Meal Plan Shopping List

Being on the road poses a challenge when it comes to planning meals and making a shopping list! I do all the meal planning and I like to plan 2 weeks at a time so that we don’t have to worry about shopping as much. This has become an issue when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables!

Our game plan is always so great! Buy meat in bulk (we are Sam’s Club members 😀) and then break it down into portions for each meal. Get all our veggies at once, because so many times they repeat in recipes (onions, garlic, peppers, etc). Dairy, frozen, I want the whole 2-week meal plan in one shopping trip!!!

Here’s where that goes really, really wrong!

The veggies have a shelf life of about a minute! I swear we buy them a little under-ripe so that I have a day or so to use them! But they go from under-ripe to the Lomi in no time!

So we threw sooo many veggies in the Lomi, and while I love the fact that we have a tabletop composter on board that these “bad” vegetables can go in, I’d much rather eat them!

The solution?

Shop for fresh fruits and vegetables more often! Unfortunately, that makes my current meal-planning software a bit more challenging! Mainly because it wants to batch things together, or separate them in a weird way that my brain cannot wrap around! Plus, I needed to break it down by days to buy, not by recipe!

I searched the internet for something printable that would work for me and found nothing! There are some great templates out there, but I would need more than one of them to get all I wanted!

Another Solution!

In walks Microsoft Excel, to solve all my problems!

I haven’t used Excel to a great extent, so I’m not an expert! BUT!!! In the end, I created EXACTLY what I wanted in a shopping list!

I learned so much from creating this template! Like color coding! WHAT?!?! My OCD just did a happy dance! I made a pretty comprehensive list in each “department” of the things we use the most, but also left blank spaces for random things that pop up in new recipes! Plus an entire blank section!

I also added in a section for our herbs and essential oils needs since we make most of our wellness products (everything from room spray to tinctures to pet care needs). And of course, an Asian Market section, because their vegetables and sauces cannot be beaten for flavor!!!

Printable Shopping List

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It’s 6 pages long, which is a lot, but the way I set it up it’s a blank canvas. I wanted to put it in by date, because some weeks I get a late start, and skip days! So I left the numerals out and just put the /Forward Slash/. That way I can simply use a pencil and erase each week!

Reusable Shopping List ?

Now I realize that the erasing will eventually make the paper thin and holey, but if I can use it for a month before that happens, then printing out 6 pages won’t hurt as much! Or better yet, we can laminate it and just reuse it that way! Win!

And best case scenario, I don’t even need to print it! I can add in our current needs by date and then simply email it to myself from my laptop and then open it on my phone! It’s smaller, but I’m able to zoom in easily! Also, it is fully editable, so once I’m done with that week’s shopping, I can change the quantities for the next week!

There are plenty of vegetables that we can buy in two week supply, like onions, garlic, potatoes, and the like! But so many that we cannot, like green onions, peppers, celery and so much more! So how were we going to do this? For now I just placed another column at the end for a total for the week. That way I can add up certain veggies like onions or garlic and have a weekly total. The others that need to be purchased closer to their planned meal dates could be tallied under them.

I understand that I can blanche those vegetables, but there are times when I’m using them in dishes where we want them to have a little crunch, so blanching them takes that option away!

Shopping List Made Simple

I’m quite new to Microsoft 365 and am very excited to explore more both in Excel and their other products!

Key Features I Love

Color Coding

Alpha Order Options

Page Break Preview

I have to say the page break preview is something I am still working with! My OCD needs the color-coded categories to fall on one page, not be broken up! And I tweaked it to look perfect, but then when I hit the page break preview, it was a mess!

I plan on trying the phone option when we’re shopping (I’m a pen and paper list girl, so this is a super challenge!!), I’m not worried about the fact that it would probably print a little off 😂

And there are a ton of options that I haven’t even discovered ~ I can tweak this one over time with my discoveries!

Think of all the organization that can be accomplished with this!

Here is the 411 on the different packages available! I’m sure there is one that suits your needs!

Want to learn more?

Simply click on any of the above pictures to go directly to that product! Whatever your needs are, there is a package that will work! I love what little I have learned so far, and am looking forward to exploring more and sharing what I’ve come up with!

Zach and I are list people! If it isn’t on the list, we aren’t doing it, getting it, or thinking about it! This is a game changer for the Household Notebook! We call the book BABS ~ Big A** Book Silly, who knows where this even started, but I’m sure it came out of my mouth first! So BABS will be getting a makeover soon!

