day 69- i'll never be a girl drink drunk

4ounces of coco lopez cream of coconut

3ounces of pineapple juice

3ounces of rum.

a blender, a coconut and one of those fancy unbrellas.. or just a bendy straw and... bam! you have a party.

for a buck79 you can make "almost" 4 pina coladas. at 15 ounces a can they really are making you sure you "buy" that extra one.

i remember seeing commercials for this stuff when i was a kid and i thought, "hey, why not. after all i have the juice and the rum at home."

actually the juice is way, way old. not good at all. the rum is ready so i will have to wait a little longer for my "girldrinkdrunk". for the most part i enjoy my old man drinks, but every once in a while who doesn't want some candy.

that would be every once in a while.

the disappointment hit home though when i realized that there was no pineapple juice. i think i would have been fine except for the fact that i began my quest for the absence of nicotine in my system.

that's right i am now smoke free.. or at least i have been since i woke up. i am however not nicotine free. there is a patch. it's on my arm. it's kind of itchy and makes my arm feel kind of tingly. still it's there and i really have not had that much urge to get out there and smoke.

i have felt that there is something missing. like the time i would spend having a smoke while at work. that would be my "me time". that is gone. i was a little edgy today, and i think i might have been a bit hyper from the 21mg that are coursing through my system. i really can't wait till i "try" and get some sleep. those dreams will be interesting, lucid and crazy.

still this is about a buck64aday spent one day at a time. not about me trying to quit the coffin nails. i do appreciate all the kind word sent my way. very much appreciated. i am reminded of what my cousin catherine said. "if karin can quit, you can too." karin is my aunt. congrats aunt karin. i am working on it. i'm gonna get there, or die trying.

i feel like i have been neglecting the economic news these days. i am going to work on it. i have quite a few things i want to comment on, but with things swinging back and forth from good to bad and then back to even keel it makes it hard to pick the issues that really mean something.

plus i am all crazed from the patch.. this makes thing a little distracting.

add to that that it is my birthday tomorrow makes the buck64aday mission take a slight back seat.

ever so slight.

wrapping up

487.52 at the start

a buck79pent

the kitty stands at 53cent

maximum spending tomorow

2buck17

i can spend that much on my birthday.

you can't stop me

day 68- noodle bowls... what... you don't have one?

i really need to learn how to focus my camera. you can hardly tell what this is.

well i guess you really can.

the title says it all. noodle bowl. 2buck10 from the grocery store on ludlow st. it is one of the last small time, but attached somehow to a big time grocery store... it might be called shop smart. i can't remember. they do have a circular and they have the sales, but they offer up primarily asian products. this is fine by me. i am not one to discriminate on nation, creed or color. food is food and well i have to say that for the most part american "continental" food can be a bit boring. this store i think will be a place i shop more often. while there is very little in the way of produce or foods of the fresher variety, the boxes and cans are cheap cheap cheap.

so back to the noodle bowl. do you own one? i think every one should. it should be the right size to hold a decent size of ramen noodles and all the water you are supposed to add as per the directions on the package. it should not spill as you take the finished ramen product to the table to eat it.

this is a noodle bowl of correct size.

maybe you are not all that into the noodles, and to this i say "you probably have not had the right ones!". noodles are cheap, tasty and so simple to make.

in a hurry? make some noodles.

got no money? make some noodles.

while you can't live off them for a long period of time without getting that "broke college student pall" about you, they can be a nice food addition to someone who is single or for the more adventurous couples cook. you know, the kind of person who orders unsauced wings from the take out place, has them delivered and then makes his own sauce for said order. just add some peas and shrimp to your noodles while they are cooking... oooo it's magic.

this would be me. it could be you as well. you just have to get the right noodles. the five for a dollar will not cut it. not at all. try the three for a dollar. those are better.. much better. they also have a wider variety of flavors. like curry chicken... mmmmm good.

