Duelin’ Deals Blog by Marlaine

Originally posted September 26th, 2007 · 11:58 pm

Alfredo sauce and sausage over fettuccine………. ohhhhhhhh – it was yummy!

This was real easy and so good.

I had 3 uncooked Italian brats that I cut into sort of meat balls.
About 1 1/2 lb. of hamburger.
A nice big green pepper, chopped chunky.
A heaping cup of chopped onions – chunky.
About a cup of fresh mushrooms cut thick. (Was on sale)
A jar of Alfredo sauce that was on sale for $1 a jar.
One cup of whole milk.
Fettuccine noodles cooked. (Also on sale $1 per pound box.)
(If there were real food police, I would be writing this from jail…..sigh)

First I browned the hamburger and drained it. Then I added the cut Italian sausage and browned that. The cuts turned into nice little meat balls when they cooked.

Then I added the onions and peppers and let them sweat until soft. Next, I added the fresh cut mushrooms and just browned them a couple minutes. I added a half cup of water, stirring until it stopped steaming. I added about four more cups of water and set it to a medium simmer for about an hour. When the liquid was nearly gone, I added the jar of Alfredo sauce and rinsed the jar with about a cup of milk and added it to the the pan. Since it was a milk base, I set the simmer lower so it wouldn’t curdle and stirred often.

While the water went to boil for the noodles, I kept stirring the sauce and by the time the noodles were done, the sauce with wonderfully thick. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, just butter the noodles or use a bit of olive oil to keep them moist. When the sauce is thick enough, you can rinse those noodles with hot water if the butter or oil bothers you. (Does not bother us – sticking tongue out at food police!)

No extra seasonings, no extra salt or pepper. Just that simple process. The sauce from a jar has enough salt and spice to make this perfect and the sausage adds enough extra Italian flavor. I always find the jar stuff has too much salt anyway.

Here’s a tip about rice mixes as well………
The rice mixes always have way too much salt in them for my taste. So, I add 1/2 or 1 cup of extra long cooking rice and 1 to 2 cups extra liquid.

The proportion for good long cooked rice is always 1 to 2…… one part rice to two parts liquid. If you want it a bit sticker, use a bit more liquid. So if you add 1/2 rice to the mix, add an extra cup of liquid. For extra flavor, use homemade chicken broth instead of water. Then cook the mix as the package suggests. Be sure to use a pot with a tight, heavy lid. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes on low heat and then turn off the burner, leaving the pot there unopened for another 10 minutes.

About Heart Attack On A Bun and other misconceptions Australians have about American food. Smiling….. My handsome hub expected one heck of a shocking burger when we took him to try one. He had heard about it in Australia and was dying to try it. My brother and I had to search the internet to find it and figure out what it was & where it was sold. It sure wasn’t something I ever wanted to try. Well… Brad was disappointed. Then he told me that the typical Australia burger is served with egg on top! And their fries, (chips) are served covered with gravy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He can’t get over how few choices we have for bagged potato chips in the grocery store! He also tells me the candy aisles in Australia will pop my eyes out!

Tisk….

….and we talk about the food police!

Originally posted September 25th, 2007

Stress and emotion shows in your face and I don’t mean just the expression that momentarily shows to the world. Stress has an adverse effect on the body – from your heart, to your face, to your well being, your weight, and it even effects your skin!

When you’re going through stress, your level of the stress hormone, cortisol, goes up in proportion. With more cortisol in your system, the higher your levels of blood sugar rise, too. Higher blood sugar levels have been found to increase the rate of skin aging because sugar molecules attack your skin’s collagen and elastin. So when you pull “that face” while stressed out over and over again, your skin will not be able to return to it’s original shape as well – therefore creating those deep frown lines and that pout mouth. We’ve all seen those people who walk around with a perpetual frown……. yuck!

Pimples, decreased blood flow to the skin – which can make your complexion appear dull and give you dark circles under the eyes, and wrinkles are all aggravated by stress.

Stress hormones break down your skin barrier by reducing the layer of fatty acids that protect your skin from outside irritants and help hold onto moisture. The results – dry skin, redness, and inflammation, and more likely to develop into rashes and allergic reactions.

