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Sounds like the Cuomo boys, right?

You’re the town’s superhero. Your greatest enemy is the town’s supervillian. However, secretly, your both brothers. This isn’t anything tragic, as your whole destructive rivalry is actually just a massive prank on your third brother, the mayor.

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Political Campaign Websites Are A Must

https://karisworld77.tumblr.com/post/650917453045628928/political-campaign-websites-are-a-must

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Largest LEGO Festival Carnival @ CapitaLand Mall

LEGO fans take note. There will be a massive LEGO showcase comprising carnival-themed installations in 13 Capitaland malls across the island. Every mall will be transformed into festive wonderland destinations, spreading joy to shoppers, retailers and community. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); A Magical Festive Journey with LEGO Can't head overseas?

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WIS, WWA | I’m done with the bookshelf

Happy Friday, everyone!

I’m happy to tell you that I think we’ll be able to put the new bookshelf in Sonia’s room today. Which is excellent because the shelf and the sawhorses are seriously making it hard to walk downstairs right now.

Of course, I will definitely share photos once it’s all set up in her room.

What I Spent

I went to Aldi and spent $124, and later in the week, $17 on a quick stop for a few other things.

So, $141 total for the week. 

November Spending

Week 1: $60

Week 2: $141

What We Ate

Saturday

We had a fend for yourself kind of night; I remember that Sonia ate ramen, but I’m fuzzy on what everyone else ate!

Sunday

I made a main dish green salad with shrimp and bacon, which we ate with some fresh homemade French bread. 

Monday

We had pasta alfredo (pasta with tomato sauce for Sonia), plus a salad and the leftover French bread from Sunday night. 

Tuesday

Breakfast for dinner! I made fried mush, French toast, and bacon. And we had OJ.

(I really need to update the fried mush post because there’s no printable there. And it’s a little lacking in the photo department.)

Wednesday

We had burrito bowls (rice, veggies, this chicken, sour cream, and mango salsa)

And applesauce on the side.

Thursday

I made pulled pork sandwiches, which we ate with applesauce, oranges, and potato chips.

Friday

I have book club tomorrow night, so I think Mr. FG and I might do our takeout date night tonight instead.

What did you have for dinner this week? 

The post WIS, WWA | I’m done with the bookshelf appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

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Battle Viruses with Smart Care Hand Sanitizers, Soaps and Wipes for the Whole Family! (GIVEAWAY)

I wish I could say that we don't have to deal with COVID-19 anymore, but unfortunately I can't. Combine the pandemic with cold and flu season, and it's even more important now to focus on our health and halting the spread of disease. It's crucial to have a good supply of hand sanitizers, soaps and wipes for the whole family so that we can be safer, whether we're at home, school, work or travelling.

Fortunately, Smart Care has a large variety of products for that very purpose. I love their products for children, such as mini hand sanitizers featuring their favorite characters like Marvel superheroes, Trolls, and Thomas & Friends. Kids will love taking them to school, as well as Smart Care's antibacterial hand wipes featuring the Minions! My teenage son grabbed a pocket-sized hand sanitizer to carry in his backpack at school. 

Adults will also find much to love from Smart Care, such as full-sized liquid hand soaps in a variety of wonderful scents such as Lavender and Ocean Breeze. If you prefer foaming hand soap, they have 5 scrumptious scents such as Orange Blossom & Vanilla and Pink Grapefruit. Plus, their prices are extremely affordable so you can stock up on multiple products. 

Check out these tips from Smart Care on how to select the right sanitizer: 1. Be Sure About Alcohol Percentage The amount of alcohol in the hand sanitizer is critically important, and the most effective hand sanitizers consist of 60-85% alcohol by volume, so be sure to check the alcohol percentage before purchasing.

2. Check Alcohol Type Ethanol is proven to be more effective than isopropyl alcohol on its own against viruses. Be sure to check the type of alcohol to make sure you are purchasing the most effective hand sanitizer. 

3. Additional Ingredients Check out the extra ingredients in the hand sanitizers as ingredients like aloe, which is used in Smart Care hand sanitizers, help to smooth the skin upon application and reduce the dryness associated with alcohol. 4. Proper Application Is Important In advance of application, make sure to clean all dirt and grease from your hands. Apply a small dab of hand sanitizer to the palm of one hand, then rub your hands together. Make sure the sanitizer has dried before wiping your hands. 5. Select a Brand with a Proven Reputation Lastly, with the increasing number of brands on the market, make sure to select a brand that has an established reputation for delivering performance and efficacy ~ like Smart Care!  I hope you'll visit Smart Care today to pick up a wide assortment of products to help your family fight germs together. 

GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive an assortment of hand sanitizers, soaps and wipes from Smart Care! The package will include:

1oz Hand Sanitizer, mixture of Marvel/Kids Licenses (2-3)

Smart Care Minions/Other License Antibacterial Wipes (1) 2oz Smart Care Sanitizer (1) 8oz Smart Care Sanitizer (1) Smart Care Hand Soap (1) Smart Care Foaming Hand Soap (1) Smart Care Multipurpose Wipes (1) Enter through the Giveaway Tools below. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Friday, November 27, 2020.

Entry-Form

Disclosure: I received complimentary product samples to facilitate my honest review.

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PRISM+ 4k Android TV Q55 review : 6 reasons why you should get this for your room

  PRISM+ Android TV has landed in Singapore. PRISM+ is a homegrown brand that is well known for the monitors. Last year, they launched their first range of 4K Smart TV. This year, they up the ante of a selection of Android TV that is set to take Singapore by storm. We managed to get our hands on the Prism+ 55 and our first impression was awesome. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle

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An Opportunity in Every Crisis

  Daily Dose  There is an Opportunity in every Crisis Throughout the past 4 decades of existence, this has always been the case. From the Sep 11 attack on the US to the Global Financial Crisis to Sars, all these present opportunities for those seeking longer-term investments.  Covid19 is not an exception. Property Loving Singaporeans are using this opportunity to get into real

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Thankful Thursday | Guess what was wrong with my washer?

New here? Thankful Thursday is something we’ve been doing in these COVID times; a (frugal and free) exercise to help us hunt for the good that is in our lives and in the world, even in the midst of a pandemic.

This week, I am thankful:

that my washing machine is working again

The problem? a pair of socks that somehow made their way out of the tub and into the machine innards.

That’s a quick and easy fix. Yay!

I am super grateful to have my washing machine up and running again.

that we get to return the gear case

I’d sent my appliance guy a video of my washing machine symptoms, and he’d made an educated guess that a new gear case was necessary. 

He couldn’t get out here for a few days, so to make things as efficient as possible, he had us order the part based on his educated guess.

That way we’d have if it we needed it.

But happily, we don’t need it! Which means we can return it.

that the window job is done

As I was writing up the post about it, I was reminded of all the small jobs we had to do in relation to the window installation.

I’m so glad it’s over and the room can just stay cleaned up now.

that I’ve been able to help my pregnant cousin

This is her second pregnancy and she’s been pretty sick, like she was the first time.

During her first pregnancy, she lived hours away from me, so I couldn’t do much other than text encouragement and sympathy.

But this time she lives 15 minutes away from me!

So I’ve been going over every other week or so to help with some household chores.

(This cousin is one of the twins I wrote about here.)

When I was pregnant and sick, it helped me so much when people pitched in with household chores or childcare, and I am delighted that I can do this for someone else.

that my girls are old enough for me to go help others

In the stage of life where I had four young kids, I couldn’t really do a whole lot to go help other people. I’d have needed childcare help to be free to help!

But now that my kids are older, it’s easy to leave them to manage themselves for an afternoon while I help someone else.

(Hopefully that’s an encouragement to some of you who are in the thick of young kids right now.)

that everyone can serve others in their own unique way

I was chatting with Mr. FG about this on one of our recent takeout nights; I love that everyone can bring their own unique flavor to their service to others.

For instance, I am not particularly gifted in the fun and spontaneous arenas of life.

But I am really good at practical things. And I am good at working hard.

So, I can help my cousin out by washing dishes, folding laundry, organizing, and sweeping.

Someone who is good at fun could help out a pregnant mom by taking her other kids to the park, or making a fun craft with them.

Both things are helpful; they’re just different flavors of help.

I am so thankful that you and I don’t have to try to be someone else in order to help people. We just have to use the gifts we already have.

And this is good news for someone like me, who has un-flashy types of gifts.

for my carpet cleaner

I got this years ago, when we had more carpet in our house, and it’s really been great.

We don’t use it tons now, since we just have three rooms with carpet, but it is still nice to have around, and it works great for steam cleaning car interiors.

I’ve been able to let other people borrow my cleaner too, and I used it very recently to do my pregnant cousin’s main carpets (because I know that fresh, clean surfaces help when you are constantly queasy!)

that I’m almost done with Sonia’s bookshelf

I got it sanded and primed on Tuesday, did several coats of paint on Wednesday, and will probably finish it up today.

mid-project, obviously

But then I’m going to have to make Sonia patiently wait before putting things on the shelves because I want to make sure the paint is nice and hard.

Books can really stick to paint that is not fully cured and I don’t want to undo all my work!

