Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Things were more budget friendly when I was growing up.  Mortgage rates were really high when I was a child and the house we lived in was on the higher priced end for my parents.  Yet, we managed to always have food on the table, not just for the three of us, but my maternal grandparents as well.  And enough for me to have extra-curricular like piano and summer camp…and at least one dim sum meal a week.  My parents never packed their lunches for work, either (ate in Chinatown).  They were better off when I was a teen, thanks to a slight career change for my dad and loads of promotions.  
 

 

There are three meals in restaurants that I remember from my childhood.  Mine and my siblings' 18th birthdays. Eating out wasn't within the budget.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Yeah this is cheesy, but imma gonna share this.

Yesterday my firm had the Professional Support Staff celebration which included people who have been at the firm for 30, 25, 20, 15, and 5 years. I fall into the five year anniversary. Technically, August is my anniversary date. I was given a beautiful Waterford Crystal paperweight.

And one of my other attorneys gave me this flower bouquet and a custom scented candle with my initials for the work I’ve done on this crazy ass class action.

Edited May 4, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[theredhead77]

9 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Once you're out of the baby stages, and assuming that money isn't really tight, it's a lot of stockpiling things when they are on sale and not spending money on expensive stuff. (And most children don't have expensive tastes, so just stay away from giving them a liking for things like name brand junk food.)

The stockpiling works, because most kids are super okay with eating the same stuff over and over again. 

So if they eat Cheerios, wait until it drops from $3.99 to "$2.00 each, must buy 4". And then when they suddenly decide they don't like Cheerios anymore, you need to develop a taste for Cheerios as that's going to be YOUR breakfast for the next two months. 

Vons (Safeway) has insane deals. Last week they had Quaker products for 74¢, each (limit 2), and other things like that for crazy cheap. Every week it's like that, and deep discounts on Friday.

I just discovered the wonders of Winco. Zucchini and yellow squash for 99¢ / lb, beautiful English cucumbers for 49¢ (regular cucumbers are 29¢ or 39¢). Tomatoes on the vine are 99¢, avocados, 65¢, red, yellow, and green bell peppers are 64¢, etc... these are regular prices. Frozen foods are cheaper than at Target (I don't shop at WalMart).  I was getting my produce at Costco but most of that has been shifted to Winco. That will probably save me additional money since it is less trips to Costco, too :D 

[ECM1231]

Those are some pretty cheap prices, @theredhead77. I'm assuming those are the " per pound" prices? Around here those red and orange bell peppers normally sell for $2.99/lb or more. One sweet ear of corn is 50©. Just a few years back, they were 6/$1.00. 

[theredhead77]

2 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Those are some pretty cheap prices, @theredhead77. I'm assuming those are the " per pound" prices? Around here those red and orange bell peppers normally sell for $2.99/lb or more. One sweet ear of corn is 50©. Just a few years back, they were 6/$1.00. 

Those are "each" prices. I used to buy a 6 pack at Costco for a little over $6. I usually see red, yellow, and orange bell peppers for $1.25/ea at Sprouts and would typically stick with green for significant savings. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

I also am a fan of the Costco roaster chickens from a budget standpoint. I generally buy 2-3 at a time, strip the carcass and freeze the pieces/parts. Use for casseroles/soups. Generally get 24-28 oz/chicken, for $5. Can't buy fresh for that money, let alone cook it. Also, we invested in a vacuum sealer many years ago, and I will stock up on proteins when they go on sale. It has paid for itself many times over.

[Bethany]

54 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Also, we invested in a vacuum sealer many years ago, and I will stock up on proteins when they go on sale. It has paid for itself many times over.

For us the big saver was investing in a small freezer during the pandemic.  I'd never been a fan of having a freezer in the house, I'd always preferred to shop more frequently and buy less at a time.  That wasn't practical during lockdowns especially when we were also buying for my parents.

Anyway I am now a convert.  Whatever extra we're paying in electricity in negligible compared to the savings in being able to buy in quantity when things are on sale.  Of course the downside is when you realize you have 3 turkeys in there and no beef!