Here are some tips to combat the damage that stress inflicts on us:
* Sleep! So simple but sometimes so hard to get enough of. Eliminate caffeine at least three hours before bedtime. Seven to eight hours is optimal for regulating cortisol levels. Beauty sleep – it isn’t a complete myth after all!
* Eat a balanced diet, especially by reducing sugar. America has become so obsessed with low fat that the products with low fat are often overloaded with sugar to make it tasty. Sugar isn’t only in candy and bakery. Reduce carbohydrate intake found in things like potatoes, rice and pasta – it’s quickly converted to sugar after you eat them.
* Take supplements like chamomile, feverfew, sulfur, and salicylic acid. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help bolster your skin barrier and prevent irritation. Increase good fats in your diets.
* Exercise, meditation, and deep breathing have all been shown to reduce stress. The scent of lavender can also slow brain waves and calm the mind. Take a long soak in the bath tub and use moisturizing lotions! Calm yourself. Try this tape, Your Present: A Half Hour Of Peace… Susie Mantell’s voice is incredibly soothing! I love it!!! Or try this 10 minute time out that can be found free at ….. Brain Sync….. ahhhhhhh…….
* Make a lotion for yourself out of real aloe plant leaves. Keep a plant growing in your house at all times if possible! Peel the skin off a nice plump leaf and scrape the pulp into a bowl. Mash the pulp with a fork. Add some pure oil olive in equal measure. Put into a container or jar with a lid and store in the fridge. This would not last long if mixed in hand lotion but can be added to the amount you would use in a couple days. Keep refrigerated – there are no preservatives in natural aloe pulp like the stuff in pre-made lotions (In fact, you should notice the extra strength of this mixture because it hasn’t be processed). For an incredible facial, use a very comfortably hot, damp wash cloth held to your face to open the pours first and gently massage with the cloth. Apply the aloe oil to your face and let it soak in for 15 minutes – perhaps while soaking in a tub or taking a shower.

Over and above all else, remember that you are a being of value in the universe! Forgive yourself for any mistakes you may have made or might make in the future. Be patient with yourself and others……………

Originally posted September 16th, 2007

Dog food – what is in those cans??????????

I’ve opened cans of dog food and have gone through plus/minus reactions depending on brand and – evidently – what the factory had as stock on the day they made that particular can of dog food. It ranges in color and aroma, texture, fullness, thickness, and, I suppose, flavor (if we take Gypsy’s reaction to it into account.) We usually buy dog food at Aldi’s because the price doesn’t get much lower in our area with or without coupons. My husband says Shep’s dog food products is the biggest, best brand in Australia by the way – who would have guessed? Dogs go Wacko for Schmackos, too, Down Under. Gypsy loves them too…….. Smiling………..

I often save left over pieces of meat and potato stuff in the freezer when it’s been in the fridge a bit too long. Or the bones of roasts that were more grizzle than meat. As kids, my mom had us cut the grizzlies off chicken bones and whatnot. She raised AKC German Shepherds and my parents built a kennel for them. The leftover stuff went into the dog food directly. (At one point, we had 48 dogs and I was the dog food mixer!) I tend to save the easier things with bigger bones. (I avoid saving chicken bones for dog food because of those tiny bones.) Once my containers and bags of saves fill a pot, I put it all in and simmer a long while until it becomes a bit thick. I like doing this more during the colder months to add moisture and heat to the house. (I use plastic grocery bags for saving old leftovers for dog food. Make sure they don’t have holes in them.) Then I fill up many 2 cup cottage cheese sized containers, after picking out all bones and chopping up the bigger stuff. I label them dog food and put in the big freezer. It’s a little more than a dog food can of food and – of course – no preservatives but it’s more tasty than the canned stuff if Noodles, Alias: Gypsy, is the voter. Often, the smell is NOT that great. Mixing grizzle, ham, pork, beef and whoknowswhat potatoes,rice a/o pasta gives off a conflicting odor. I also use the meats that have gone unnoticed in the freezer a little too long.

