The Thrifty Groove

It's August

2017-08-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

It's August already! How can that possibly be?! Once my birthday hits (September 1st) it seems like, in a blink of an eye, we are ringing in a new year!

We have been blessed with a bit of cooler weather the last couple of days so, that has me thinking Fall. I have been gathering up different Autumn craft things and starting to make some Fall projects. And to be honest, Fall is my happy season. It's my favorite time of the year and I'm ready to enjoy all Autumn things. I love the cooler weather, the changing of the leaves, the rainy days, the apple orchards, roadside stand selling pumpkins and corn stalks and just the whole mental need to start nesting.

Link to the above post is HERE

Why The Thrifty Groove has been MIA

2017-06-29T16:24:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone!

You might have noticed that I haven’t posted for a very long time. The past few months have been tough for me. If you follow me on Facebook, you already know what’s been happening. A couple of months ago my mom died. She and my dad were on vacation in Florida and one day she woke up and didn’t feel good. My dad took her to the hospital. They didn’t find exactly what was wrong and wanted to keep her overnight for observation. She said that she was just tired and wanted to go back to their trailer and take a nap. My dad helped her get comfortable on the couch while he ran out to get her prescriptions. When he got back she had passed away.

Wow, that was harder to write than I thought it would have been. I have been putting off writing this because I knew it would drudge up pain but, I needed to do it for myself and for my mom.

When it happened, Troy and I were in Oklahoma. I had went out on the road with Troy so we could be together for our anniversary. We hadn’t quite been out for a week when I got the call from my dad. So, we notified Troy’s employer and they worked as hard as they could to get us back home quickly.

It was such a horrific thing to happen especially since we were all separated at the time of her death.

I had just talked to her late the previous night. We were joking around and I made a video on my phone to show her where we were at the time. She was always excited to hear where Troy and I were heading next.

A week after the funereal I had to start dealing with her things. I am the oldest child and the only girl. My dad was just lost and hurt without his best friend. A lot of pain and sadness was filling our lives.

I stopped by my dads house everyday for about a month. A lot of those days I worked on going through my mom’s belongings. Wow! I had no idea how hard and that was going to be. I tried to keep a positive attitude and talked to her the entire time I went through her things. She was there with me smiling, laughing and giving me strength.

She and I took the same size in clothes and shoes so, I kept many of her things. And that just turned into a lot more work. Which I think she found pretty funny! I have been slowly purging my own things to make room for some of her things.

There are still things that I need to deal with at my parents house but, the more personal things of my moms are taken care of.

This whole ordeal has really opened my eyes to a lot of things and I have felt some things inside of me change because of it. And I will delve into those things at a later time.

I’m still going to be a little MIA here. I have things that I need to sort out both physical and mentally. So The Thrifty Groove is still on a hiatus. I just wanted you to know what was going on in case you didn’t know.

Okay, I want to share a little bit about my mom on the rest of this post.

A fun thing I found when I was clearing out her nightstand was this class notebook. It was a school journal from 3rd grade of my moms. She was 8 years old and a budding artist then.

My mom was a wildlife artist all her life. She was in a couple of art galleries and sold many paintings.

She also would paint pretty much anything. It was a running joke with us that if mom could catch it and hold it still enough, she would paint it!

She bought this cabinet and swore she was not going to paint on it. We all knew better!

On the front porch of our cabin she painted all kinds of little things here and there. You can see some of the other things she painted around the porch HERE.

One day she was bored and painted a paver stone. Troy and I both took one look at it and knew we could sell them at the Farmers Markets. She didn’t believe us. We told her to make a couple more and we would try it out at the market. Sure enough, they sold like hotcakes! We had people requesting them and paying in advance for them. She was just shocked by this. She really didn’t understand how talented she was!

Another talent was how creatively she wrapped gifts. Everyone always looked forward to receiving a gift from her and could spot her gift on a table of gifts easily. She just couldn’t wrap a box and put a ribbon and bow on it.

She was a good cook!

She loved to cook for people.

She especially liked to cook family dinners.

She was silly and we had lots of goofy times together. The above is the sign she made up quickly for our “re-do” of the deer stand my brothers and nephews worked so hard on. They did not find it amusing at all. You can see all we did to it HERE.

My mom was smart and beautiful. She truly enjoyed life to the fullest. Everyday she saw as a new adventure. She always found joy from the smallest things. She was a great mom and a great friend.