Related thankfulness item: I was able to remove three of the shelves, which makes for much easier sanding and painting. 

What are you thankful for this week? 

The post Thankful Thursday | Guess what was wrong with my washer? appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

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Grow! Book Tour: Giveaway for a $15 Amazon Gift Card (1 Winner) and Bad Bananas eBooks (20 Winners)

Grow! How We Get Food from Our Garden

Food Books for Kids, Book 3

by Karl Beckstrand

Genre: Children's Book

A black child and grandfather till, plant, and harvest fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, and grains in a colorful picture book. This tongue twister for children ages 4–7 (preschool–2nd grade) includes online tips for starting your own garden.

Kids love to see things grow. Learn basic gardening and find the animals (revealed in online extras). 325 dyslexic-friendly words by award-winning author and media professor Karl Beckstrand (She Doesn’t Want the Worms: A Mystery [English-Spanish]).

Goodreads* Amazon

Media professor Karl Beckstrand is the bestselling and award-winning author/illustrator of 23 multicultural/multilingual books and more than 60 ebook titles (reviews by Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, School Library Journal, The Horn Book, ForeWord Reviews). Raised in San Jose, CA, he has a B.A. in journalism from BYU, an M.A. in international relations from APU, and a broadcast/film certificate from Film A. Academy. Since 2004, he has run Premio Publishing. His survival western, To Swallow the Earth, won a 2016 International Book Award. Beckstrand has presented to Taiwan's Global Leadership for Youth, city and state governments, festivals, and schools. His nationally lauded Y.A. stories, ebook mysteries, nonfiction, Spanish/bilingual/ESL, wordless, career, and STEM books feature ethnically diverse characters -- and usually end with a twist.

Website* Facebook * Twitter * Instagram* Bookbub* Amazon* Goodreads

Follow the tour HEREfor special content and a giveaway!

Prizes: $15 Amazon gift card – 1 winner,

ebook of Bad Bananas: A Story Cookbook for Kids - 20 winners! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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How much does a Holiday to HK cost for a Family of 4?

 Singapore - HongKong Travel Bubble will start on Nov 22. Since this is the only available option for an overseas holiday, there will be families who would not be able to resist the travel itch. Before you make the hotel booking, do calculate your expenses wisely. In the past, it is very possible to go to a 5D 4 N Holiday in HK for 4 for $3000. Today, it will be virtually impossible.

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18

 Daily Dose: 18 Another day of zero community cases in Singapore. Before we kick off the celebration, there are 18 imported cases with 10 cases of foreign domestic workers who arrived from Myanmar and Indonesia. This just shows that although we may have it in control within Singapore. How Covid19 develops beyond our borders are out of our control. https://ift.tt/2lQziOq

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The Little House Living Show – Episode 011 – Simplifying the Holidays with Your Crock Pot

The Little House Living Show – Episode 011 – Simplifying the Holidays With Your Crock Pot Thanks for joining me for the Little House Living Show podcast! My hope for this podcast is that it will be a new way for me to connect with you, my readers, and for you to be able to […]

The post The Little House Living Show – Episode 011 – Simplifying the Holidays with Your Crock Pot appeared first on Little House Living.

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How do you make peace with things breaking?

A reader left a comment on my post about my washing machine breaking, with the suggestion that her questions could be a post topic.

In part, she wrote:

“I am struggling with coming to peace with the fact (?) that things are not going to last forever, and in recent years, they seem to last shorter lengths of time. I struggle with being grateful to have the money to replace or fix some items and then think that there are other things on which I would have rather spent the money. You seem to have a pretty good attitude about these things and you have been honest about not being perfect. But I’d love your words of wisdom to help me keep a good attitude. “

Basically, I hear two things:

A frustration that things break (and that they break too quickly)

A wish to spend the repair/replacement money on something else

So!

Let’s talk about those.

Frustration with things breaking/wearing out

I and probably a lot of the frugal girl community share this frustration! Frugal people don’t want to have to replace things or pay for repairs.

Having experienced this myself,  I have three ideas to share that could help relieve this frustration a little bit.

1. Set realistic expectations

My frugal heart would love to buy everything one time, and then be DONE. Imagine the savings if you didn’t have to repeatedly buy appliances or computers or phones or socks or hoodies.

Ahhhhhh.

But almost nothing truly lasts a lifetime.

So, if you buy things and expect them all to last a lifetime, you are setting yourself up for frustration and disappointment.

Yes, you can do your best to choose purchases that will hold up over time, but almost everything you buy will break or wear out in your time on this earth.

Expect things to break and wear out, and you will be less disappointed when they (inevitably) do.