Oh here’s what I forgot to mention….. we never feed our dog only canned food. We buy a big bag of dry food and add a few tablespoons of the canned or home made to the dry for flavor. The dry is also the Aldi’s brand – Shep’s – and Gypsy loves it! The snacks we buy are also from Aldi’s – yup – you guessed it – Shep’s and Gyps choses those over other treats we have bought. She’s over 80 pounds……(that was in another post that was lost accidentally, sigh) but even if she was small, we would feed dry food mixed with little water as a measure to keep her teeth nice. The dry snack cookies and dry dog food act as a tooth brush.

I’ve always noticed that when you save things to save money, it is never just one thing. Like the chicken necks for soup and the ends of carrots for that soup and the browning celery for that soup and the cottage cheese containers for that soup and whatever else. I think over everything before throwing it away! I bet our garbageman suspects only one person lives here! The Recycle guy might have debated about wasting the effort to dump four plastic items. We avoid packaging as much as possible. Plus – we use the plastic packaging as much as possible!

Also, often things you save don’t get used until one day you are thinking over how to do something and suddenly it comes to you – Hey, Don’t I have a ??? in the ??? that would work here? I have to disagree with the – If you don’t use it in a year, throw it out – rule! Adamantly disagree!

Originally posted September 12th, 2007

Because of a whole lot of irritating spam and porn sites setting up on our blog system at Rune Registry, we’ve deleted most of the blogs with the purpose of installing new filters to keep all the gobbbly gook out. (You would not believe the garbage we’ve been getting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Unfortunately, we accidentally deleted most of this blog as well and I’ve forgotten most of the entries that were here.

With our redesign of Duelin’ Deals, we’ve decided that our blog system needed a new look as well. Once Rune Registry Blog system is back on line, it will be more secure – and easier to use – than ever.

Rather than recreate the posts that were in this blog, I think I will just start anew. (As other posts say, my wonderful Mother-In-Law saved the previous posts and I’ve been adding them – Smiling!)

Here is a little introduction……..
We are Brad and Marlaine. I can’t say we are an every day sort of couple because he is from Australia and I am from USA. We do have our ups and downs – like just about everyone though. We’re also having money problems like most people.

One of the biggest differences is that we know how to make the most of money. We did our mortgage and energy bill yesterday. I have to admit to holding off looking at that darn energy bill until I have to write the check for it. Since there is no interest on it, I am in no danger of a huge additional fee because the payment is late.

But…..
…… when I opened it (holding my breath) I was so pleasantly surprised that I almost cried! After all, we had near record breaking heat this year – hotter for longer, as well!

Our costs compared to last year were down by MORE than a third!!!!!! Our bill includes our electric and gas bill. During the summer, the gas is only used to heat our water, yet compared to last year at this time, our usage dropped tremendously there as well.

One thing we did to drop the electric cost was to run only one of our two window air conditioners. By closing the doors to the rooms we don’t use much, we only cooled our computer/entertainment center room and the bedroom we installed the ac unit in, which is directly across the hall from each other. We put up a simple 6′ folding screen in the hallway to block the rest of the house – and it works much better than one would think since a couple of feet are open at the top. (The coolness stays at the bottom and heat rises.) At night, we shut the bedroom door and only cooled that room.

One point to consider is the humidity. When it’s humid, it seems much hotter. Even when it cooled down at night, the humidity was so heavy sometimes that we did not open windows. It stayed much cooler in our un-air conditioned areas of the house because of the dryer air. We also kept the shades down on the east and west sides of the house to reduce the heat in the morning and afternoon. I also bought sheets of white foam art boards – only about $1 a sheet (3′ x 2′ x 1/4″) and put them in the sun-side windows during the hot hours to cut the radiant heat even more. During the winter, using these sheets in the non-sun sides actually help keep the heat in! Also, adding humidity to the air during the winter helps the house stay warmer.

When it was warm and muggy at night, we ran the air conditioner on low with the a/c fan running on low, making sure air wasn’t being brought in from outdoors.

Since we are in the mid-west, houses have half or full basements by law. Basement foundations are made of concrete and basement walls are brick. Since basements go below ground level, they also go below the heat level. Hot air rises and when the house has a naturally cooler basement, the cooler air (which is still warmer than the basement) rises through the vents too. Basements often get more humid as well. Running one fan a couple of hours here and there forces the cooler air up the vents and takes care of the humidity problems in the basement that might create mold.

