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May 20, 2024    |      0 comments

Seriously, again…Appliance Headaches

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And just when things are running along smoothly, something breaks. This time it’s my washing machine.

Evidently the sensor on my lid is broken so the washing machine doesn’t recognize that it’s closed and therefore, will not wash clothes. It’s been down for two weeks now. (I couldn’t really work on getting it fixed with my trip to Texas last week.)

Thankfully, the appliance repair guy that fixed my ice maker a year or so ago was able to come out today and take a look at it. Unfortunately, the part had to be ordered, there was no bypassing the lid lock to get me washing. So no washing machine yet.

laundry basket full of dirty clothes

But hopefully, by the end of the week, we will be washing again.

And it’s only going to cost me $306. Only, ugh!

I’m so grateful that I have the money for the fix. I’m grateful that it’s fixable. But man, that’s really expense for a sensor replacement. But the stress it’s taken off my shoulders is immense.

And hopefully by the end of the week, we will have clean clothes and towels and sheets again. Otherwise, I’m going to have to make time this holiday weekend to go to the laundromat.

The good news is that I had done laundry right before it broke. And then again in Texas. So I can make it til our washing machine is fixed. And I recognize that this is totally a first world problem. Just so many things to be grateful about.

 

 

May 19, 2024    |      0 comments

Family Size – Really?

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For the last 5-6 months, I have really been limited in what I ate. What I purchased. I’ve lived on sandwiches, eggs, bacon, and some fruit and veggies. This is not a complaint at all. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my food. Chosen it as my staples of choice. I didn’t feel denied. And it’s really helped me keep my food spending under control.

But the last couple of weeks, I was craving cereal. (Yes, I know, not a healthy choice at all.) But just sometimes…well, I had my grocery budget for the month and with this week in Texas (where I am now,) I had a little room to splurge.

Another aspect of this is that I rarely go grocery shopping. I rarely go into stores anymore. I order my food for pick up for the most part. (No charge for pick up.) This means I’ve not had much exposure to how things had changed in the last couple of years.

cereal boxes

After I picked up Beauty from work one evening, we ran to Walmart to pick up some groceries. And wow, it’s the cereal aisle that opened my eyes to how things have changed. With five kids, we always bought family size everything. It just made sense pricewise and quantity wise.

So when I went to pick up my treasured cereal, I was shocked to find that “Family Size” is now what regular size used to be, i.e. much, much smaller. And the price…still higher. That’s so crazy.

I’ve not been immune to the cost of food rising discussions, but since I went from buying for a family of 6 to 3 and now to 1 so rapidly, my food budget has gone down rapidly. I didn’t really notice the individual prices going up.

The visit to the cereal aisle was eye-opening in many ways.

These boxes of cereal will last me months. And I will thoroughly enjoy them. And I’m very grateful to have been able to “splurge” this month. But, I’m even more grateful that I am not a mom struggling to feed her 5 kids at this time.

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