i wish i had a noodle bowl back when i was younger. though i did not eat the noodles all the time i did every once in a while partake in the brothy goodness.

i was a bit turned off by them though.

the problem? i did not have a bowl big enough to eat them with. i tended to eat them in the pot i cooked them in, which is quite useful and from a utilitarian standpoint much easier for the cleaning.

i just personally do not like eating from the pot.

when i moved out form the parental's i was given (as i am sure many of us were) a small dish set... you know a starter set. mine was pretty extensive though i must say. my aunt norma had given to my mother a set of dishes when she was changing over to a new set. the set was pretty much complete and so i got a full set of dishes which i still have for the most part all these years later. a couple of pieces have broken, but i very much enjoy the fact that this dish set would be remembered by my aunt and uncles.

only one problem with the set. no noodle bowl. i would make noodles and then spill a good amount of the contents onto the floor on the way to the table to eat them.

someone should make a rule. noodle bowls need to be a part of the "classical dish set". really the world is changing. food has become more cosmopolitan and really as a salute to our asian brothers and sisters across the sea, a set of 8 noodle bowls should be a part every dish set.

think of the noodle parties the newlyweds could have with their noodle bowls that come with the china. (errr the fancy wedding dishes) there will be less spillage and cheaper meals on the go.

how about it people? for those crazy kids who are about to get married.. a set of 8 noodle bowls. chopsticks included. now that is something interesting. something unique.

something to talk about.

wrapping up
489.62 at the start
2buck10 spent
the kitty stands at 68cent

maximum spending tomorrow
2buck32

i can spend that much

you can't stop me.

day 67- microwavable personal cakes? what has the world come to?

from the time we were babes we have loved the cake. as one year olds, many of us were given our own cake. it was to be eaten by us only. we played in the cake, got it all over and many a flashbulb went off while we were doing it.

then came the easy bake oven. making cake becomes chic. if your a 7 year old girl you get a box with a light bulb in it and you get to make your own cake. just like your first birthday you will get to eat it yourself and many a flash bulb will go off in your face after your premiere cake.

the second and third cakes will get you a few cheers, but after the fourth tasty treat, the cake mix is running low and no one seems interested in your easy bake oven anymore.

three weeks later said oven is put aside for something a little more fun... lite-brite or some such.

if you were sad about the day you said good bye to your easy bake oven then don't you worry.

the good times are about to roll again. duncan hines has a wide variety of microwavable cakes for you to make. just add water to the mix in the microwave safe bowl (included) stir it up, place it into the box in the kitchen with the lightbulb and quicker than you can say culinary arts has been stabbed in the back...

there is a ding.. a beep... some flashing blue writing that says... "done"

mmm cake and you made it yourself. aren't you proud? look at what you have done with no thinking.. only a singular drive for something sweet and a few to eight minutes (depending on wattage) to kill.

if you buy this product... really you are killing yourself, the enviroment, and possibly your soul.

really i only got this to rant about it. i am cool with cake mixes. i think they are great, but this is not cake mix. this the devil come to take away our souls.

i will make this stuff soon and update you all, but please don't buy this stuff..

horrible

wrapping up

491.74 at the start

2buck12 wasted

the kitty stands at a buck14

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck78

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 66- a bag of dough

who doesn't like pizza? as a child i thought getting pizza for dinner was the best thing in the world. all that cheese, the tangy sauce and the pepperoni all crisp on the top.

i would scrap away the cheese and eat the bread and crust first and then just enjoy the cheese for as long as i could stand to chew it...

that could be a while too.

pizza, unless you are pizza cook, is something best left to the professionals. i know i do. while i know all the basics of proper pizza cooking i do lack the time, counter space and of course the right size oven. you know... one that could cook a pizza.

making the dough is probably the hardest thing to do. they are quite a few recipes out there and even a change in the tap water can make your pizza come out different. new york pizza is the way it is from the bread flour, the way it is tossed and of course the tap water adds to the flavor. what we get is a crispy and thin crust. i did not like it before, but it is growing on me.