Closing and shading the sun side windows at night before you go to bed helps. When it was cooler at night, we put a fan in a shade side window to draw in that lovely cool night air.

Originally posted August 26th, 2007 · 10:38 pm

We have decided to start our own little store to help people find things to save money, time and energy in all aspects of their lives. I know, personally, that a meditation tape that is not pleasing will not help a person relax and that something may appeal to me but might irritate someone else. We will try to find great deals on many of the things that have helped us. If you are looking for something specific and can’t find it, drop us a line and we’ll try to locate it. As a writer, I love doing research.

There are only a few things on our list for the moment but we will be adding things as we find great deals! The meditation tapes by Susie Mantell and Brian Weiss are outstanding. Self-hypnosis is a great technique when you are trying to break a bad habit like smoking. Once you understand how to do it, you can apply it to any problem in your life. You can find soothing meditation tapes at Duelin’ Deals Emporiums!

Due to a big accident with our blog system, I lost the following posts from this blog. A huggggggggg and a hugggggggggggggge thanks to my Mother-In-Law, Raemonde, for saving those posts for me! It took me a while to find the pics again but here it is – as close to the originals as possible.

Originally posted May 17, 2007

Dogs, cats, birds, Hub and me! Everybody’s dropping hair, fur, or feathers!

Ahhhh Spring!

If a dog is about to drop a lot of fur, give them a bath. Since we all have shampoo and conditioner sitting around we don’t really like, squeeze just a bit of shampoo and a lot of conditioner into a bathtub of water and let your dog soak a while. 10 to 15 minutes is good. Be prepared to comb your dog out after the bath because this will make it drop and fast! Instead of day after day of “Buffalo Butt” tuffs of fur here and there, they drop their excess fur all at once. Dogs should only have a bath or two times a year because it dries out their skin so badly. I add more conditioner before the final rinse to help moisturize. Buy a cheap small to medium strainer that fits over the tub drain to catch the hair and bend back the handle for easy use. (Or watch for one in a rummage sale!)

I was going to suggest a dollar store for a strainer and that is a good place for a cheap one but…. a lot of items are more expensive in a dollar store than in an Aldi’s, Walmart or Walgreen’s. Know your prices! Every region and a lot of areas within a region have varying prices. We were driving out in the farm lands after we took Gypsy to the vet, and the gas prices were higher than in the city! Prices are based on what the market will bear and people in the country need gas because their destinations are farther. With no buses and high taxi charges, it’s buy the gas or stay home. When I lived out there, we planned our shopping trips around what we needed and what we might need in the coming month. In truth, I still do because it does save gas and wear ‘n tear on the car – AND US!

I have long natural blonde hair and the strands get all over. People shed, too. A bad illness or shock like a car accident or the death of a dear one can also make a person’s hair fall out at tremendous rates.

My tips for saving your hair are as follows:
I wash my hair only in the shower and brush my hair out while it has conditioner in it. Then I rinse it, leaving some conditioner in it. The right amount depends on your hair’s “tolerance” to oiliness. I have seen other sites that say you should never brush your hair when it’s wet but that is really the only way I brush it. I wet my brush – never use a comb – and gently brush through it, adding water as I go. If my hair has been a bit “dry”, I put a bit of conditioner in my hand and add water, smoothing my hair with my hands. My hair has never been in such good condition or as long as it is now. Wish I would have known about this when I was in high school and thought of my hair akin to the Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow’s straw hair!

Encourage growth of hair with pure olive oil with ground rosemary in it, plus a bit of aloe juice from a real plant leaf. Massage into the scalp well about half an hour before a shower. The massage stimulates growth and the aloe heals a lot of things. (Use some real aloe juice on your face. Let dry and then rinse with water. Tightens the skin and helps get rid of impurities.)

Originally posted May 13, 2007
Gypsy’s vet visit went great and she weighed in at 82.7lbs. She’s a 5 year old coated German Shepherd who loves to play, especially with kids and her cat buddies. She’ll get her heartworm tab on the 14th of every month.
Here’s absolute proof that she loves to play!

