Return of the Ant Invasion!

During the latest bout of storms, our home was invaded by ants - at least 200 of them all over the floor. Our faithful cat, Pywacket, marched upstairs to wake me up with a light paw to my ankle and a small meow (more like a mmmm) at 5:30am. I came downstairs to see what she wanted and saw lines of black along our tan tiles.

Since I'm a little over 5 months pregnant, I'm a bit leery about using pesticides or heavy duty chemicals around the house. That eliminated Raid and the super effective ant killers. I'd heard somewhere that everyday household cleaners work just as well as bug spray to kill ants so I tried it. First, I zapped a line of ants with a can of Lysol and a handful of paper towels...on my hands and knees....yep...it worked, but the smell of Lysol got to me. Next, I grabbed the Swiffer wet and started sweeping up the ants. Aha! perfect solution. The ants were killed and cleaned up at the same time.

Swiffer wet is not normally on a frugal list of grocery supplies, but in my case, it is a lifesaver. Having a pet around ensures that we need to mop the floor almost every day, and using Pine Sol or other floor cleaners is out of the question due to toxicity. Swiffer got a bad reputation a few years ago about killing pets, but through extensive testing, the rep was unfounded - unless your pets are of the 6 legged kind.

Grocery Store Deals Have Returned!

I don't know about you, but I've been dreading going to the grocery store lately. There just haven't been any good deals over the past month, so I ended up doing most of my shopping at the 99 cent store. However, today, all of that is changing. My mailbox was overflowing with good grocery bargains, so whether I shop at Ralphs, Albertson's or Von's there are good deals to be had. Here are my picks of the week.

Ralphs:

Green asparagus - 99 cents per pound
Atlantic salmon fillet - $3.99 lb.
Ripe tomatoes on the vine - $1.88 lb.
Grilling shrimp - $4.99 lb.
Iceberg lettuce - 99 cents per pound
Cottonelle bath tissue 99 cents
Kleenex 99 cents

Albertson's:

Split chicken breasts 99 cents per pound
Atlantic salmon $3.99 per pound
20 for $10: Albertson's canned tomatoes, Campbell's soups, Albertson's packaged seasonings
Starkist chunk light tuna: 69 cents per can
Red grapefruit: 69 cents each
Italian or yellow squash: 99 cents per pound

Von's:
They have a $10 coupon on the circular to use if you spend over $50.

48 hour sale on Saturday and Sunday:
Lucerne large eggs - 97 cents per dozen
Campbell's select soups - 88 cents per can
Blueberries - 18 oz. for $2.88

Regular sales:
Chicken breast halves - 97 cents per lb.
Green Asparagus - 97 cents per lb.
Russet potatoes - $1.97 for a 10lb. bag
Lucerne butter - 99 cents for a lb. with coupon
Raisin Bran - 99 cents for a box with coupon

The following produce is $1
Broccoli, Cauliflower, navel oranges, 3 lbs. of onions in a bag, iceberg lettuce, zucchini or yellow squash, eggplant, baby peeled carrots