Think Ahead Breakfasts Cheap and Good

School is coming, and I will be returning to work in the Fall. I need ideas on how to prepare breakfast for my family without too much trouble or expense!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16301678 is a newstory on what appears to be delicious and quick breakfast bars made with oats and condensed milk.

Pre-done quiches, which you can make in a muffin pan, pre-cooked pancakes and waffles (frozen for the week) are easy heat-ups which are a nice, warm change from cold cereal and toast.

Hard-boiled eggs and orange juice, cinnamon toast and hot chocolate, bagels and cream cheese and fruit cup are also quickie breakfasts which are healthier than Kellogg's Fruit Loops.

If you are like me and fall into a rut, make a list of breakfasts and post it on your fridge. It'll remind you, when you are too tired to think, what you can whip up without automatically ouring out the milk. I am dead set against cold cereals: I use them! But I believe it's good to keep providing a variety of food for your family, by posting lists and looking at new ideas.

As a last resort, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk are an all-around kid favorite and certainly are a treat anytime of the day. Hey, it's better than a doughnut. Sometimes.

$1.00 Day Ventura County Fair July 31st

If you are blessed to be off during the summer, or at least, can safely play hookey from work on July 31st, you and your dollar are going to get a nice treat: entrance to the Ventura County Fair.
It's Dollar Day, because it's the opening day. Awesome! If you did that reading trick, you have free ride tickets AND a low cost entry fee. Have fun!

Goodwill Targets Good Buys

I learned last year that 1:00pm on Fridays is when Target, that nationally known chain, donates off-season or clearance merchandise at our local Goodwill store. Hey, it's not broken or bits and pieces! I'm talking about nice, thick fluffy towels or that last coffeemaker on the shelf which needs to make room for the incoming winter boots. To give you a real-life example, I purchased leather covered lamps for my mother-in-law (at least I think they're leather...), very nice if not excellent condition, at $10.00 each...and they retail for $50.00 and up! I also purchased a studded jean jacket, maybe $50+ dollars for $12.00. I saw long leather coats in the summer for about $20.00 to $30.00. There are lots of good deals here. Of course, if you think good deal means 'cheap', think again. You still have to be careful when you shop. Remember that coffeemaker? It was tagged for $9.95. I can buy a similar one at Sav-On Drugs for about the same price.

St. Rose of Lima Carnival Bargain Bracelets

It's too late now, since the Carnival has been over for a couple of weeks, but I learned you can buy those $25.00 ride bracelets for TEN BUCKS at a pre-sale outside St. Rose Church. You just have to know when, or at least, know a parishioner. Failing that, you can buy those expensive ride bracelets from the St. Rose Parish Office for FIFTEEN bucks... still cheaper than showing up at the Carnival and debating tickets vs. bracelets!! Put it on your calendar for next year, and get very friendly with a local St. Rose Catholic.

Read for the Fair

Okay, really quick, your child can earn free ride tickets for the Venture County Fair by reading books this summer!

http://www.venturacountyfair.org/pages/3441/ is the main web page, and you look down, under "Kids' Korner" and you'll see where the Read and Ride program is mentioned. Follow those links for complete instructions!

 

Woo hoo! Combined with the Simi Valley Library Summer Reading Program, my children are really going to enjoy reading this summer!

Lemon Park has Cool Appeal

Well, today my children and I are meeting our friends Sheltering Aerie and Soaring Eagle and his sister, Little Eagle (?), (former Adventure Guide members, check out my other post) at Simi Valley's Lemon Park. The neat thing about Lemon Park is its Play and Spray Fountain. It's not called that, but I think you get the image. Lemon Park is near another local favorite of Thrifty Living Simi Valley: the local library. So, to conserve gas (what is going ON with these prices? I don't believe there is as much as an oil shortage as an oily scheme) I try to combine library days and Lemon Park days. I think many parents do that, because I feel like I am in a walking tour group as I see familiar faces from books to spray.

I also often take a book and sit on one of their nearby benches, because it's one of the FEW areas that children will generally stay in one place, be generally safe, and I can sneak in a few lines of reading. There is no shade over the benches, so on blistering hot days, I frequently "check" on my children in the water spray and, oh, dear, I might get an icy cold blast of water against my back. Darn it.

Lemon Park is open from morning until 6:00pm, Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. Exit Tapo Canyon off the 118 Fwy and head toward the Library. Turn left after the Library, and it'll be on your left hand side.

Remember the usual rules of thumb for Simi Valley Fun in the Sun: Sunscreen, Hat, Sunglasses, plenty of bottled water.

"Music in the Park", Rancho Simi Park

Always fun, bring a picnic dinner, drinks, blanket and some chairs and enjoy a FREE evening of entertainment, brought to you by the Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation District.

All events at the Rancho Simi Park ("the duck park"), on the corner of Erringer and Royal, at the amphitheatre.

Saturday July 19 6:00pm Hotel California (Salute to The Eagles)
Saturday August 16 6:00pm Savor (Tribute to Santana)