After her vet visit – she was admired by all, I state this proudly! – we stopped at the pet store for a few things for Noodle Doodles, (Alias Gypsy – dipsy doodle – Gypsy doodle – goofy noodle – she’s got a ton of nicks!), the cats and the birds. The Pet Warehouse I have gone to for about 10 years, offers a lot of things for less than even Walmart. Many things are exclusive and more expensive, too – you need to know your prices. So when I want to get the birds a treat, I get them the “candy” food that’s shaped like little bananas, oranges, limes and grapes. The warehouse also sells cuttle bones for 2/$1 and , if you pick through a bit, you can get some really big ones. We have 4 cockatiels and I like to give them all a fresh cuttle now and then. If you can even find them in Walmart, they are well over $1.50 each and much smaller. The same goes for the sprays of millet I buy in bulk from the Warehouse. A $5 bag at Walmart or the grocery store gives me about 10 sort of small, dried out sprays. I spent $3 and got about 30 seriously big and plump sprays at the Warehouse.

When I checked out, the lady complimented my nails and I said, “Thanks, I’ve had these over a month, too.” She said, “What? How? Why do they still look so nice? Mine peel up in the first week!”
So here’s my tip to extend your fills and/or designs…
My (now) husband, Brad, flew in from Australia on the 6th of February, 2006 to meet me for the first time. I decided to get my nails done for a confidence boost before his plane arrived in the US. I have gotten them “filled” ever since. Even though my mother studied to be a beautician and showed me how to do manicures, my nails grow too thin to keep long no matter how much jello or calcium I choke down. But I do know how to keep the polish looking good.

First of all, keep pushing your cuticles gently back with your orange stick before you get them done. After that first tip job, you can actually use your nails because they aren’t so sharp with the coating on them. Keep the cuticles pushed back so they aren’t growing with your nails. When the coating gets laid on top of the cuticle material, they can not bond to your actual nail. Even though the nail specialist uses a tool to file it down, they don’t get it all. Use cocoa butter once a week on the cuticles after they are pushed back. Massage it in well and let it sit a few minutes before washing thoroughly. Then use a clear coat polish over the top and under the nails to seal them. The fill stuff lifts up at the base after a while if water and soap get under them. Your real nail tips pull away from the coating if they aren’t completely sealed. Just put a clear coat on every three or four days even if you don’t want to bother with the cuticle stuff. Use hand moisturizer often – after the polish is dry of course….. and keep them soft. Doesn’t hurt the hands either, smiling!

I will need to get a fill soon… but when I do go, it will be a freebie…… They give you a “Have your nails done 10 times, and get one free” card….. I have to bring the card out every time – they don’t give reminders… but….. smiling…

Here’s Gypsy’s bandage from her blood test (and a glimpse of the nails).

Originally posted May 10, 2007
Hehehe – Love The Far Side cartoons – Thanks to Gary Larson! But no – Gyspy Noodles will not be getting spade any time in the future. She’s got a pedigree that most dogs (owner’s) would bite for.
Tip for the vet’s office: the receptionist at the vet’s office we go to told me it is cheaper to ask for an inoculation instead of a check up because the office call would be charged separately. The inoculation includes an office call and exam. Smiling…… save a few dollars but get the same care. Gypsy is going in for her rabies and heart worm check today.
I linked the Blufr to this blog today. I am the MMF on all MMFs – smiling. (Blufr is no longer in existence – dang it!)

