Fake Meat is Tasty!

We recently started trying out some meat substitute products and have been pleasantly surprised by how tasty they are. Tonight we tried "Yves" brand Taco Stuffers and it looked and tasted just like taco meat. And all we had to do was heat it up! No fat to drain, no stirring in ingredients, just pop it on the stove and voila! Tacos! :-) I highly recommend this brand and also the "Morningstar Farms" brand.  I really like their "chick 'n" products. And since they are made with soy and vegetables, it's much healthier and full of protein. Sounds good to me! 

Big Brown is still a great horse

Yesterday was the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes.   At stake was the triple crown of horse racing- a prize that hasn't been won for the past 30 years.  Horse racing fans were very hopeful that Big Brown would finally be the horse we've been waiting for.  Most everyone was confident that he would win by a great deal of lengths and we would all celebrate seeing history being made. Instead, Big Brown didn't seem to feel like racing yesterday. And I can understand that as it was in the 90's at the track and this was the longest distance Big Brown had ever run.  Running 3 races in five weeks is a lot of racing and maybe Big Brown was worn out.  Maybe it was his cracked hoof that was bothering him, or maybe he got bumped in the beginning of the race and that caused him to get upset. No matter what the reason, no one can deny that Big Brown has talent.  He won the Derby and the Preakness with ease and is a very fast, high endurance, beautiful horse.  I read an article today that said he was posing for photographers today like he had won the race yesterday. :-)  Here is one photo that I love that was taken by associate press photographer Kathy Willens.  It's Big Brown' owner giving him a hug after the race yesterday. 

I went to Hollywood Park to watch the race with thousands of others who had high hopes for the day. This is Big Brown getting ready to get into the gate. 

A couple photos of one of the later races at Hollywood Park on the turf.  It was a pretty day.  If you click on this one you can see it bigger. 

New way to get to work

With gas prices skyrocketing, a lot of people are looking for alternate transportation options. In Los Angeles, mass transit is becoming very popular but it is rather limited depending on where you want to go. If there was a subway that took people from the San Fernando valley to the West Side, I think it will be widely used. Considering the fact that the 405 and 101 freeway interchange is the worst in the nation, there seems to be a high demand for a subway or some sort of train. It would cost a huge amount of money because the train would have to go through a mountain... but I think it would be worth it. When I got to work this morning, the gas stations near my workplace were charging 4.39 for one gallon of regular unleaded. I couldn't believe it!
Yesterday there was a news story about kids who are starting to ride horses to their high school to save money. I think that's a fantastic idea! I would totally ride a horse down the freeway if everyone else was riding horses or some other type of animal. Don't you think that would be fun? :-)

Flowers and Savings!

I have a couple of fun updates. First of all I want to share that my loving husband surprised me with flowers tonight and it was such a treat! He picked pink which is my favorite color and bought them to show his love. What a lucky girl I am! :-)

And second, I wanted to share my latest grocery game news.  I know I have been talking a lot about it lately, but it's so great,  it's hard not to talk about it.  :-) I wanted to show a photo of the items I got with my coupons tonight, so you can see that it is brand name items that I am getting for the great prices.  I saved 106 dollars off of a bill that would have been 216! I got a lot of toiletry items which are on sale now so we are now fully stocked on soap, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. We are set for months! How fun is that! :-)

Grocery Game Update

After a few weeks of using "The Grocery Game" I wanted to provide a little update on the progress. I am still extremely happy with it and here are some quick facts and things I have learned so far.

• In the last three weeks we have saved more than enough money to pay for a pantry to keep our stock pile in.
• Out of 340 dollars in groceries, I have paid 155 dollars!
• A vast majority of the products I have purchased are name brand items.
• The 4 week trial period only costs a dollar, and after that it's 10 dollars every 8 weeks.
• There are many sales on the list that aren't advertised.
• Home Depot is a great place to get an affordable stand alone pantry. I think if/ when we get a house with a garage, we will get a couple more and line them up in the garage.
• For Ralphs, it's important to shop on Sundays because some of the sale items are gone by Monday evening. The sale period may differ for each store but for Ralphs it's Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
• The Grocery Game has changed the way I shop for food and it's given us the gift of extra cash in our bank account.