Not only will things wear out from normal use, they also will break because of human error, particularly if you have children.

So, a sub-point would be: Expect the people you live with to actually do the breaking sometimes.

Children and adults (and you yourself!) are going to do dumb stuff that breaks things. Like when I broke my stove this summer. Ha.

2. Pay attention when things are not breaking

Our brains usually like to notice what’s going wrong, not what’s going right, and that makes it easy to feel like life is one long series of repairs.

Or that EVERYTHING IS BREAKING ALL THE TIME.

However, this is not quite the whole truth about life.

Even in a season where there are a lot of repairs happening, there are plenty of things that are not breaking.

And this is especially true in a season where there truly are fewer things breaking.

So.

Practice noticing when things are working, and you’ll get a more truthful view of life.

For instance, I could think, “It is really so nice that my car has not ever left me stranded.”

Or, “This hot shower feels so good. I’m really glad my water heater is working.”

3. Try to buy items that last and/or are repairable

Nothing’s going to last forever, but some things do last longer than others.

When it’s time to shop for an item, whether it’s a shirt or a blender, do some research and try to buy something that is going to stand the test of time.

Most often, this is going to require you to spend more than the bare minimum. But if you pay 25% more for something that lasts 10 times as long, the extra 25% up front is a good investment.

Plus, items that last save you a lot of frustration! To me, that is worth paying more for.

My old washer is ugly but endlessly repairable. Also, do not worry; we cleaned the black gunk out of there!

A bonus of well-made items: Usually when you buy something that’s made well, it also ends up being repairable, whereas cheaper stuff is just made to throw away.

For instance, real leather boots can be repaired and renewed; faux vinyl leather has to be thrown away when it peels and wears out.

Still, it’s important to remember #1 above: nothing lasts forever, no matter how well it’s made. Even hand-made, well-crafted items from years past have worn out or needed repairs.

Alrighty! On to the second issue my reader mentioned:

A wish to spend repair money on other things

I am super familiar with this feeling.

When you have to spend $800 on a car repair, it’s very easy to think about how that money could have:

paid for a trip

been invested for retirement

covered lots of restaurant meals

paid for a lot of new shoes

covered small-ish home improvement project

All of those things would be so much more rewarding than fixing a car.

You think, “If only the car hadn’t broken! Then I could have a working car AND a trip/shoes/restaurant meals, etc.”

This is at least partially an expectation problem. Realistically, we cannot expect to only spend our money on things that are rewarding, and as I mentioned above, we cannot expect that our possessions are never going to break.

So. You can adjust your expectations, and that’ll help.

But I have one other trick that has really helped me:

Earmark money for repairs/replacement

If you put all of your money into one big pile that you draw from for every expense, it can feel like every dollar has the potential to pay for, say, a vacation.

So then if you have to pull some of those dollars for a car repair, you will feel like you are losing a vacation.

But, if you divvy up your money between different accounts, for different purposes, it’s much easier to mentally handle a car repair.

You’re not taking vacation money away for that; the vacation money is in a separate account, untouched! You’re going to pay for the car repair from the car repair account; the money is sitting there just for that purpose.

Wait. This doesn’t actually DO anything to the money!

This is truly a mental trick, I know. Having targeted accounts for different expenses does not actually change the amount of money you have.

But deciding ahead of time that some dollars have the job of paying for vacation and some dollars have the job of paying for car repairs?

That can really help your attitude when you have to pay your mechanic.

How do you earmark money?

There are lots of ways to do this, but we have multiple online savings accounts where we automatically deposit money each month. Among those accounts is a home maintenance budget and an auto maintenance budget.

Homes and cars break at unpredictable times, but the fact of their failure is utterly predictable. So, that’s why we set aside some money each month for this purpose.

Even if it’s just $50/month (or whatever you can afford), set up an automatic deposit so that when these repair bills come up, you’ve got money earmarked for them. I really think it will help you.

Readers, I’d love for you to share your advice too! How do you keep a good attitude about repair/replacement situations?

The post How do you make peace with things breaking? appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

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Doors are Opening

  Daily Dose: Doors are Opening Just when you think you are on track,2 local cases in the community pop up. Given that there are unlink, it is highly likely that carriers are in our midst. Additionally, most foreigners are required to take a Covid19 test prior to arrival to Singapore. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Do not let your guard down!

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New Fitness Activities Aside From Running You Can Try at Home

As an adult, you must set aside some time to exercise.  Physical activity is especially important if your job requires you to sit for a long time. Adults are advised to get 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week. You can start with 30 minutes every day and increase gradually. Working out at home is cheap and convenient. You can exercise whenever you like and you

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Five Frugal Things | I have a new painting project

1. I picked up a free bookshelf for Sonia’s room

Which means…I have a new painting project.