Originally posted May 4, 2007
First of all, the list is nicely full, now. Not too much to buy or carry back into the house, even if my adorable Hub will be doing most of the carrying. We are also doing a loop to the post office and the library today. And stopping for a small can of gas for the lawn mower, last.
That’s a nice, well planned list of things to do. If things go as usual, that’s all we will do and we won’t have anything else interfering with our web work for the weekend. In fact, if all goes as usual, we will be getting only one or two extras that are on sale (that I somehow missed while looking at ad sheets). After the total without any discounts shown, I will hand over my discount card and coupons (already folded inside my written list), and I will smile with satisfaction when I see the much lower total.
One of the best ways to save money is to plan ahead. Notice, I didn’t say save time. That is built into the steps of the loop in this pre-planning. If you plan ahead, stick to your list and coupons, and keep a limit of one or two impulse products popping into the cart, you will still walk away knowing you saved 20 to 50% on your bill.
Another way to save is to take the extra few minutes of standing in line for – sigh – RAIN CHECKS! Believe me, I am the last one to want to stand in line after doing all my shopping but it is so worth it! When you ask for your rain check, ask for more than one when the product is an unlimited one. I asked for a second for ground chuck hamburger when it was out of stock. I am not really sure, but the ground chuck seems – ummmm – redder, when it’s not on sale, and, it’s regular price seems to be higher than the pre-sale-off price when it is on sale.
I’ve often noticed a lowering of the regular price when the mailed out ads are in effect. So, while a certain product is on a sale suggested by the head office, for some reason, the regular price gets lowered. (I have a few ideas why but no confirmation) Then, even without a coupon, many coupon items are on a reduced price. Just keep notes, either on paper, in your head, or in the comp, and check out prices on sale goods a couple weeks later to see if your store has this trend and on what type of products.
I try to wait to buy basics until there’s a sale, then stock up enough to last about 3 or 4 weeks. The things that go on sale tend to cycle in about a month and go on sale again. I suspect every store has it’s own key sale items, so again, watch your store’s trends.
Ok – gotta go now. Things to do, lists to check – yup, t-paper is on the list … and the ad sheet.
Smiling……

Oh no – got to go to the store – again!

Was orginally posted May 1, 2007
I hate it when I’ve planned out nearly every moment of my day and then find out that I need something at the store for dinner. A few years ago, I lived out in farmland Wisconsin and a trip to the store had to be by a gas-guzzling car AND took about 15 minutes to the nearest store going 55 miles an hour – mostly. (OK – I usually wasted gas and drove 70 [sometimes 90] mph using my psychic “radar” to avoid speeding tickets!) Now in the city, driving a sweet Taurus, gas isn’t that bad and I could hold my breath all the way to the store without passing out, while still driving at the legal speed limit. But I still hate having to run to the store for a pittly little thing or two.

I work at my computer most of the time because my husband and I work on web sites and eBooks, studying, and playing a game we have a business website attached to. I make lists. Sigh… More lists.. Sob… and even more lists……. But at the end of it, I have a grocery list, a list of things to do and list of bills that need to be paid. As much as I am a comp geek these days, I write all these lists on paper. (Just a sec, writing – t-paper – on list) Whenever I print out anything that didn’t print well or wasn’t what I wanted, I tear the page into quarters for note paper and use the back side, keeping it in one of the spaces on my back desk. (I made an old-style secretary-looking desk back by arranging extra wooden boxes to give the slot sections that are so handy. Also placed a long philodendron planter over the top two to cut the glare of the fluorescent light I added up there that also helps the plant grow – smiling – looks great!)

I keep a running grocery list, adding whatever pops up here and there. You can always scratch off something if you don’t really need it later. Because it’s right there, I don’t have to turn on my printer – which I rarely do, by the way. I don’t have to wait for it to print and I don’t have to replace the ink cartridge. I actually emailed my grocery store complaining that the store didn’t offer what the web said the in-store specials were, stating that what they show should be available since it was specifically MY IN-STORE SPECIALS and that I DID NOT want to waste paper and cartridge ink to print out their cutesy shopping list every time I go shopping because it costs money to print it. And they answered, saying, “Simply print out your shopping list every week and present it to the service desk if your sale item isn’t available.” Ah, that personal touch! Tisk!

The jist of this is that I am trying to save money and time all the time. Often, if I really think it over, I can do without that thing or two until I go for a regular shopping trip or I’m going past the grocery store to do something else, too. (My library knows me on sight and usually has my requested books at the check out before I get there…) Or I can substitute something I have on hand.

Get a good stand alone freezer and keep good hamburger buns in it. Take advantage of hamburger sales at the store. Stock whatever you like on hamburgers like onions, that stay good a long time, or ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard. You could not get me to eat a fast food hamburger after knowing what my homemade ones taste like!

Ok Honey Hub – hamburgers for supper tonight it is. (Wish my Hubby wouldn’t read over my shoulder like that!) At least I don’t have to run to the store now.

Working on tips to save money and time!

April 29, 2007 First Blog Entry
This will be my first post on my fav subject – saving money and time. First of all, visit Duelin’ Deals for great tips on saving money and conserving energy! I am working on an eBook packed with lots more tips that will soon be available.