Do It yourself cat litter box....?

Ok, here's my silliest sounding frugal post yet, but YES I did make my own cat litter box and YES it is the jam!

If you have a cat and are broke for whatever reason (my reason is having a child but take your pick!) then this cat box is for you!

All you need is a pair of scissors and a large rubbermade storage container with snapping lid. The container should preferable be one you already have (that makes this a free project) and it should also be opaque in color, this is so you can't see the yucky cat poo inside.

Do you have your materials? Great! Now cut a big hole on the right hand side of the lid. The hole can be square or round or whatever. It doesn't have to be perfect, just as long as its big enough for your cat to get in there. I made ours about 9"x9".

The Box: Leroy

The Cat: Georgie
After you cut the hole, you fill the box up with about 3 or 4 inches of litter (we use fresh step as we've found it smells the least disgusting!) and then snap the lid on. Next, find your cat. He or she is probably hiding under the bed or in the bathtub. Put your cat as gently as possible into the box through the hole. This is so they will know where the litter is now kept and how to access it. Now just sit back, relax, and let your cat do the work!

The beauty of this litter box is not only that its cheap but also because of its functionality. That was the original reason for my doing this. Our old cat box had a swinging door that kept getting stuck. Well...when the door was stuck the cat would just pick a new place to go - as in on the carpet!

So this box not only solved that problem, but also keeps the litter in the box. I mean, some of it still gets all over the place because thats just how it goes with cats, but most of stays in. We have much less of a problem with that now. And the cat loves it because its private.

Anyway, that's my Works for me Wednesday post! Check back here for more frugal tips and mommy stories!

Menu This Week

I am taking Crystal's (Biblicalwomanhood) ecourse on Grocery Savings and am trying to stick to around $30.00 weekly for groceries. I started by planning a menu, then checked off what I already had, then I went to the store to buy what I didn't. Before doing this I checked the local circulars online to see who had the best deals going. The only sale I could find was on potatoes at Food Lion so that is where I went. Here's the menu:

Monday - Spaghetti (already had ingredients)
Tuesday - Chicken Cream Cheese Pockets
Wednesday - Chicken Casserole
Thursday - Chicken Stroganoff
Friday - Pot Roast
Saturday - Chili

For Breakfast I got oatmeal and for Lunches I got bread for sandwiches.

All of the ingredients I needed for all these meals I found at Food Lion for a total of $25.55. YES!

Hopefully we will have lots of leftovers and then we can stretch this $25.55 out into next week. I love being frugal!

CVS and Walgreens Deals

Well I finally jumped back into bargain shopping today. Since Goose was born I just haven't been able to do it, but Sunday I grabbed a paper, clipped some coupons and got geared up for savings!

All of my previous ECBs have expired, which stinks because I had some GOOD ones. So I had to make a new investment in order to get new ECBs. Sundays paper had a $2.00 off coupon for Shick Intuition Razors and 75 cents off 2 Colgate Toothpastes. CVS is currently running specials on both of these items in our region. The deal was $4 ECBs on the razor and $2 ECBs on the toothpaste. Also, lucky me, I earned a $2 ECB reward for purchases I made last quarter. So my total with the coupons was $14.30 and I got $8 ECBs. YeeHa! I don't really need either of these items at the moment, but with Christmas coming up I figure can I use them in the Shoebox drive or put them in an Angel Tree gift. Plus I have $8 ECBs now for next week!

Walgreens had some pretty good coupons this week as well. They had spices for 50 cents each and OF COURSE they were cleaned out! The only good ones they had left were Italian Seasoning and Basil. Also, they have generic brand bar soaps 5 for $1.00, Chapstick 2 for $1.00, Arm and Hammer Deoderant for 99 cents, and Campbell's Tomato Soup for 50 cents. So at Walgreens I got 3 deoderants, 2 cans of soup, 5 bars of soap, 2 chapsticks and 2 spices for $7.50 including tax - Go ME! (The two spices alone would have cost that if I'd purchased them at the grocery store!)

Karma, or, Our First Glimpse Into Goose's Personality

My karmic retribution has arrived in the form of a tiny, adorable, helpless creature. My child is me...Stubborn and determined to do what he is not yet able! Irritated by his inabilities. Curious beyond all curiousness!!

Yesterday my child cried all day. This is not an exaggeration. He had small breaks in between the crying, but really he just cried all day. All day I tried to figure out what he wanted. Two days ago I could have just offered him milk and he would have been sublimely happy - but not yesterday. The "feed me" signals were going haywire and when I tried to feed him he would scream. This went on into the night when we finally figured out he wanted to be up and about LOOKING. He wanted to be held in a facing forward position and he wanted to be carted around the house for the rest of eternity.

Around 10.30pm he got drowsy and we put him in his crib and turned on his mobile. This got him so excited that he was up for another 2 hours! I thought mobiles were supposed to help babies sleep, not get them all riled up!

He would stare up that mobile and smile and then suddenly start kicking and swinging his arms as fast as he could and then he we would stop and cry. This scene just kept getting repeated and getting repeated. He was trying to get up there to play with his mobile! Poor thing! He just kept moving and moving and then not getting anywhere. He was very frustrated. So I picked him up and brought him level with the thing and then he cried even more! This is just like me - to be frustrated with my inability to do something BY MYSELF. Oh boy. Karma.