[PRgal]

10 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

For us the big saver was investing in a small freezer during the pandemic.  I'd never been a fan of having a freezer in the house, I'd always preferred to shop more frequently and buy less at a time.  That wasn't practical during lockdowns especially when we were also buying for my parents.

Anyway I am now a convert.  Whatever extra we're paying in electricity in negligible compared to the savings in being able to buy in quantity when things are on sale.  Of course the downside is when you realize you have 3 turkeys in there and no beef!

I wish I could have a gigantic deep freezer in my house, but I live in a condo, so there’s no space for one!  I still freeze as much as I can but as you can imagine, I don’t much room, either.  My favourite treat is ice cream, but I can’t have more than a pint or two I there…..

[nokat]

11 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I wish I could have a gigantic deep freezer in my house, but I live in a condo, so there’s no space for one!  I still freeze as much as I can but as you can imagine, I don’t much room, either.  My favourite treat is ice cream, but I can’t have more than a pint or two I there…..

I don't have much space either. I like to slice or dice freezable vegetables so I can just grab what I need from the freezer to add to soup/stew. I have an instant pot that I love, and I can put frozen meat in there (it works better for me if it is sliced into smaller pieces first).

It is just as well that I can't keep a lot of ice cream in the freezer. 😺

I love my instant pot for making brown rice. Perfectly cooked every time. So I stock up on dry rice and beans.

[Moose135]

23 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

And then when they suddenly decide they don't like Cheerios anymore,

I'm not sure I understand what this means. Not like Cheerios anymore? I've been eating Cheerios since I was just a little Moose. I had a bowl for breakfast the other day. We're out of milk and going away tomorrow or I probably would have had some today. Kids these days... 😉

[Quof]

Just now, Moose135 said:

I've been eating Cheerios since I was just a little Moose.

And that was probably back in the days of plain Cheerios, before the newfangled apple cinnamon or honey nut.  Let alone chocolate or peanut butter!

[Moose135]

Yes! I still eat plain Cheerios, although I do get the honey nut ones from time to time. But chocolate Cheerios? I hadn't heard of those, I just might have to try them! 😁

Edited May 5, 2023 by Moose135

[Quof]

I would never lie to you about carbs. 

[JTMacc99]

6 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

I'm not sure I understand what this means. Not like Cheerios anymore?

Heh. It's not that they specifically dislike Cheerios. It's more of a general experience that repeats itself over the years, and every parent who does the food shopping knows it.

• Parent: [Buys a box of cereal] I think she might like this one!
• Child: I do like this one! [two days later...] We're out of cereal!
• Parent: [Buys a box of cereal]
• Child: Yum...  We're out of cereal!
• Parent: [Buys 4 boxes of cereal when it goes on sale]
• Child: ... I'm tired of that cereal.
• Parent (in their head of course):
  

[PRgal]

19 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Heh. It's not that they specifically dislike Cheerios. It's more of a general experience that repeats itself over the years, and every parent who does the food shopping knows it.

• Parent: [Buys a box of cereal] I think she might like this one!
• Child: I do like this one! [two days later...] We're out of cereal!
• Parent: [Buys a box of cereal]
• Child: Yum...  We're out of cereal!
• Parent: [Buys 4 boxes of cereal when it goes on sale]
• Child: ... I'm tired of that cereal.
• Parent (in their head of course):
  

I buy bulk sized bags.  My son suddenly decides that O shaped multigrain cereal was not his thing.  I like the ingredients (less sugary than a lot of brands out there.  Not to mention, higher in fibre) in said cereal so I’m now getting flakes.  He’d never know.  Lol.  He may still like Os and just had an off day.  I told him we will still be alternating until the Os are done. The kid is weird.  He likes to eat his cereal dry. 

[Quof]

I'm just pissed peanut butter Cheerios seem to be on pause, if not gone altogether.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

41 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

Yes! I still eat plain Cheerios, although I do get the honey nut ones from time to time. But chocolate Cheerios? I hadn't heard of those, I just might have to try them! 😁

Same here! But my favorite Cheerios is the multi-grain one. I also add fresh banana slices and I'm good to go. Though today, I was too tired to wake up early and go get my blood work, so I haven't eaten anything yet today, as I made an appointment for 12:30. I'll eat when I get back home.