I miss you so much mom! You are in my thoughts everyday!

How to Make a Thrifty and Easy St. Patrick's Day Wreath

2017-03-05T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Doesn't it feel like February gets shorter and shorter every year? And the older we get the faster time flies by! Not too mention I got a text from my dad (he sent it out to my brothers and Troy also) saying " You know you are old when all your kids quality for AARP". Oh thanks for the reminder Dad! Geez!

Anyway....

I went thrift shopping with my mom earlier this week and I was looking for a wreath to use to make a St. Patrick's day wreath for our door. It's always nice when you head out shopping looking for a specific thing and actually find it! And that it was the right color sticker. When I shop at Salvation Army, I only buy items that have that weeks 50% off color sticker. Their everyday prices are just too high!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2017-02-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Originally Troy was going to be home today and I had planned on making a nice meal for the two of us. I don't get to cook very much for my husband these days and I occasionally miss it. Yes, just occasionally. LOL But, in our world, the whole phrase "Best laid plans..." is a normal case scenario for us. It's one of the many joys of being an OTR driver's wife.

Fortunately for me (and hubby) I have never really placed a lot of weigh behind Valentine's Day. It's nice but, not real significant in my life.

But, it does give me an excuse to decorate in shades of pink and play with pretty dishes. I so have my priorities straight!

Hey, I like pink and I don't have any in my house!

How to Save Money and Eat Healthy

2017-02-08T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

One of the few areas we have a little bit of wiggle room when it comes to our household budget is food. Grocery shopping is probably one of my least favorite things to do. I feel like Mary Tyler Moore when she is grocery shopping and looks at the price of a package of meat and just shakes her head and tosses it into the shopping cart. The high prices just don't make sense to me. Remember watching for sales on hamburger for .99 cents a pound? Now you are lucky if you can find hamburger cheaper than steak!

I have always had to watch our budget and groceries was one of the areas I could make stretch for less. I learned a lot from my mom when we were growing up. Thank goodness! That gave me a foundation to work with!

How to Deal with Another Clutter Zone - Receipts

2017-02-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

What a boring subject this is! Receipts ~ Blah!!

Unfortunately they are something that has to be dealt with that can really turn into clutter very quickly.

Like most of you, I have tried every method possible to keep receipts under control and easily accessible when needed. And with the best of intentions I start out strong and then gradually slipped back into receipt chaos.

Forget Trendy Decor, Think Happy Decor!

2017-01-29T09:48:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone!

I have added a few new (okay, some brand spankin' new and some just new to me) little decor items in our living room. It takes so little to make small changes in our homes. Sometimes when money is tight, doing some small change or addition to our home decor can really go far in just lifting us up a little.

One Habit to Start to Become Clutter Free!

2017-01-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

I chose the title of this post very carefully! I stated, "Start with 1 habit to become clutter free". The keyword there is Start!

You are going to see a ton of posts on blogs and websites that will have miraculous titles that claim things like "5 secret steps to a clutter free life". Wow! Sign me up!! January is the big "Let's get organized" month so your social media feed, store ads and email subscription are going to be flooded with organizational "helpful tips".

And that is what they are, TIPS not miracles. Don't think there is a cure all for becoming clutter free. If anyone tells you that, they are lying. Pure and simple!

Everyday is a New Beginning

2017-01-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Everyday is a new beginning. I have heard that all my life and intellectually totally get it. So, why does that other part of me think, "That's fine for everyone else." ?

January is always the time for fresh starts. Kind of like Mondays, a fresh start to a new week.. But January gets big hype and build up because it is a brand spankin' new year! And we tell ourselves "This is it! I'm going to do blah blah blah" and my life will be perfect.

My Goal for 2017 is Routines

2017-01-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year!!

I'm not going to use the word Resolutions. Nope, those get broken about a month into the new year. Instead I am going with Goal. One overall goal for 2017.

My goal for 2017 is Routines. This is a tough one for me. And I bet it is not so easy for a lot of you either.

Since I stopped working outside of the home I have had a hard time keeping myself on some kind of schedule. And I am not talking about a tight schedule. Even the smallest of routines have disappeared.

A Little Fall in the Bedroom

2016-11-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

I have been so frustrated! I have written this post and a couple of other ones numerous times. I wish I could say it was the platform I am using but, it's not. My laptop is wearing out and Troy has been "threatening" me that he is going to just go out and buy me a new one. Which is nice that he doesn't hesitate in getting me a new laptop. And I really appreciate it. But, I really don't want to spend that kind of money. But more importantly, I hate learning a new electronic thing! I have everything set up the way I want it on this laptop.