Oh the lists we can make 😍

This post was sponsored by Microsoft 365!

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Crunchwrap Supreme ~Taco Bell CopyCaturday

March 25, 2023
by Nancy Lynn

Crunchwrap Supreme

Somewhere along the line, someone in Instagram-land decided to make Saturday into Caturday 😹 And while we love our cats, I can’t see making a post about them every single Saturday!

They pretty much do the same thing daily, judge us 😬

CopyCaturday 😺

So I decided to do a play on that and do “CopyCaturday”. Every Saturday I’m going to find a copycat recipe and make it! See which we find closest, or most improved from the original! We don’t eat much fast food, but we do think there are some good possibilities out there for a good home cooked version.

This week we decided to try Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme! It’s the only thing Zach says he will eat at Taco Bell (we never go to fast food places, so I have no reason to doubt that info 😆)

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Crunchwrap Supreme

Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme

Copycat recipe of Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword CopyCat, Crunchwrap

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 29

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, yellow chopped
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp garlic minced
8 ounces queso cheese dip warmed
6 flour tortillas large, burrito size
6 tostada shells
1 cup sour cream
2 cups lettuce shredded
1 tomato diced
1 cup mexican cheese bllend shredded
cooking spray or olive oil

Instructions

In a large, heated skillet, cook ground beef and onion until beef is cooked through. Drain grease. Stir in taco seasoning, water and minced garlic. Continue to cook until it starts to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.
Warm the queso cheese dip in small pan on stovetop just until creamy.
Warm tortillas in oven preheated to 200°.
Lay one tortilla on a flat surface. Spread about 1/2 cup of taco meat onto the center of the tortilla. Add a few tablespoons of the warmed queso dip on top of the meat. Top meat and cheese with one tostada shell. Spread a thin layer of sour cream on top of the tostada. Top with lettuce, tomato and cheese.
Cut a small piece of tortilla to cover layered taco. Fold the bottom tortilla over the center, folding the edge over the center as you go around.
Repeat process with remaining tortillas and fillings. There will be a total of 6 crunchwraps.
Spray a large, non-stick pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Place one crunchwrap, seam side down, into skillet. Cook for 2 minutes or until golden-brown. Flip over and repeat on other side.
Serve with sour cream, queso or any additional toppings.

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We made this together. I was in charge of getting it to the pan-frying the assembled crunchwrap stage and Zach did the frying 🙂

Prepping was easy 🙂

The prepping and cooking parts of this recipe were identical to making a regular taco! I had some taco seasoning that I had made (quite a while ago) so I used that up in this recipe.

Just like the recipe says, brown the meat and onions, place it on the tortillas (again, we were using up what we bought last week, instead of the pack we had purchased this morning!)

Oops!

It’s at this point we realize those tortillas were not nearly large enough to fold over the middle! They weren’t even large enough to fold over the sides. Fortunately we had purchased large tortillas! So we took the meat and cheese off the smaller tortillas and transferred it to the larger ones!

So when buying tortillas for this recipe, check the size against some tostada shells!

I warmed up the queso on the stove, and then spooned it over the warm beef mixture. And it pretty much disappeared! I know that Taco Bell uses Nacho Cheese Dip, but we wanted the queso dip instead, so maybe next time ~ nacho cheese!

↘🌮Layers, Layers, Layers🌮↙

Zach took the smaller tortillas and cut them for our center pieces for the top ~ so no waste!

Crunchwrap Supreme Perfection!

Zach did a great job pan frying these things! The top folded tortilla just wanted to unfold! Pretty sure that there was some opening and then re-closing of them! I tried to “glue” it together with queso, but it was a no on that!

Crunchwrap Supreme 😋

Finished product! It was pretty good! I felt as if that taco seasoning I made quite some time ago may have lost some flavor! So next time I’m going to make it fresh! I could have added a lot more tomato, since it seemed to be lost in the mix!

Zach suggested Pico de Gallo instead of the tomatoes, and while that isn’t the way Taco Bell does it, it sure can be the way Nancy & Zach do it! I make some pretty good pico 😁

CopyCat Crunchwrap Supreme ?

Was it a complete copycat? No 🙁

Mainly because of the taco seasoning! I did not use a copycat of Taco Bell’s seasoning (or buy it already made in the store). So the taste was a bit different! Of course, the rest was spot on! The building of the crunchwrap was just as remembered, and the crunch was perfect!

