Lesson Learned

My plan on Tuesday night was to make stuffed corn tortillas.  It calls for Masa harina, which says it is a yellow corn flour mix.  At the store it cost almost $5 for this bag, which was 4-5 lbs, but I didn't think I really needed one that big.  In the same section was the above pictured Quaker Corn meal, which says it is for baking and  breading, so I'm thinking same thing, cheaper price (cost $1.79 for 24 oz.).  Boy was I wrong.  Apparently they are made in two different ways, so you can not substitute one for the other (see this chowhound.com post for more info).  The mixture above would not form a dough or ball or any kind, so I tried making corn meal mush, a recipe found on the back.  I'm sorry to say that it wasn't very good even when I mixed in butter and syrup as suggested.  I ended up just throwing it out.  All I can say is "Now I know."

In addition to my fail in cooking yesterday, my husband and I put in a new bathroom faucet.  This cute little thing was only $28 at the Home Depot.  I wanted a bronze one but they start out at $88, so I settled for this one.  We really need to replace the old one since it had been dripping and a new aerator didn't do the trick.  Our water bill was up $10 from the previous month, which I attribute to this lovely drip, so this was a need.  The bad part was my husband couldn't fit under the sink so I had to help him.  I definitively recommend wearing goggles with this project, because when you are installing tiny debris falls on your face.  It should have been quick and easy but once I fit myself under the sink and got the faucet hooked up, my husband discovered the P-trap didn't fit to this new fixture.  Thankfully it only took one trip to the store to remedy the situation.  Now I will breath a sigh of relief: "AHHHHH"

I'm linking this up to Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Use Your Resources

My cute Fossil wallet, with money in it!

So today, there was a lot of money spent.  But that's OK.  I gave my sister $10 for the kids since she is taking them to my parents house for the week, and I will meet up with them on Friday.  I also spent $2.00 on the vending machine at work today (this habit needs to die).  I went to Aldi's and bought what I needed for weekly grocery and then some (cuz we all know I can't stick to a list), and to the Bread Outlet.  Here is a breakdown:

Aldi's

1lb of jalapeno peppers: $1.29

3 cans of jumbo biscuits in a can: $1.29 each ($3.90)

8oz cream cheese: $1.29

2 8oz cheese chunks: $1.99 ($3.98)

french dressing: $1.29

3 snack size trail mix:$.49 each ($1.47)

English muffins: $.99

skim milk: $2.79

Bread Outlet

1 loaf of bread, hamburger buns, and hotdog buns: $.99 each ($2.97)

sourdough bread loaf: $1.59

I didn't spend any money yesterday so my total spending for the week is: $33.56.  $33.28 left to spend.  This could be hard this week because I have an itch to buy something at my job.  I have so many things I could buy and many reasons, but none of them are a need.  They are a want.  I might have to make a deal with myself where I can buy something if I make it for 4 weeks with not going over $70  a week, just so this itch will subside.  I really need to not spend anymore this week since I will be traveling.  I don't take gas out of this funding, so you won't see that added in to my totals, but I'm sure I will eat out at least once on the road.

ReStore knobs and handle.

On another note I thought I should mention that if you need some home supplies to see if there is a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area.  Their inventory is always changing due to what people donate, but it also a good place just to look.  Our store has great prices on 5x7 rugs, cabinets, and doors. Use this Link to find one in your hood: Habitat ReStore.

Can We Fix It?

We have only had our washer since August, but we have already been receiving error codes. I would put a load in and a couple minutes later it would beep. It still got our clothes wet and spun around, but it was very annoying to have soaking wet clothes left inside. So I called and made an appointment with a local company to come check it out under warranty.  One thing that changed after we got our washer was that we also installed a water softener. We belive this made the hoses collect residue from what was inside our pipes.  He just disconnected the hose near the washer and took out the screen piece on the washer, washed and brushed off the green/white powder and reconnected. Once he cleaned this out the water came in a lot faster. He also opened up the valve more, which I'm not sure why when Lowe's installed they didn't seem to do. Lowe's also shoved the drain hose way down in the drain pipe which he said could also cause problems.  He took it out and put it in the drain pipe only a couple of inches so it would hold.  Another thing about front loader is the soap. He recommended powder which doesn't contain animal fat, which makes it smell and mildew. Also use about half what you would use normally especially with a water softener. Here is a great article with Q & A and a lot insight as to why you should use HE detergent with an HE machine:
 http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/assets/1/Page/HE.pdf.
I hope these tricks might help someone from acquiring an expensive repair bill that they could have easily fixed themselves.