[RealHousewife]

Ha I was just posting how discussing bodily functions embarrasses me, but that’s really only in person.

My stomach just can’t handle much food in the morning. I’m jealous of all of you who can have whatever and not make frequent bathroom trips. 

For a bit I wondered if I had IBS, but my stomach doesn’t really bother me the rest of the day. I think maybe my body is still waking up in the morning or something. It just sucks when you’re at work and have to go to the bathroom middle of a meeting. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

Heh. It's not that they specifically dislike Cheerios. It's more of a general experience that repeats itself over the years, and every parent who does the food shopping knows it.

• Parent: [Buys a box of cereal] I think she might like this one!
• Child: I do like this one! [two days later...] We're out of cereal!
• Parent: [Buys a box of cereal]
• Child: Yum...  We're out of cereal!
• Parent: [Buys 4 boxes of cereal when it goes on sale]
• Child: ... I'm tired of that cereal.
• Parent (in their head of course):
  

No disrespect intended to human kids, but this sounds exactly like my cat. 

[JTMacc99]

38 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

No disrespect intended to human kids, but this sounds exactly like my cat. 

Heh. I just switched hard food for my older, meaner, cat. It should be better for her. She pretty much revolted for almost a week. Ankles have been attacked. Lots of vocal complaints. 
 

This morning I walked by that bowl and wouldn't you know it? Half gone. Apparently it's not so bad after all. 

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, JTMacc99 said:

Heh. I just switched hard food for my older, meaner, cat. It should be better for her. She pretty much revolted for almost a week. Ankles have been attacked. Lots of vocal complaints. 
 

This morning I walked by that bowl and wouldn't you know it? Half gone. Apparently it's not so bad after all. 

Maybe the younger, nicer cat ate it?

[oliviabenson]

[RealHousewife]

16 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

Lol! That fudge looks so yummy. 

[oliviabenson]

I still prefer and eat plain Cheerios!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, oliviabenson said:

I still prefer and eat plain Cheerios!

So do I. I like to put berries or sliced bananas on it and I find that doesn't work as well with the sweet, flavored stuff.

 

[PRgal]

17 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

So do I. I like to put berries or sliced bananas on it and I find that doesn't work as well with the sweet, flavored stuff.

 

Probably because the sweet stuff is:

a) already too sweet

b) too fake-tasting with REAL fruits?

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

The kid is weird.  He likes to eat his cereal dry. 

I don't like cereal (other than steel cut oatmeal), because floating food in milk is just plain bizarre to me, so as a kid when I spent the night at someone's house and it turned out the next morning they were cereal people, I'd eat it dry.  (Well, I'd try to decline, as I do with any food when I've only been awake a short while, but back then parents were obsessed with not sending someone off without breakfast.)

My parents have Cheerios sometimes, but they're generally not cereal people, either.  So I just didn't grow up with it.  It amuses me when a group of people of my generation get into a bar argument about which cereal was best and ask why I'm not weighing in.  Because I can tell you which one had a memorable commercial, but I can't tell you what they tasted like.

[isalicat]

I find eating a bunch of carbs (any kind of cereal) first thing in the day as setting myself up for being super hungry by 10 AM and then having yo yo blood sugar all day. I start with either scrambled eggs with cheese or fried eggs with low sodium bacon and don't need any more food before 1:30 or even as late as 3 PM. I don't know how you all do cereal every day although I know its a lot less bother.

When my kid was small we gave him steel cut oatmeal but by the time he was 10 or so he was eating eggs for breakfast too and has stayed super slim and healthy his whole life. (Since he has to start work at 8 AM, his method for not having to do food prep in the morning before commuting is to make a big frittata with eggs, mushrooms, onions and bacon or sausage on Sundays and then take a slice with to work every day and warm it up in the office nuker.)