Will we make it again? Yes!

Definitely a WIN recipe! Just a tweak on my own seasoning 😂

So what’s the plan for next Saturday? I have no idea just yet!

Caturday Recipes Aplenty!

There is a site called Top Secret Recipes that has a ton of available fast food and restaurant copycat recipes. It is not a free site! You can buy recipes in different ways, individually or buy one of the books, there is also a membership that you get 8 free recipes a month, you get the picture! Click on the chef below to check it out!

Another great resource is Copycat.com . Here you will find TONS of FREE recipes!! She also has a few books available on Amazon! Either way, it’s a win! 😋

Cold Weather Solutions for Florida?

March 16, 2023
by Nancy Lynn

Cold Weather Solutions for Florida?

I came to Florida thinking I could get out of my hoodies and stocking caps and at least be able to wear a long sleeve T! But while we were staying in St Augustine, visiting my kiddos, it was COLD!!!

Woke up this morning and it was 45° outside! Wait, WHAT?!?!

Now, let me start by saying I am originally from New Jersey, and then spent a great deal of time in Pennsylvania! So I’ve been in colder temps than this!

Cold. Weather. Wimp.

But it seems that after I moved to Florida in 2009, I underwent a major transformation and turned into a cold-weather WIMP! I get so cold that I shiver, then pretty much cry. Like shed actual tears 😭 It’s pretty much the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen ~ and it’s me doing it! Not on purpose, I simply cannot control it. It’s embarrassing, but really, it is what it is!

So, back to cold St Augustine, FLORIDA! 😕

↗I was not liking the temps, so I dressed for the outdoors! ↖

I was absolutely done with being cold!

These Thermajane Base Layer leggings and top are SO WARM, SO COMFY! I put them on, sat back in bed, and almost stayed there!

Fleece lined Fantastic-ness

Let me tell you all about their great features, because I cannot tell you how warm I stayed today ~ literally without a hoodie! I can’t tell you how long it has been since I have spent any waking moment without a hoodie!

Product Description

Cold Weather Solutions, Check!

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My Day of Warmth 😎

We started our morning off normal, I cooked bacon and eggs (no potatoes, sorry Zach, I always forget 😆 )

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So Zach, the comedian, decided it would be funny if he just called me his plum :p

Seriously, Grape Ape is more accurate!

Not sure which is a more accurate fruit nickname ~ but this color is 🌟FABULOUS! 🌟

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After breakfast, we took our doggies outside for some backyard fun! We are staying at a friends house, who happens to have a fully fenced in backyard! Such a huge deal for our pups to get some free run time!

Plants? Let me see 👀

There are beautiful plants and trees back there, so I (of course) had to go play too!

I’m not really good at hide and seek, but I was hoping I would blend in to this plant! I think the colors did, but I did not!

So at this point in life, I’d be FREEZING! Already in tears being outside this long! Seriously, I have issues staying warm! But the Thermajanes kept me warm enough to stay outside for our entire dog “walking” time!

I never go on the morning excursions with the pups because I’m normally too cold! I’m pretty sure I can’t use that excuse anymore though!

I was able to get a lot of kitty time in too! Scabbers and Phil wanted to play hide and seek as well, but they are like me, and don’t do it very well! They are super cute tho! And always want to help in the garden! Or at least hang out with me 🙂 🙂 🙂

Because why not hang from a kumquat tree 🙂 I was really trying to see how flexy these leggings are! And they are! I could have put my feet in the trees and not have any fear that the leggings would flex with me!

And I’m a pretty staticky person, my clothes, my hair… I constantly zap the dogs 😆

⚡Zap⚡

And so the whole anti-wicking material thing never really worked for me. So I thought the same thing would happen here. That type of shirt always sticks to me, like static clings to me. It makes me constantly mess with the shirt. The Thermajane shirt did not cling to me. Not in the beginning, not in the end and not anywhere in between! No static, moisture wicking shirt? Count Me In!

Next Stop ~ Another Ice Zone

When the doggies had enough of the outside world, we loaded them back in and took a ride to pick up my kids and take them to the movies!

The movies… another cold, freezing cold, place for me to sit for 2 hours and 5 minutes, plus previews and the little clips Marvel loves to put in after the credits.. you know, the one that keeps you in the cold theater just a bit longer..??