Moving right along....

I finally finished adding the Fall decor touches in our home last week. I didn't really go overboard. To be honest, I am heading out on the road with Troy and will be gone until around Thanksgiving. So, I won't be enjoying the decor for very much time.

I decided to just add a small touch of Fall in our bedroom. And it is all your fault!

Fall Entryway Table

2016-10-30T13:19:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

Yesterday I decided to add a little Fall decor inside. I didn't go all out, just simple, thrifty and easy Fall decor.

It has been such a warm October here. My poor flowers and herbs are so confused. But, the trees have all turned beautiful colors and we have had some light rain. It is finally feeling like Autumn around here. And that's what really motivated me into get in the mood for Fall decorating.

I used what I had on hand which were some fun thrift store finds and a few Dollar Store florals and what nots. I spent very little this year on Autumn decorations. Fortunately I had lots of Fall things and warm color items are really all that is needed.

Easy Potato Chowder Recipe

2016-10-23T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

Not only are we in soup time of the year, we are in busy holiday time of the year. So throwing ingredients into a crock pot and letting them just cook and not having to worry about it until it is ready to serve is a blessing .

Easy potato chowder is a simple but, hardy meal to fix on a busy chilly day. Adding corn to the mix gives it a nice slight sweetness to the chowder.

Using a bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns really thickens this chowder up. It is more of a meal than just a soup.

How to turn a Christmas Wreath into a Halloween Wreath

2016-10-21T16:06:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

It's Flashback Friday again and this is the last Halloween post for the year.

I haven’t made a new Halloween wreath this year. I have been debating on what I want to do. So, I thought I would go through what I have made in the past and see if new inspiration hits me. Usually I make a thrift store run and something just seems to jump out at me. But, I have just been too busy and haven’t been shopping in any form in ages. Maybe something will just click soon. In the meantime, here is last years Spooky Creepy Halloween Wreath….

How to Age a Plaster Relief

2016-10-16T13:47:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone!

Our upstairs hallway is very dark. It's painted a milk chocolate color with off white trim. I actually really like the paint color. But, there is no windows and no real direct sunlight. Even before I painted it and the walls were an off white, it still was dark.

I haven't had anything on the walls in the hallway for years. Nothing seems to work.

I found this plaster relief wall hanging at a thrift store for .99 cents and thought It would look nice on the brown walls. I had a small area that I wanted to hang it.

When I put it up I was surprised that the relief didn't show up at all. It just look like a white square on the wall.

So, I thought I would try to "age" it and bring out the relief design.

Thrift Find Turned Halloween Decor

2016-10-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

It's time for Flashback Friday!

I don’t know about you but, for me those seasonal items that have a little “weight” to them always seem so expensive. Sure, we can pick up fun and cute little things from the dollar store and that is great. However, anything bigger and the stores price is too high for me. Even though I have a little bit more spending money this year, I still can’t bring myself to pay $25.00 or more for a Halloween decoration. Maybe because Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday. I am more likely to spend more money on Christmas décor than Halloween.

So, I still try to find a bit cheaper….er…thriftier options. And to be honest, I kind of like looking outside the box at things I find at thrift stores and seeing what I can turn them into.

I’m sure you guys have probably seen these type of tabletop candelabra things before. They were big in the 1980’s. I found this one for $1.29 at a recent shopping trip to Value World (had my 50% off entire purchase coupon). I figured I could do something easy to turn it into a Halloween decoration of sorts. And it was a good size to sit on a table. It would have décor weight.

Most of you are well aware of the fact that I have the attention span of a 2 year old. So, you probably aren’t going to see any big huge heavy detail time oriented projects from me. Nope, I like 3 things: Thrifty, Quick and Easy! And that is what this project is.

What need:

1 Candelabra kinda thing

Black Spray paint

Hot glue gun

Five dollar Store skulls.

Fake spider webbing

Dollar store plastic creepy crawlies

Spray paint the thing

After it is dry, glue the skulls into place

Randomly drape spider web. Hot glue some creepy crawlies.

That’s it! Simple.

Oh, and look how fun it is at night when you turn on the skulls!

It randomly changes different colors. So fun and silly!

The next time you are at the thrift store look at the items in a different light. Imagine what it could be instead of what it is. Get creative and have some fun!