[Browncoat]

I eat plain Cheerios (with milk) almost every morning for breakfast.  I still love all the sugary cereals from my childhood, too -- the ones that used to have "sugar" in their names, like Frosted Flakes and Corn Pops.  And if I want to destroy the roof of my mouth, I'll get a box of Cap'n Crunch.

Rice Krispies, though, are only good when mixed with molten marshmallows.  Otherwise, they're like eating air.

[partofme]

8 hours ago, PRgal said:

 The kid is weird.  He likes to eat his cereal dry. 

I like my cereal dry. (Unless it’s rice crispies).  I hate cheerios though.   These days my favorite cereal is Post Wheat and Bran.  

[Bastet]

I generally don't eat until noon or 1:00 (I'm not hungry until I've been up for a while [in fact, I'm nauseated if I have to eat right away], and I get up at 10:00), so I often start the day with a salad, soup, or wrap rather than breakfast, but if I do make breakfast it's usually an egg white scramble.  It's easy, because I work from home, so I don't have to worry about packing a lunch, I can have something hot off the stove if I want.

[chitowngirl]

I mix my Cheerios. I find the yellow box too bland and the flavored ones too sweet. So I do a base of regular, about 3/4, and the rest a flavored Cheerio.

[PRgal]

6 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I mix my Cheerios. I find the yellow box too bland and the flavored ones too sweet. So I do a base of regular, about 3/4, and the rest a flavored Cheerio.

When I was in university, I'd mix Raisin Bran with Corn Flakes.  

[jennifer6973]

I prefer my milk not change colors, so I eat Corn Flakes and Rice Kristin's with milk.

I eat Honeycombs and other sugary cereals as a snack dry.

 

 

[Gramto6]

I put grape nuts cereal or shredded wheat (a bit crushed) in my morning Greek yogurt with fresh fruit.  It is not a full serving of cereal just a couple tablespoons to give the yogurt some crunch.

[theredhead77]

7 hours ago, isalicat said:

I find eating a bunch of carbs (any kind of cereal) first thing in the day as setting myself up for being super hungry by 10 AM and then having yo yo blood sugar all day. I start with either scrambled eggs with cheese or fried eggs with low sodium bacon and don't need any more food before 1:30 or even as late as 3 PM. I don't know how you all do cereal every day although I know its a lot less bother.

I eat a bowl of cereal and I'm not hungry until lunch. If I were to try to eat eggs that early I'd barf. It's a good thing there is a variety of food choices (and we're privileged enough to enjoy them) so people can do what powers their body best.

[oliviabenson]

I do not care about the coronation. All I wanted to know if Harry and Megan would come. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

33 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

I do not care about the coronation. All I wanted to know if Harry and Megan would come. 

Meghan was never going to come. But Harry did.

[annzeepark914]

Haz took off right after the coronation. He wasn't going to be included in the balcony anyway. And Archie is probably looking at his tiny watch, wondering where Dad is as it's almost time for his party. You just can't be late for a 4 year old's birthday.

I didn't watch the coronation but have been enjoying watching CNN's summary. The Princess of Wales & Princess Charlotte looked beautiful--especially those floral inspired headpieces (much prettier, IMO, than traditional tiaras, & more modern). And the adorable Prince Louis got to wear long pants and made it through the whole shebang without a scene 🤗.

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Haz took off right after the coronation. He wasn't going to be included in the balcony anyway. And Archie is probably looking at his tiny watch, wondering where Dad is as it's almost time for his party. You just can't be late for a 4 year old's birthday.

I didn't watch the coronation but have been enjoying watching CNN's summary. The Princess of Wales & Princess Charlotte looked beautiful--especially those floral inspired headpieces (much prettier, IMO, than traditional tiaras, & more modern). And the adorable Prince Louis got to wear long pants and made it through the whole shebang without a scene 🤗.

I didn’t watch either, but in the Royals’ forum, I think the Coronation thread, it was mentioned that Harry went to Buckingham Palace.🤷‍♀️

[Bethany]

3 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I didn’t watch either, but in the Royals’ forum, I think the Coronation thread, it was mentioned that Harry went to Buckingham Palace.🤷‍♀️

For whatever tabloid headlines are worth (yeah, I know) according to at least one of them Harry is already back in the US.  Not sure if that is actually possible though but I didn't do the math so maybe?