Well, I survived that too! Now I did throw a sweatshirt on to walk into the theater, but didn’t keep it on inside!

Talk about Cold Weather Solutions Win!

I cannot say enough about this base layer solution! I literally stayed warm in a situation that I know I would not have been without them! We have been in much colder conditions (not intentionally, I promise!). But now I’m thinking winter weather is not out of the question! Seeing snow would be possible if I am warm! That opens up doors upon doors!

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But what I really want to know is… Why am I running? ⬇ Where did I think I was going when I hit the ground ? Guess you’ll have to read our next post to see where we ended up after I hit the ground….running?

Cold Weather Solutions for Florida!

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Copy Caturday ~ Popeyes Mashed Potatoes

Popeyes Mashed Potatoes

Somewhere along the line, someone in Instagram-land decided to make Saturday into Caturday 😹 And while we love our cats, I can’t see making a post about them every single Saturday!

They pretty much do the same thing daily, judge us 😬

Caturday Revamped

Popeyes Mashed Potatoes

This week I made Popeye’s Mashed Potatoes! When I lived in St Augustine, I didn’t have easy access to Popeye’s, so I had never tried anything there. When I moved to Jacksonville, there was one right around the corner from my apartment! I don’t eat much fast food, but I do enjoy really good mashed potatoes, so one day I decided to stop and try some fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

I ALWAYS eat my mashed potatoes first, regardless of who made them! So imagine my surprise when I started eating what I thought was regular mashed potatoes with gravy (you know, like KFC), only to have some fire in my mouth! They are SPICY! In a very good way! At first I didn’t want to like them, I am super picky about my mashed potatoes, so I just wouldn’t allow it 😂 But I really do like them !!

Since Zach and I never get fast food, and he never tried Popeye’s Mashed Potatoes, I decided to give these a try! I searched around for a recipe and found a lot of different versions. How did I pick one? I made the one that I had all the ingredients for! Simple 🙂

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Copy Caturday - Popeye's Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Ingredients

5 lbs potatoes peeled and cubed
8 Garlic Cloves
4 teaspoons Sea Salt divided
½ Teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Creole Seasoning
¾ Cup Whole Milk warmed
½ Cup Butter unsalted, melted

Instructions

Cut the peeled potatoes into cubes and add to cold water, enough to cover with water, plus about 2" above. Add 2 teaspoons of the salt and the garlic cloves and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Drain then return to pot.
Heat pot over low heat. Add the remaining salt, pepper, Creole Seasoning, heated milk and melted butter.
Mash until creamy.

Notes

When it comes to baking products my go to Company is

King Arthur Baking

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When you don’t have Chicken Gizzards!

I know that Popeye’s has a fantastic gravy that goes on top, and while searching for a “copycat” of their recipe, I was met with ingredients I didn’t have on hand (chicken gizzards to name just one!) so I used a generic Cajun gravy!

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Cajun Gravy

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings 4

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth or stock
½ teaspoon cajun seasoning
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ teaspoons hot sauce
½ teaspoon salt to taste

Instructions

In a saute pan or saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
Add flour and whisk to make a paste (continue whisking until no lumps remain). Cook for one minute.
Slowly add broth to pan, whisking continuously. Add Cajun seasoning and pepper, whisking to incorporate. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until desired thickness is achieved, while whisking continuously.
Remove pan from heat and add hot sauce, stirring to incorporate. Taste test and add more hot sauce to taste. Last, add salt as needed and stir to incorporate (season to taste).

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Popeyes Mashed Potatoes Recipe Review

So how was it ?

First, I used my Instant Pot to make my potatoes! I just find it less messy (I have a pot boil over issue!). I doubt that altered the flavor, since I only added garlic and salt to the water? But next time, more garlic!

I’m not sold on it being a copycat of Popeye’s ~ it’s been a minute since I had some! I guess I need to pick up a container the next time I see Popeye’s to compare! But I’m sure it isn’t an exact match. Maybe the lack of chicken gizzards? I’m willing to try again for the copycat version!

But as for the recipes in this post, I was impressed more with the gravy than the mashed potatoes. I haven’t had Popeye’s without the gravy (guess I’m getting 2 containers!)! But the mashed potatoes were very similar to my own, and I just use salt, pepper, milk and butter. So maybe an increase in the seasoning would have helped!?

