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I finally had a moment to sit down and breathe.  It's been a crazy couple of days with doctor appointments and trying to get the house in order.  Well, half order, half chaos.  Yesterday I made desert and the really cool thing was I made my own pumpkin puree from a sugar pie pumpkin.  I just put the whole pumpkin in the Instant Pot, set it for 12 minutes, did a natural release for 5, and then a manual release.
The pumpkin was so tender I was able to cut it...
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I have some quiet time to myself and thought I'd check in. I'm chugging along, keeping hope for the future and trying to do my part. 
I'm not working with my part-time, after-school-hours-job right now because it has to work around my full-time position, which is "fluid" right now due to the rise in case numbers. As long as I stay current with my certification, though, I can pick up more hours when life settles again. 
SO and I looked over my budget now that households...
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Well only 29 days till christmas...can you believe it...this year has gone by so fast but also at a snails pace...for some...I can say I am ready for a new year, new budget and a new start to everything...a restart...but I am ready for chistmas other than food and ready fro a new year.
Summer is starting here..its 104 here tomorrow...not looking forward to summer but also sick of the cold weather....should be spring all year LOL!
I am hoping to get into an integrated medical...
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I went by my parents' hone to do some food prep. We made carrot soufflé, cranberrry sauce, and prepped vegetables for tomorrow. I put the wine & egg nog in the fridge to chill. Pies were purchased, but my dad baked some cakes for Christmas. They went into the freezer.
It will be just the three of us tomorrow.
Our menu:
Cornish hen 
ham
cornbread dressing (my favorite)
cranberry sauce
green beans with potatoes & bacon
sweet potato pie
pecan pie
rose...
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Happy Thanksgiving friends.   I hope your holiday is blessed and filled with all the yummigoodness!
A few days ago, I was about to pour out the last little bit of coffee from the carafe and decided instead to pour it into my big pot of pinto beans.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  The flavor kick it provided was a nice rich one.  I maybe added a half cup, maybe 3/4.  But I will probably always add a little coffee to my pinto beans going forward!
Two...
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I'm looking forward to the long weekend. This is probably the first time since the pandemic started that I've decided to take a 4 day weekend. I usually don't work Wednesdays, but worked part of the day today, and now have a 4.5 day weekend. I raked most of my leaves over the weekend, but ended up deciding to buy a leaf mulcher to mulch the leaves which will reduce the size of my leaf pile and also create more surface area so the leaves break down sooner. Got one on Amazon for...
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Due to our rate of positives our governor has pushed us back to phase two. We were in phase three with up to 75% occupancy, now we're back at 50% occupancy. I unexpectedly sold an EBay item on Sunda (it's been a while since I've had a sale) and the two people ahead of me weren't wearing masks even though we still have a mask mandate. That Pfizer vaccine can't come soon enough for me. Fingers crossed that I get selected. 🤞🏾
I really have banged myself up this last...
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Last night I picked up groceries at Aldi via Instacart.  The total was $38, and variables are now at 74%.
I will do this again, but this experience was a bit rocky.  The communication was not good.  When I was notified that my order was ready, I notified the shopper via the app that I was on the way.  Aldi is 15-20 minutes away.  The shopper seemed to think I was telling her I was already there and I got a notification that she was looking for me. ...
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Well our lockdown lasted 2 days and it was over, one of the guys lied to the tracers about what had happened so it wasn't as bad as they thought...but the pizza store he was working at is being investigated for paying in cash and drug trading...so guessing someone is going to be in trouble when all this is over..we currently have 38 cases but they are all quarantined in the hotel so none in the community...but most still wear masks etc..it sucks as we had no covid in the community...
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We picked up a 50 lb bag of dry pinto beans today.  I usually pay $1.18 per pound, but buying in bulk brings the per pound cost down to .46.  Now, I just need to figure out how to store them so they are still good when I get to the end of the supply.  I am looking into food storage tubs.  I figure I will need 2 - 5 gallon tubs.
I am also looking for bulk flour, to see if I can bring my per pound cost down as well.  The best I have found recently was $2.29...
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The bloggers on this site are so inspiring and supportive of each other.  THANK YOU for indulging me in my last pity party post rather than beating me up.  I am happy to say, it was a very short-lived tantrum, and life is back to whatever normal means. 
The rental company of the house I reserved initially was kinda nasty about my postponing the trip.  I get it.  But when there is a statewide mandate of no more than 6 people from 2 households allowed, and...
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My work at the private lab has really picked up. Since they first called me in on a Friday evening, I've been in every weekday evening since then with the exception of one. They have arleady contacted me to say they'll need me every evening this week, except for Thanksgiving evening. At my hospital job they also are offering as many hours as I want. They continue to lose their full-time staff for better pay & hours elsewhere. I don't understand why the hospital administration...
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I was so hopeful when others reported their sidebars are working.  Alas, mine is not.  Is there a trick I don't know?
Just wanted to say, my net worth is going up!  At the end of last year, it was $201K, and this year -- to date -- it is $206K.  And that is without fiddling with the value of my condo.  I haven't had a raise, or anything, so I guess I am managing my money better, and the small portion of my retirement account that is invested in the stock...
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I'm Back!
It's been quite a while. Although my name will always be Armywife on here, Hubby is no longer in the Army. We have officially transitioned from Active Duty to Retired! The past 20+ years have been quite a delight especially planning those pesky PCS moves, family growing pains, and all other bumps and scrapes along the way. 2020 brings me back to the forums and this little corner I like to call home. Time to catch up with some wonderful posters and read new ones.
 
Thank...
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We sent the last two rabbits off to a new home today and are now animal free for the first time in a decade.  I'm not sure this place qualifies as a homestead anymore, just a huge garden now.  But whatever, it is nice to no longer be tied down.  We can take a family vacation again if we so desire without one person having to stay home to care for the animals.  It is a nice sense of freedom and one less stress to deal with.  And less stress is good in a...
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Last time I stopped by, it was the beginning of my buisiest time of year.  Almost through!  Once I get to December 4, things calm down a lot and I will actually have an unbelievable TEN DAYS OFF, from Christmas through the January 2, since the holidays are on Fridays this year.  
I literally cannot remember the last time I had ten days off--other than being unemployed, which is not at all the same thing.
I have so many goal-related things I want to do, but...
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I used to love Costco.  My DD and I would make a morning of it, shopping, sampling, and splitting a hot dog.  But I find pandemic Costco simultaneously wearying and worrying.  There are too many people there for my taste and I feel lots of (self-imposed) pressure to get it all and get it right.  I think I might be done with it for a while.  But I spent a small fortune there this morning buying everything from Thanksgiving food to Christmas gifts for the...
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That was a pleasant thing to notice when I logged on today. Glad it's working again.
Things have been mostly ho hum. It's been cold and rainy, so I am dragging my feet on raking leaves. I think I'll do it sometime this afternoon. Rather than bag them up for the city to haul away, I keep my dead leaves. It provides me with brown material for my compost bin all year long. And over the year, the remainder breaks down to really wonderful leaf mold. I have a small amount of last year's...
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This morning I ordered a pair of leggings from Lands End.  $31.  I have found in the past that Lands End clothing fits me well, so here's hoping.  If I like these leggings I may order more.  It's a higher price than I would like to pay, but these are unusual times.
I think they will make good pajama bottoms, in addition to serving as leggings!
Variables are at 70%.
Looking forward to another day at home.  No plans to go out until I pick up my groceries on Monday.
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