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your visit and taking the time to comment.

Have a wonderful day!

Another Small Catch-All Declutered!

2016-10-12T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

Last week was a painful one for me. I had a pulled muscle in my back and it was a doozy! Even with all my back issues I still make a conscious effort to stand up straight. Well, that couldn't happen last week. I actually could not stand straight. I was hunched over for 4 days. It was not fun let me tell you! So, I did little to nothing last week.

However, once the muscle relaxed and I could stand straight again, I did manage to tackle a small area in our upstairs hallway. I really was trying not to do very much because I new it would flare up that muscle again if I did.

And I have to say, you guys really have helped and encouraged me, even if you didn't know that, to get my home back in shape. For the last 3 years I have been in almost a fugue state. I kept up appearances when I needed to but, inside me was totally dark. And finally coming out of the darkness here on my blog, I finally feel light. So, I really have been trying to tackle at least one area a week. Even if it is just a small area. it makes me happy and lightens up my soul. I actually feel like I am healing inside.

I know I have said it before, but truly I mean it, thank you!

Okay enough of that!

I decided to just have a little fun with this clutter mess in this picture because, hey why not!

A Thrifty Disinfecting Glass Cleaner!

2016-10-09T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

This is just a little cleaning tip post. I have been making my own glass cleaner for a lot of years. Super simple recipe. Just water, white vinegar and a tablespoon of Dawn dish detergent. And it works pretty good. The downside of it is that I generally have to go over spots for streaking. But, that is normal for most glass cleaners. And with dollar stores carrying window cleaners for a buck, that is a quick thrifty choice. But, once again, they have a tendency to streak and you need to use more to get your glass clean.

A Fun and Thrifty Halloween Centerpiece

2016-10-07T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

I'm doing a little "Flashback Friday" on the Thrifty Groove. I hope to put up a flashback every Friday through the new year. Something seasonal.

I thought it would be fun to make a pretty witchy hat as a centerpiece for my dining room table. It had to be fun, easy and……wait for it……Thrifty! And I think I did just that.

I found the witch hat at a Goodwill store for .49 cents. So, that was a good start on the thrifty part of this centerpiece!

A Small Change

2016-10-05T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

Wow, it's October already! From now until the first of the New Year time seems to just vanish!

Do you ever feel like you move at a snails pace yet the rest of the world is moving along just fine? That's how I have been feeling lately.

As a blogger I should be totally immersed into Christmas right now. All Halloween, Autumn and Thanksgiving posts should be finished and scheduled. Not me. I decided not to do any Halloween decorating this year. Last year I had fun creating some different Halloween decor items but, this year not so much. And as far as fall goes, I am adding a little here and there which I plan to share soon.

I think spending more time on the road with Troy has put me behind on a lot of things. But, to be honest I would rather go out on the road with my husband and create fun new memories. So, that is what I am doing.

A few things to get you caught up.

The Candy Factory

2016-09-23T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

I shared my birthday dinner that we had when we were on the road on my last post. After we had dinner and headed back on the road, a few hours passed and we saw signs for The Candy Factory and The Worlds Largest Gift Store. Since we had plenty of time, we weren't going to pass that up! LOL

I'm Home! Birthday Dinner on the Road

2016-09-21T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

We just got back home after being out on the road for 3 weeks. We had a fun time and got to go to different places we hadn't been to.

This may be some repeat pictures for those of you that follow me on facebook. Sorry about that!

This post is sharing the fun place we found on my birthday to stop and have dinner. I had been craving Missouri BBQ. But, every place we would see signs for, we couldn't get to in a semi truck. Troy got online in a couple of his trucker groups and asked for any ideas regarding us going to a bbq restaurant.

Several drivers recommended Missouri Hicks Bar-B-Q restaurant . they told us that a few semi's can park there. So, that is where we went.

Lots of pictures......

Doesn't that just look like a good BBQ place?!

Sauerkraut, Sausage and Potatoes Recipe Cooked in a Semi Truck

2016-08-31T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

I am back the road with Troy so, I thought a trucking recipe and story was perfect to share today.

The last time I went out of the road with Troy I remembered to actually take pictures of the meal I was cooking knowing I wanted to share with you guys. Fortunately we were stopped at a shipper so I could take my time doing both preparing the food and taking pictures. LOL

This particular day was a cold rainy day so, this is one of my go to meals on days like that.