The gravy tho… I would have added just a TAD more spice, but not much!! It was smooth and silky, and the flavor was definitely there! We just like things a bit spicy 🌶

And we had leftover gravy to use the next day on open-faced roast beef sandwiches! I always have roast beef on hand, that I cook myself and then Zach slices for sandwiches! And this gravy elevated that already flavorful roast beef!

Double Win on the Cajun Gravy!

I’m currently waiting on suggestions from Zach for next week, but I heard talk of Taco Bell Crunchwraps! I’m in! 😋

Caturday Recipes Aplenty!

Another great resource is Copycat.com . Here you will find TONS of FREE recipes!! She also has a few books available on Amazon! Either way, it’s a win! 😋

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Hair Woes on the Road

Sometime back in February of 2022 I had this brilliant idea to dye my hair purple, well at least streaks of purple! It was right before Skoolie Swarm, and there were lots of extra people staying where I was and (of course) someone had bleach, and I had the purple (it was supposed to be for my daughter then she changed her mind, teens 😐)

Someone else decided to dye their hair as well, but he was going full purple! We used his black bus as a mirror, and proceeded to bleach our hair… which turned out epically bad! I missed spots that I wanted to bleach for a streak of purple, I bleached too much of the areas I didn’t want purple! But I went with it!

Unfortunately, once I put the purple in, it didn’t really take at all 🙁 It was more of a light pink against the bleach blonde madness! I was so upset with myself for ruining my hair!

Not to mention it had completely ruined my new nickname for my friend who dyed his hair purple ~ Grape Ape! Now he was more like Strawberry Shortcake ~ but he rocked it, I did not!

For the next few months I spent my time trying to make it look semi-normal!

The last time I choose an odd hair color

I decided to go against the pink/purple/bleach blonde and got teal at the suggestion of my then-14 year old daughter. Well, I let Zach take the reins on this one! He was in charge of where the dye went! We started with a full bleach of everything just to kind of even things out, like a clean canvas (haha, my bleached, fried hair laughs at that!)

Then came the problems 😁

I wanted streaks of teal within my as-close-as-I-can-get-it natural color. Started with the teal so I could just dye my whole head when I was doing my natural-ish color and hope it covered what wasn’t teal.

I guess Zach didn’t get the correct memo 😮

He died ALL of my hair teal!!! This is what the end result was!

Ok, maybe not ALL of it! He did leave some untouched in the back 😀

After about, I don’t, know maybe 2 months of this color, I just really wanted to go back to my natural color! I was sick of the all bleached out or some kind of punk color, which I’m not against, but my hair was hating me! It was looking and feeling awful!

Off to Sally Beauty we went! AGAIN!

We got bleach to start over completely! I was trying to cover blue, which is the hardest color on your hair to cover! Of course 😆

At this time, we were at another Skoolie Event, Skoolie UP, and had a friend help Zach!

We decide to bleach my hair one day and color it the next day! The bleach worked fantastically!! YAY!!! Most of the blue came out, I was left with a very faint blue in one spot!

A Rainbow! 🌈 Just not in my hair

I was super excited!! We had bought a color which was very close to my natural shade, the only thing that didn’t come in the box was my beautiful silver streaks ~ the one thing I miss so much about my natural hair color, the beautiful highlights I was born with!!

I have TONS of hair! It’s long, and while it doesn’t look thick, it is!

I got two boxes of dye and not an ounce of it took!!! When it was done it was still very blonde 🙁

Devastated, completely! I knew at this point that the dyeing game was over! There would be no more hair dye ~ I would just let it grow out.

Now that sounds really easy but I have very long hair, so waiting out the “grow it out” process was going to be painful!

At this point in time, I have about two to three inches of root grow and I’m super excited to see all that fantastic silver in there!!

I wish I had never, ever bleached it and just embraced the silver like I should have ~ And I say silver because it is silver and not gray! If it were gray, I’d embrace that too! It’s shiny, it’s shimmery and it’s beautiful and I bleached it ~ SO silly!

In the end, I decided I was going to have Zach just chop my hair off! Like just go for it! Or a little go for it!

He chopped about 6″ off ~ sad ~ and felt weird, you know ponytails were a little shorter (which I don’t wear often), falling in my face like I’m not used to! Needed but still weird! It was so damaged, so very damaged, and it still is! But it’s a start!