these bags of pizza dough you can buy in the store are choice. it takes the guess work out of making the dough so all you have to do is make your crust and then throw your toppings on top.

what a great idea.

i'll buy that for a buck80.

but i will probably make bread sticks instead. garlicky and buttery strips of dough baked all nice and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. it make more sense to me than making a pizza right now. my oven just will not cut it for a pizza. bread sticks on the other hand. sound damn good.

wrapping up
493.54 at the start
a buck80 spent
the kitty stands at a buck62

maximum spending tomorrow
3buck26cent

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 65- scraping out every last ounce... of everything

aside from making a cake, how much do you use your rubber spatulas? I know i don't use mine that much, but with me having to tighten up and all with the hard times ahead i figured this rubber silicone spatula might come in handy.

at 2buck14 this spatula will be scraping the bowls and jars of my kitchens for some time. if you are looking for a way to save money it is really best to think about what you spend most of your money on. i guess rent or a mortgage are up there, but really when you stop and think you will see that you probably spend a whole bunch of your hard earned dough on the eatin'.

i know i do.
every so often we here at the pitt do a little cleaning out of the fridge. it's not that often, but when we do we all gather to claim what is ours and what is trash...

or may have been trash a few weeks ago and is now something so terrible that we cannot even look at it.

there is no judging on this cleaning day. why would there be? we are all at fault for the terrible condition of the fridge and now is the time to just have some fun with it.

it can be a little depressing though when we do it. all that food. gone down the drain. food that was purchased with our hard earned money and then, either improperly stored or just plain forgotten, all goes into the trash. this trash bag needs to be something heavy duty. something leak proof. otherwise whomever gets the chore of carrying it down 6 stories to the gorund floor might end up scarred for life when the remnants of herring, month old orange juice and some thai curry mix together. i am not sure what it would do to my skin, but i know that if this was mixed together and then touched my skin i think i would scrub till i bled.

anyway, back to the food. after the fridge is clean it is time to ponder what i did wrong.

why is there a ten dollar piece of cheese in the trash? 6 avocados and a half gallon of milk? four sticks of butter(open-barely used)? two half empty containers of mayonnaise and three heads of rotten romaine in the not so crisper anymore ? (why is the mayo even in there?) two bags of hot dogs shriveled and dried? was someone planning a trip to the woods? are these things supposed to be dehyrdrated?

the list can go on and on. i am leaving out the delivery leftovers. that is just usually a mess. if you play "how long can we leave the leftovers from the three piece box of chicken in the fridge game" then you know the answer could be forever.

what i am talking about is wasted food. we, as american's waste a whole lot. in fact, as much food as we produce for ourselves and for the world we waste up to 50 billions tons of food every year. whether it be crops that go unharvested, restaurants that throw out food as waste or just the food we throw out per day around the house(well over a pound).

we throw out 14percent of what we buy in terms of food. that is cash that could have gone right back to our pockets. really, if we want to save our cash it should start in the kitchen.

it could start with something as small as a spatula. with a silicone spatula we could scrap out every last drop from a container, maximize our cake size and if you really don't want to go through the trouble then you can just use it to get the leftovers of the meatloaf that spilled into the back corner of your fridge into the trash. any way you look at these kitchen "supertools" they will help you out.

i prefer the silicone ones. they are good in heat up to 500 degrees and most foodstuffs don't stick to them.

i just spent 2buck14, but i am gonna save hundreds.

you could too. just shop sensibly and don't be lazy when you are in the kitchen. anything you can stretch in the kitchen is going to save you cash and cash is what we need. 14percent of your food is about 43billion dollars. that is a whole other stimulus package right there.

this time around i am going to be smart.

by scraping out every last ounce.

wrapping up
495.68 at the start
2buck14 spent
the kitty stands at a buck78

maximum spending tomorrow

3buck42

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.