   Last year at this time, we had never been to Glencoe….until….the city-wide garage sales.  We drove around the small town last year and found several great garage sales, you know the kinds that have great cheap prices on things that you need. 

For example, we really needed a glass pitcher last year.  I had broken the one that we had…again…and we were in need of a tea pitcher.  We found one for 25¢ as well as several other good deals that weekend. 

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was washing dishes and broke the tea pitcher….again.  I cannot begin to count the number of glass pitchers I have gone through since our marriage.  While some people can keep their pitchers around for years, mine do good to last a year.

So, one of my main searches at the sales was for a glass pitcher.  At the second sale, there it was! A glass pitcher for 50¢!  Maybe this one will last?

We also found a nice aquarium with pump/filter, heater, light, rocks, and tank decoration included, and it all worked…for $3.00.  Now our crawdads and tadpoles have a new home. 

I bought a size 3 iron skillet for 50¢.  It is the perfect size for making an egg for a sandwich. 

A lovely straw hat, 15¢. A 25¢ Tupperware bowl.  A 25¢microwave bacon fryer.

JJ got a cool Star Trek glass for 25¢ and an unopened Star Wars Pez dispenser for 10¢.  Of course, the candy was gone before we got home!

Savannah found a perfect condition Mariposa Barbie and a Nori Mermadia Barbie for 25¢ each.  She also bought a Barbie car at Ruby’s Flea Market in Glencoe for $2.

We found some great deals on things we needed (as well as some that we didn’t), but most of all, we had a lot of fun.  Great deals are fun to find!