Silver Lining …

But in all of this, I found this fantastic product! Daily Dose 🤗

I’m not a big fan of putting anything in my hair, honestly! I wash with regular shampoo, no conditioner because my hair seems to love to hang on to that conditioner! So if I condition my hair, I must rewash it after I condition it! Guess how often that happens in a Skoolie??

This product is a lifesaver though! I can use it daily and it doesn’t build up! It doesn’t make my hair feel all funky, doesn’t give me bed head in the morning, smells amazing and keeps my hair under control (and not staticky)! If you are looking for a great leave-in conditioner, I definitely recommend this one!!

I have been using this product for about a month and I find even my hair loss isn’t as great! Normally when I brush through my hair, I get a brushful! Nothing alarming, and since I have a lot of hair, it’s pretty normal! Or I thought it was! Now my before and after brushing brush almost look the same! I’m in for that!

I will continue to use this product while my hair grows out, and beyond! I am going to start using it in Zach’s unruly hair and see how that goes! He says his hair acts the same way with leave-in conditioner as mine does with in-shower conditioner! So I’m thinking he might be game to try this, since I know it doesn’t make my hair feel anything less than clean and manageable!

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Happy Birthday Freebies!

Happy Birthday!

Zach and I both celebrate our Birthday in August! Yep, we’re both Virgos! But that’s a whole different story 🙂

If you are celebrating a Birthday this month, we wish you the happiest of days! And we want to help you celebrate all month!

🎉🎈🎂

We love the month of August! We get lots and lots of free stuff that month! From free food to great discounts, we are always happy to get those emails! It’s great for us, as it helps with travel costs!

Without a doubt, my favorite is Krispy Kreme! Something about warm, fresh donuts! Free Donuts! A WHOLE DOZEN! We ended up sharing with friends, because everyone needs a warm, melt in your mouth donut 😍

I’m still looking for the one place that makes me rethink the Krispy Kreme dozen donuts as my favorite!

I’ve compiled a HUGE list of free things you can get during your Birthday month! I have successfully signed up for most of these offers!

↘Want to sign up for over 250 Birthday Freebies?↙

Sign up now for Birthday Freebies for Next Year!

Most companies require sign up at minimum the month before your Birthday! So if you didn’t sign up, it’s never too late! Signing up for all of them at one time can be overwhelming, so I suggest looking through the list and finding those places you already frequent and start there! You can always go back and sign up for a few extra! I’ve signed up for most, but not all ~ it’s a long list 🙂

Please keep in mind that all freebies are subject to the terms outlined in the email you receive! Some don’t require a purchase but some do! It’s always a great idea to check with your server, customer service or call ahead!

Part 18 ~ Journey into North Carolina

Journey into the mountains 😳

We drove out of Tennessee on some eerily foggy roads, so we didn’t go very far each day, intentionally!

Our first stop was in Mt Airy, NC

There we found The Whittling Wall! This was an exceptional piece of art! The bricks were laid out perfectly, the grout was placed just perfectly on each figure! And they are depicted after real life people! Click on the picture to see more of this amazing wall!

Mayberry?

So while driving around Mt Airy, we realized that Mayberry was a predominant theme! While researching things to do in the area, Andy Griffith came up multiple times, as did Mayberry! So it’s no surprise we saw this parked on Main Street!

And this mural right around the corner!

It was a very cute town, and one I wouldn’t mind returning to! It wasn’t too crowded, but had lots of things to see and do!

Granite, Granite..Everywhere!

We also happened upon the World’s Largest Granite Quarry! But… we couldn’t do much more than drive by the Main Office 🙁 Which was cool, since it was made entirely out of granite! In fact, the whole town was made of granite! Ok, not the whole town, but a very good portion of it was granite laden!

On our way out of town, this guy seemed content to send us off! I believe at one time, his hand waved! He was parked outside Young Enterprises, but seemed like the whole place was non-functional!

Slow crawling down North Carolina, our next stop was not too far away! We hit Winston-Salem next and found quite a few unique things there! Big things! I know we missed a lot, but it’s been cold and I simply cannot handle the cold! So we do short trips and I save some stuff for us to do the next time around! I usually find 20-30 unique things to do in a 30 mile radius of where we are staying and then narrow it down to 4 or 5 in one day! And those things are dependent on location! I have it down to a pretty decent science so we don’t do a lot of backtracking!