The original owner started to do chalk paint, so I’m gonna have to remove that.

I am a glutton for punishment.

And also I cannot say no to free, paint-able furniture.

In my defense, I had been actually shopping for a paint-able bookshelf to buy on Facebook Marketplace. So when a free one popped up, “yes” was the obvious answer.

2. I made some skillet croutons

I wanted something crunchy for the top of my carrot soup and so I cut up a dry bread end into cubes.

We had two little packets of butter from a muffin one of my girls had gotten from Panera.  I melted those in a skillet, added the bread cubes, and toasted them until they resembled croutons.

Apologies for the grainy phone photos here. My SLR battery was dead!

They’re not quite as crunchy as oven-baked croutons, but they worked out just fine.

Again, a non-SLR photo.

3. I packed a lunch and coffee for my parent duties

Zoe’s tutorial requires two parents to sign up each week to do sanitizing, temperature checks, and mask enforcement, and this week it was my turn to be there all day. 

You can get food (and coffee!) delivered there, but I packed a sandwich and put some coffee in my travel mug.

And I was reminded how nice it is to eat lunch at my own house almost every day. Food freshly made is always better than packed food.

4. I painted a shelf for Zoe’s closet

Mr. FG is working on redoing Zoe’s closet storage and he bought a big board to be her main shelf.

I primed and painted it with the same materials I used to paint my kitchen cabinets and also the furniture in Sonia and Zoe’s rooms.

(Namely, Zinnser primer and Benjamin Moore Advance paint in Cloud White.)

So, that one gallon of Advance paint I’ve bought has covered two beds, a dresser, two nightstands, and a shelf now.

A gallon of this paint costs $80-$90, so it’s pretty expensive paint. But obviously the coverage is pretty darn good if I’ve painted this many items with it.

Compared to the cost of new furniture, an $80 bucket of paint is a seriously good deal.

I mean, even one new white twin bed would have cost far more than $80!

5. I came up with a last-minute dinner plan

On Monday night, I intended to serve a chicken dish that required marinating for 24 hours.

But on Sunday night, guess what I did not do?

(Marinate the chicken.)

So on Monday night, after spending the day at Zoe’s tutorial, I poked around my fridge and pantry to see what I could come up with.

We had pasta alfredo with chicken, a salad, and homemade French bread left from Sunday night’s dinner.

Sonia had her pasta with tomato sauce, since I have not figured out a good milk/cheese/nut-free Alfredo sauce for her yet.

What frugal things have you been up to lately? Share your frugal five in the comments!

P.S. When I mention it, people always wonder, “What’s a homeschool tutorial?”

Basically, it’s like college classes for homeschooled kids. You go once or twice a week, depending on the tutorial, and then you do the assigned work at home for the rest of the week. Tutorials are very popular for high school classes such as chemistry or higher math. My girls usually take a couple of classes at the tutorial and then do the rest of their classes at home.

The post Five Frugal Things | I have a new painting project appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

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DVD Review and Giveaway: Charlie’s Christmas Wish (2 Winners) ~ a New Family Film from Lionsgate!

Charlie's Christmas Wish has arrived on DVD, Digital, and On Demand from Lionsgate -- just in time for the holidays! 

About the film:

In this heartwarming holiday film starring Aiden Turner (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), a troubled war vet’s family finds new hope from a scrappy little rescue dog. Discharged and sent home for the holidays, John (Turner) tries hard to adapt to civilian life -- and to son Jimmy’s new pet, a feisty terrier named Charlie. As the family meets other struggling local veterans, they know it’ll take a miracle to bring peace to them and to John. Good thing Charlie has a direct line to the Man Upstairs... 

My thoughts: 

This movie provides a stirring message about the challenges that veterans face when they return to civilian life. Not only does it affect John Turner, but many other people in his town, some of whom are homeless. As the town bands together to help them, they find the Christmas spirit -- and the veterans find healing through therapy, community assistance, and shared camaraderie. A cute kid and a rescue dog with a hotline to God add to the feel-good spirit of the film. Charlie's Christmas Wish is a great choice for the whole family during the holiday season and all year long!

Check out the trailer below. 

  GIVEAWAY

Two (2) lucky winners will receive a DVD copy of the new film from Lionsgate, Charlie’s Christmas Wish! Enter through the Giveaway Tools below. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, November 22, 2020.

Entry-Form

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this DVD to facilitate my honest review. This post contains my Amazon affiliate link, and I will receive a small commission on items sold through this link.