He is just like me I know it. He is going to want to do everything for himself and then get frustrated when he can't. He is going to fight with his stubborn nature until 20 years from now when he learns how to graciously accept help. As we southerners say - "Bless his little heart!"

Inexpensive Yard Project

Yesterday I undertook a project I had been putting off and I decided Sunday was the day! What was this amazing project you ask? I created a stone stairway!!! (Exciting I know...)

When we first purchased our lot we had two options. We could select a sloped lot or a flat lot. The choice seems clear right? Who wants a hill for a yard?? Only here's the catch. The flat lots are incredibly small and by the time you put a house on it, your back yard is almost nonexistent. Plus, those lots will eventually have houses behind them so the privacy will be nonexistent as well.

The sloped lots however have a wooded view and are larger. So you get pretty scenery and an actuall back yard - even if it is downhill! Our yard is slightly better than our neighbors though because we selected a lot that flattens towards the bottom so that Goose will have a place to play one day. Here's a pic of the pretty view from my kitchen table:

Anyway, getting back to the project, the area coming down from the steps on our deck is very steep. I can't get down the incline safely unless I hold on to the deck posts as I go. So I decided to make some steps!

This is a very cheap solution to the problem: We bought five 2'x2' stones at Lowe's Home Improvements. I think they were $1.50 each. I already had the shovel so the cost of this fix plus tax was approximately $10 or less.

Basically I shovelled and scooped and stomped until I created a dirt staircase! With each dirt step I would create a place to set in the stone so that it would be flush with the dirt, and what will eventually be grass!!

Even if you don't need a stone staircase, you can still use the stones to create walkways through flowers for an inexpensive landscaping project!

Here's the finished product:

Saturday Spotlight - Supermom with Breastcancer

My friend Lisa is the exact opposite of what you'd think of when you think of anyone who might be sick. She's young and energetic. She's hard working and on the go. She's the devoted wife of a youth pastor and the loving mother of two young boys. But Lisa is sick - she has breast cancer. How does this happen? It truly makes you question your faith. In our human ways we automatically think that this should only happen to a bad person who "deserves" it. Why should a good woman be thrown into the ring with cancer?

Lisa is our Saturday Spotlight this week because she thinks of her cancer in exactly the opposite way. She considers it a blessing in disguise because through her struggle, she might be able to help others going throught the same thing. In fact, when talking with her throughout all of this, she has a way of putting YOU at ease, when you feel like you should be the one to offer comfort. But that is Lisa's way. She is a very optimistic and glass half full kind of person.

Lisa's battle with breast cancer began about 2 months ago when she discovered an abnormality on her areola. After discovering this was a symptom of Padgett's Disease, a rare form of cancer, she immediately went to the doctor. The doctor looked at this abnormality, which was like a blister, and told her it was unlikely it was cancer because of her age and history. There is no breast cancer is Lisa's family and she is only 35 years old. Apparently Padgett's Disease RARELY presents in anyone younger than 65. So the doctor prescribed some topical cream and told her to come back if didn't go away.

But that wasn't good enough for Lisa. She said that "the Lord just wouldn't let me let it go", and so she demanded to be tested. The doctor didn't feel it was necessary but did so anyway. When the test results came back, they were positive for Padgett's.

Padgett's Disease is a form of breast cancer that usually presents in woman over the age of 65, and who have ANOTHER underlying form of cancer. So the fact that Lisa had Padgett's meant that she likely had a another cancer as well. Time for more tests - luckily no other cancer was found.

In addition to all this, Lisa was tested for the "Cancer Gene". Apparently there is a gene that makes some woman 80% more likely to have breast cancer and because of her situation's rarity she was likely to have it. If she tested positive for this gene, Lisa would need to undergo surgery for a double mastectomy to avoid cancer in the future. Thank God, this test was also negative.

Two weeks ago Lisa underwent surgery for a single mastectomy and reconstruction. She is currently home for 6 weeks of recovery. I am SO happy to say that all of the cancer was removed during the procedure and she should be fine. Lisa is facing all of this with such courage and optimism. She is truly an amazing person and a fabulous Super Mom!

Her story has inspired me and also taught me a lesson in prevention. I have never once given myself a breast exam. I always thought I was too young to worry about that - but now I know it can happen to ANYONE. Lisa said she hopes to save others through her experience - who knows - maybe she saved me? Maybe someone out there will read this and get checked and maybe that will save their life! Thank you Lisa for being such a wonderful person and for sharing your story!

For more info on Breast Cancer please click this link: http://www.breastcancer.org/

Update - Pantry Stretch Challenge!

Well I made it!!! It's Saturday and we avoided buying major groceries until today. Thursday night we had Sloppy Joes and last night we made spaghetti. The only meal that wasn't up to par was the Sloppy Joe Meal. I had no tomato paste or sauce (or catsup!) so I tried a can of tomato soup. The effect wasn't awful, just not very good either. Anyway it all worked out and we stretched our budget and our food just a few more days. Hurray for us!