The Journey via Google Maps

My Google Maps is hilarious when I first open it, 7,000 saved places (ok, a bit of an exaggeration, I probably only have 100)! But the flags pop up when I open Maps! I have managed to group them together so that I can look at one specific type of place at a time! Groups like Big Things, Weird Things, Herb Shops, Campgrounds, etc! It really does help when we are looking for something specific to have just those pop up on the map!

The Big Things

So our first big thing was The Big Chair in Thomasville! Now, it’s not the “World’s Largest” Chair, but it’s the World’s Largest Duncan Phyfe Chair! Either way, it’s BIG!

From there we went to check out The World’s Largest Chest of Drawers!

How did we miss this on the Journey ?!?

And SOMEHOW we missed the World’s Largest Highboy Dresser just miles away from the Chest of Drawers! UGG 🙁

Guess we have to go back through that way now ! 😆

But we did manage to find an incredibly cool Shell Gas Station on our way back to Winston-Salem!!

Now, it’s no longer in use, but it is definitely worth stopping to check out! Someone clearly cares about this location, because it is very well kept!

Click the guy in the window to check out all the pics!! He scared me when I peeped in the window !!! Serves me right!😁

Coffee…No Coffee

Our last stop in Winston-Salem was The Mickey Coffee Pot Marker! It looked HUGE in pictures, but when we arrived, it was smaller than we were expecting! I was kinda hoping it was a coffee shop! But, still amazing and a great backstory ! So that makes it way better than a random huge coffee pot!

The Journey Continues!

At this point we headed further south! Our destination is St Augustine, Florida to see my children and help some friends! But that isn’t until the end of March, so we are slow going it! Not sure what we will find on the way, but we are open to whatever comes in our path!

Until Next Time!

Missed a few parts of the story?? Catch up here!!

Parts 1-10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

Love the hats we wear? Zach makes them! Check out his work here

UnBoxBoardom Subscription

UnBoxBoardom

Being on the road 24/7/365 is exciting… most of the time! But we get bored sometimes!

We don’t have a TV, but we will stream on our laptop 🙂

Our favorite shows are baking and cooking shows, but we are fans of most reality type shows (well, not dating shows, sorry!)

We play cards, but with just 2 of us it does get old fast! And we switch back and forth between two games, Uno and Phase 10 ! We look for other card games, but haven’t found one we thought we would enjoy!

So I was thrilled when UnBoxBoardom wanted to work with me!

I LOVE board games!! And Zach likes games in general, so this is going to be exciting to learn and play new games together! Well, truth be told, we are SUPER SUPER competitive! (like Zach will cheat ~ make up rules that only he can follow ~ you gotta watch him 😂) I’m excited to also play with our other Skoolie friends ~ both adults and kids 🙂

Because we are so competitive, we tend to bend the rules on games we know well! Maybe not bend, but let’s face it, we all have our own set of “family rules” for most games! I can think of 4 different ways (or more, who’s keeping track 😆 ) that I have played Monopoly! And Uno! Every one has a few extra rules or rules simply omitted! So new games that we actually have to learn the rules together will alleviate the “the way we played” rules!

Undoubtedly that won’t last and one of us will suddenly remember the rules differently

Here is an excerpt from their site!!

It’s time to unplug and play! With an UnboxBoardom subscription box you can easily discover and enjoy the hottest and best new board games. The risk of buying board games that are not fun or too hard to understand is minimized because we do all the research for you. We know which are the best board games because we’ve played them with our own families.

↘And this statement right here is huge for me!↙

Also, because we want everyone to be able to enjoy the thrill, excitement and personal interaction from playing board games, for every 10 new board game subscription box signups, we’ll donate a board game to an organization that helps kids who can’t afford one.

So what kind of games do they send out ?!?! Here are last months choices!

They actually have 2 subscription options (which you can change by emailing them and letting them know in advance of your next shipment!)

The first option is picking the game yourself or “I want to be the Expert” 😁 With this option you will get an email at the beginning of the month with three different games (with descriptions of each) for you to chose from. You then have 5 days to chose your game!

The second option is “Trust The Experts” ~ you get a surprise game each month instead of picking it out yourself!

Here is how the boxes shake out ~ You have three choices on how often you want a box!

UnBoxBoardom Subscription Options

From here, you have three choices on how you can pay 😊

The Gaming Guru (Monthly Game)

The Casual Gamer (Bi-Monthly Game)

Board Game Beginner (Quarterly Game)

With any option combination, the games are sent out on the 15th of the month (unless, of course, it falls on a Sunday!)