Sauerkraut, Sausage and Potatoes

Last Year's September Wreath

2016-08-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

I am revisiting this post of last September. Last year I decided to incorporate "Back to school" in my wreath.

Happy September 1st! And Happy Birthday to me!

I know all the blogs out there are showing lovely Fall wreaths for the door. Not me. I like to take each month and try to create a wreath that reflects that month. Besides my birthday, when I think of September I think of Apple Season, Back to School and Sunflowers. Life is too short to wish away time. Each day and month is a precious gift, so don’t hurry it past! So, anyway, those are things I want to create a wreath with. So, I did!

Let Go of Toxic Reminders and Find Peace

2016-08-24T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

Okay, this is not a pretty picture filled, DIY or sharing something pretty with you post. This is a "talkie" post. LOL

Before I start blabbering on I want to say a big Thank You to those of you that have been right there along with me and being so supportive while I get my home life together!

I never thought I could get strength and motivation from people I haven't met in real life. But, so many of you feel like real friends that I have known for years! And your encouragement has really helped keep me positive! It means so much to me. There are days that I go back and reread your comments and it gives me that little extra push. So Thank you so much!!

As you know, I have been delving into our bedroom clutter and mess. I have been trying to declutter and make it a more inviting place that I want to spend time in. And it has been going great! I am enjoying the changes and how lightened up it has become with just a few new touches here and there and reclaiming areas that were just lost in clutter.

One area I was REALLY dreading was an area filled with paperwork. Boxes of paperwork! Not only was this going to be physically painful because boxes filled with paperwork are very heavy and I needed to carry them downstairs but, they were also painful mentally and emotionally.

First of all I need to tell you upfront that I really did not want to write this post. It was so difficult for me. Just like clearing out this toxic area. This clutter of paperwork represents the most painful times of my life. And unfortunately those times were filled with a lot of paperwork (legal stuff). And I did not want to touch this area with a 10 foot pole because I would end up reliving all of it. And that is why it has sat here and accumulated for about 3 years!

Who wants to deal with things that just breaks their heart and takes them back to such ugly memories? No one.

Yup, another REAL LIFE picture. I think I might be the worst example of a blogger in the world! LOL I promise you I will share more pretty pictures in the future!

I was finally ready emotionally to deal with this toxic paperwork once and for all. It took me several days of working at it. I admit, I could only deal with it for short periods of time but, I didn't give up. It just took a little bit longer than it should.

The pure emotional weight of these constant toxic reminders of pain was finally leaving my home. There were definitely moments during this clean up that I just sat down and cried. And oddly enough that was okay. I think I needed to weep for these memories one last time.

I knew I had to plow through this. I had to find the strength to let all of what this paperwork represented to us go. It was not easy.

Getting rid of all the physical representation of these events was hard enough but, I knew I had to also release the emotionally feelings attached to all of it.

And that truly was the hardest part. I had been hanging onto all this negative energy and feelings for such a long time. And that kind of burden gets too overwhelming to continue to carry.

With physical struggle, I managed to go through all this paperwork, eliminate everything that I could and box up the remainder and haul it out of my home and into storage. But, the emotional and mental part still remained and left me with one option. Prayer.

And that's what I did. I needed to let go of these horrible and painful feelings. I needed to open my heart and give it all over to God. They were just toxic weight and I needed to lighten my heart and move on.

God gave me guidance and inspiration through Matthew.

Matthew 6:14 - For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you

Matthew 11:28-30 - Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

It's not easy to give up something that has been a part of you for so long. Even if it dark and painful. I am ready to give it up. As you will notice I did not say "I was ready". It is still an ongoing thing I am working on. But, each day I feel my heart become lighter. And the pain lessening.

So, why on earth am I sharing this toxic part of my life with you here for the whole world to read?

Because I hope it helps someone else to know you are not alone. We all carry painful memories and burdens. Sometimes you just need that little inspiration to head in the right direction.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, so many of you have helped me with some simple words of encouragement. And it really helped me to keep a positive outlook.

One of the best things to come from the internet is meeting people you would never have the opportunity in every day life to meet. Being able to connect to others that are going through something similar in their lives as I am or feeling the same emotions It gives us a commonality. And I want to help lift up peoples lives. And give back the encouragement I have received.

I hope in some small way this has helped you or inspired you to let go of something that may be toxic in your life. Know you are not alone.

Thank you so much for visiting even when there is nothing pretty to show or talk about. LOL

Have a wonderful day!