[BlueSkies]

I tend to think our personality doesn't change very much from when we are like 6 years old.  I read a personality assessment of myself at that age and even though I'm older and have a lot more life experience the core is still the same 

Edited May 6, 2023 by BlueSkies

[PRgal]

34 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

For whatever tabloid headlines are worth (yeah, I know) according to at least one of them Harry is already back in the US.  Not sure if that is actually possible though but I didn't do the math so maybe?

No way could he be back yet.  It takes about 11-12 hours to fly from London to LAX.

[festivus]

There's a Royal Forum for talk of the Coronation. Please take the discussion there.

[Calvada]

I love cereal!  Hot in the cold weather months, almost always oatmeal.  Cold in the summer, but nothing with sugar.  Plain Cheerios, bran flakes, something like that.  And always with fruit - I freeze pounds of blueberries in the summer which I put in my oatmeal all winter long.  In the summer, fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries with my cereal, or my absolute favorite:  slicing up a peach to add to my bowl of  Cheerios.  On hot summer days, sometimes a bowl of cereal is my dinner.  

[PRgal]

9 minutes ago, Calvada said:

I love cereal!  Hot in the cold weather months, almost always oatmeal.  Cold in the summer, but nothing with sugar.  Plain Cheerios, bran flakes, something like that.  And always with fruit - I freeze pounds of blueberries in the summer which I put in my oatmeal all winter long.  In the summer, fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries with my cereal, or my absolute favorite:  slicing up a peach to add to my bowl of  Cheerios.  On hot summer days, sometimes a bowl of cereal is my dinner.  

My grandmother used to poach an egg in my oats.  It would be overdone sometimes and others, a bit too soft poached. Probably best to have separately soft boiled it.  Better temperature control that way. 

[Bethany]

So my 6 yr old grandson was out walking with his Dad this morning and, upon encountering a neighbour said "You know where my Mommy is?  She's in a cemetery." 

Apparently the neighbour looked shocked and sad and didn't know what to say.  And was very relieved when my son explained that she was attending a funeral.

[ECM1231]

Oh my goodness, @Elizabeth Anne. I gasped for a second. Out of the mouth of babes.

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner alone on the day, and then on Sunday our youngest son and his fiancee treated us to dinner out. It was a busy week!

I'm currently in the middle of trying to firm up plans for a trip to San Diego mid September. Our son is having a very unconventional park wedding and the wedding venue is a reception in a residential backyard. Taco truck dinner. Don't even ask! Our heads are spinning. None of his relatives on his dad's side are attending. My sister is attending, as are her son and DIL, as her son is a groomsman. My oldest son is the Best Man. He's doing a quick trip there and back because he and his wife are having their 2nd son early August and he doesn't want to leave his wife alone with a newborn and toddler for too long.

Anyway, my husband and I have not traveled in years. Our last big trip was a cruise to Alaska in 2005. We did visit Austin in 2015 and 2016 when our son was living there. 

Pretty sad, I know.

I'm overwhelmed trying to make plans. I have some health issues, including mobility. We've never been to the West Coast so we are excited to see California. 

The wedding is on a Sunday and there's a 4 night cruise leaving Long Beach the next day to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. We may do this with my sister and her friend. 

I know there's a vacation thread, but are there some suggestions for must sees? If we do the cruise, we would disembark on a Friday morning early. We would have until the following Thursday to sightsee.

[theredhead77]

21 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Our son is having a very unconventional park wedding and the wedding venue is a reception in a residential backyard. Taco truck dinner.

That sounds amazing! Taco trucks are the best!

22 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

there's a 4 night cruise leaving Long Beach the next day to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico.

If this is on Carnival just be aware these ships are the older ships. I used to take the weekend "booze cruise" with my friends, and the ships are fine for what they are, but it won't be the giant floating city ship you [may be] expecting.

[ECM1231]

@theredhead77, apparently this particular ship was recently renovated, according to my sister.

I like tacos, but my husband is not fond of Mexican cuisine.