Our Readers Receive FREE Shipping on their first box at UnboxBoardom.com with Code: USFAMILY or you can click HERE for the coupon!

UnBoxBoardom Things to Know!

~ Shipping is $6 (after using the coupon above for free shipping on first game)

~ Love the game? It’s yours to keep 😀

~ DON’T love the game? Contact support and they will make things right!

~ Have a Trust the Experts Subscription and you receive a game you already have? Just reach out to customer service within 7 days and they will walk you through returning the game (unopened!!) and they will send you a replacement game or refund you, whichever you prefer!

~ Have a chose your own game subscription and you don’t like any of the featured selections? Again, reach out to them, they will have alternative options from the previous months!!

Seriously, all you have to do is reach out to them and they will assist you with whatever issues you have!

Happy Birthday Freebies!

Birthday Freebies!

Zach and I both celebrate our Happy Birthday in August! Yep, we’re both Virgos!

If you are celebrating a Birthday this month, we wish you the happiest of days!

🎉🎈🎂

We love the month of August! We get lots and lots of free stuff that month! From free food to great discounts, we are always happy to get Birthday emails!

Without a doubt, my favorite was Krispy Kreme! Something about warm, fresh donuts! Free Donuts! A WHOLE DOZEN! We ended up sharing with friends, because everyone needs a warm, melt in your mouth donut 😍

I’ve compiled a HUGE list of free things you can get during your Birthday month! I have successfully signed up for all of these free birthday items!

↘Want to sign up for over 400 Birthday Freebies?↙

Sign up now for Birthday Freebies for Next Year!

Part 17 ~ Mad Max Catio Phase 3

The Mad Max Catio Continues..

It’s been a minute since I did a Mad Max Catio update!

So, last update left us at the pass through between the shop and the house! We cut a hole in the wall to put a pocket door in so we have access to the shop from inside the bus, but can close it off when we need to. But that’s another project!

⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇

Scabbers decided to be in the pic, and we are in the middle of remodel, so it’s a mess 😂

The Tree to The Catio

They needed a way to get up to the pass through, so Zach built a “tree” for them to climb!

Zach added a larger platform at the top so the cats had more room to turn around if they need to. He attached some grippy carpet to the top so they could grab on when going up!

We decided to put the cat food area on the top of this location! First, it was a great way to make sure they went up there. Second, our dog, Louie, LOVES cat food 😡

Less Mad Max, More King of the Jungle 😍

From the “Kat Kitchen” they need to traverse over the tree limb to the other side, and either do the same on the second limb or tightrope walk along the bookshelf edge 😂

The boys have the tree part down to a science

Heddy jumps from the kitchen area to the area above the bathroom. We don’t really want them over there, as it’s a storage area for things that don’t need cat hair on them!

However, Heddy is a work in progress, she has been spotted on the tree, but mostly not 🙁

The Mad Max Catio Obstacle Course begins…

And that brings us to the pass through! We plan to put a trap door there so we can prevent them from either side when we need to! Like on days we are parked in a WalMart just to go shop, and don’t want cats escaping. We can close them off in the shop while we unload!

From the house side
From the shop side

To begin, they need to walk along a small beam

then embark onto a larger board (Scabbers has to tummy crawl through this space!)

after that, it’s onto the cabinet inside the shop

And onto the back brow area, where they will find the hole to get into the cabinet!

They do have an alternative route to the top of the brow from inside the shop, and the boys have been seen using it!

Finally, down into the cabinet to the litter box through the shelves.

Success!

The litter box belongs in the bottom drawer but we have been acclimating them to the new location a little at a time, and the bottom shelf is it’s last stop before the drawer!

We added a cat door for them to get outside too! It can be kept locked if we don’t want them outside during travel.

This is their path inside the cabinet! It is accessible from the top shelf!

Stay tuned for Video of them traversing the entire obstacle course!!

There are a few things resting against the cabinet that allow them to get down ~ when they finally figure that door thing out 🐱 Clearly we need to work with them more!

There are plans for that area that haven’t been completed yet, so the “rug slide” we are currently using is completely temporary 😹 Obviously!

Our intention is to have the back deck area as clear of items as possible so that we can put some cat play zones out there.

Or maybe just a cat tree 😂

Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mad Max Catio Phase…

Missed a few parts of the story?? Catch up here!!

Parts 1-10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

Love the hats we wear? Zach makes them! Check out his work here

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