My first try at "The Grocery Game"

Tonight was my first try at "The Grocery Game" and I'm thrilled with the results! (and so is my wallet)  For those of you who haven't heard of it, "The Grocery Game" is a website that a woman created to help other people save money on groceries.  She created this huge database that keeps track of all the coupons and sales the happen at the major grocery stores.  Each week all you have to do is clip the coupons out of the L.A. Times or other major paper, and hold on to your coupon mailings.  On the weekends, "the list" is published which tells you what is on sale for that week. At Ralphs where I shop, the sales happen on Sunday,  Monday and Tuesday.  The list is color coded. Blue means it's time to stock up on an item because it's at the lowest price. Green means that you can get the item for free. And Black means that the item is on sale, but you should only buy it if you need it or want a treat.  That information, combined with the coupons that she tells you to use, add up to huge savings. And the philosophy is that you would only buy items when they are on sale, stock pile those items, and then go to your own pantry to go shopping once you need the item.  Tonight was my first time trying out this system and I was so happy to see how much I saved!  The bill would have been 106 dollars, and I paid 53!!!!!!  I'm a grocery game convert now and will definitely be using it to save money from now on. :-)

Trip to Paso Robles

Chad and I took a trip to Paso Robles this weekend to visit his parents and we had a very nice time. It had been a while since we had been up there and it was great to see them and catch up on everything that's been going on. As a little sidenote- my camera has been "on the fritz" lately and we were able to pick up a new one on our way up there at Best Buy. I got the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS - Digital Elph and these pics are some of the first I took with the camera. I've been very happy with the results so far.

This is their dog Skipper and he is such a little bundle of energy. He provided much entertainment during the weekend. :-)

This is Skipper posing for me with his favorite toy ball.

We went out to dinner here the first night we were there and it was very tasty!

The pretty foliage around their house.

We went over to the stables near the house and made some horse friends while we were there. This one liked Chad a lot and was licking his hand. :-)

Another horse friend posing for the camera.

My camera was on "kids and pets" mode when it caught this horse's tongue mid-lick. :-)

This horse also liked Chad a lot. :-)

And he liked Chad's shirt even better... we think he thought it was food.

A sneaky hiding horse. :-)

Lake Nacimiento- near the house.

All in all we had a wonderful time and look forward to our next trip.

Santa Anita Derby Day

Today was Derby day at Santa Anita Park and my mom and I went to cheer on our favorite Kentucky Derby Contenders. The Santa Anita Derby is one of the most important races to determine which horses get to race in the Kentucky Derby.  It was a slightly overcast day which made it pretty comfortable with the huge crowds.  We got seats in the Club House Loge area which is now my favorite area at Santa Anita.  We really enjoyed  it and had a great day.  The favorites to win were Colonel John and El Gato Malo.  Colonel John, ridden by Corey Nakatani, ended up winning followed by Bob Black Jack and Coast Guard.  We got a wonderful spot at the walking ring before the race started and as you can see, I had some fun taking pictures. :-)

Fans waiting at the walking ring

NBC Commentator

A very young owner standing on her horse's number

Corey Nakatani on Colonel John

Richard Migloire on Bob Black Jack

Yankee Bravo 

A Jumpy El Gato Malo with rider David Flores and Trainer Craig Dollase

The Sea of Humanity ready to watch the Derby

The Start of the Derby

This is so cute!!

This is so darling. It's amazing that she knows all the words!

Dollar Day at Santa Anita

It was a beautiful 80 degree day at Santa Anita this past Saturday and it was also Dollar Day which meant that admission, programs, hot-dogs and drinks were all one dollar. That made for an inexpensive and fun way to spend a Saturday. I really enjoy seeing the race horses up close and all the fun and excitement that goes along with a day at the track. I'm not a big better and rarely win much money (for me it's more about the fun of watching the horses), but this day was different for me. I won about 50 dollars throughout the day just betting little amounts on races and winning about 4 of them. So I came home with more than I left with which is always a good thing. :-) I wanted to share some pictures of the day because it's such a picturesque venue.