What Passes for My Life Lately......Pretty Boring Stuff Ahead

I use to have a travel mug back when I was a student doing summer stock theater jobs.
The mug had a little man standing in a vise with the caption, "Oy! The pressure."
I wish I could find a photo of it online to share with you all.

That mug was sooo apropos during that time of my life.
And I sure wish I had that mug for THIS part of my life too!

Firstly, I am slowly feeling better.  Besides leaving me with very colorful bruises, that accident knocked alot more out of me than I had thought previously.....or it could just be that I didn't take the time to slow down long enough to recover fully.  Yah, it's probably the latter.
Here are some awesome photos of parts of me I took late last week......if you are squeamish, scroll past them.
First my shoulder....how many colors can you see?lol

Then my leg.....

The bruise started on the left side and capillaries under the skin burst and spread that lovely rosy hue all the way across my leg.

And lets not leave out my knee, the left one.....

I didn't even see it for a week since it was on the side.  I wondered why my knee hurt....duh!lol

Everything is fading away as of this morning and I should not look like a domestic violence victim much longer. 8-)

Here is a photo from the French Honor Society ceremony.  The lighting is atrocious in our auditorium on the stage area but passable on the apron(or front of the stage area).
Daughter is the VP of the French Club so she and her buddy who is the Prez of the FC had to read stuff en francais during the ceremony.
Daughter is the dark blurry one on the right in the photo....

Here is the whole group of inductees on the stage apron.......

Daughter is 2nd from right end in the front.
#2 son who was inducted into the Society for the first time is on the far left in the white shirt.

Félicitations!

Tomorrow is the National Honor Society ceremony so I'll hobble back to the school to see Daughter go through that ceremony for the third time.

On Friday I got to drive across PA to take #1 son to the camp where he works for the summer.
His girlfriend met us part way so I didn't have to drive the full 5+ hours there and back again.
I also got to finally meet her.  We had a nice lunch and then I got back on the road for the trip home.
I did snap this shot of them both before I took off....

Saturday and Sunday were spent cleaning out.  It was beastly hot here(even hotter today!)so Hubs put the A/C units in.  Since the weather and my body(the day after the accident)didn't cooperate last week, the garage sale didn't happen.  I had #1 son put all the spare toiletries put in the living room to sort and price for the garage sale.  Since the sale didn't happen yet, we moved all the toiletry boxes into the now cleaned out garage because family will be showing up beginning this Sunday for the Graduation festivities and we need the living room cleared out for sleeping accommodations. So we moved all those boxes into the garage....

And I've begun organizing and putting things up on the shelves already.  I counted 20 boxes of spare toiletries......good gosh!
Still no idea when this garage sale will happen but it HAS TO so I can reclaim my garage!!lol

We cleared out a flower bed on Sunday....

Here's Daughter hacking off branches on a tree we were removing.  There were 3 trees that took root in there the past few years and started growing.  Those 2 rhododendron bushes were half the size when we moved here.  Not only have they taken over the flower bed, there is a little fir tree to the left and back of the bush on the left that has been overtaken.  We took down the 3 trees, trimmed back the rhodo. on the left and took out the rhodo. bush on the right. 
We still have more work to do in there(like digging out the stumps and moving the little fir tree to a different spot)but that will wait until school lets out and #2 son can do the grunt work.

Monday we did what most red-blooded Americans do on national holidays.....we went shopping. ;-)
Daughter needed some more new clothes and Hubs needed to replace some dress pants for work so we hit a few sales.  Then we got Chinese for lunch and headed home.  It was a good day to be in a/c'ed stores since it hit a muggy 87 yesterday. 

So that pretty much catches you up on the Life 'o Sluggy.

What was your weekend like?  Any exciting goings on?

Sluggy

End of the Week at Rite-Aid & Monthly Totals There for May

*I am done for May shopping at Rite-Aid, so skip down and check out my Totals for the month!*

So Hubs and I went up to Rite-Aid on Friday evening to burn some expiring +Ups....

I bought 3 12-packs of Coke, a 12 pack of Cottonelle TP and a single serve pack of PB crackers as a filler item(so I could use my +Ups and not spend more down on my gift card).

The total came to $16.37(I had NO Qs! the horror!!).
I used $16 in expiring +Ups and put the .37¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $3 back in +Up Rewards($1 for the TP and $2 for the Cokes).

Then Saturday I had errands to run so Daughter and I stopped off at Rite-Aid to finish off the Allergy & Weekend Warrior +Ups Deals, since the Allergy one ended on Saturday 5/28.

I bought....
2 bags of Hall's drops w/my 20% discount they were $2.15 each, so $4.30*These got me the $5 Allergy +Up.
1 Lamasil gel on sale for $8.99.  It had a $2 Peelie Q on it and I had a $2 IPQ, so $4.99 after Qs.
1 Bengay w/my 20% discount was $7.19.  I had the $2 in-ad Q and a $3 IPQ, so $2.19after Qs.
I Bengay w/my 20% discount was $7.59.  I had another set of $5 in Qs, so $2.59.
2 20 oz. Cokes *not pictured* w/my 20% discount were $2.70 total.  I had a $1/2 coke IPQ, so $1.70 for both...we were thirsty. ;-)

Take another $5 off(a $3/$15 Survey Q and 2 Wellness $1 off any purchase AdPerk/VV Q) and my subtotal was $10.77.
I used $10 in +Ups and put the .77¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $6 in +Up Rewards($5 for Allergy Deal, $1 Lamasil).
I did NOT get the $10 Weekend Warrior +Ups because one of the Bengays did NOT qualify!
Ugh. ugh. ugh.
All was not lost however, because I qualified for the $5 SCR #19(Lamasil), so after SCRs and +Ups I got back $11 even without the WkndWarior +Up Reward.

So it was off to another Rite-Aid to find a tube of Bengay or something else to spend that last $2.02 I needed to make the $25 spent threshold for the $10 +Ups.

The green tube at the bottom of the photo is what we found and bought. 8-)
$4.39 with discount, take the In-ad $2 Q off and the total was $2.39.(I had no more $3 IPQ dangit!)
I used $2 +Ups to pay and put the .39¢ on the trusty ol' gift card.
And the $10 Wknd Warrior +Ups spit out of the register....yay!


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....3
Total Spent....$1.53 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$74.87
SCR qualified for...$5.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$19.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$28.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$51.00  And I have $44.71 left on my gift card.

So with the $5 SCR added on, I am 'down' $4 for these transactions.


***Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period***

Number of Transactions......22
Total Spent....$11.25 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$947.79
SCR qualified for....$21.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/25.....$60.00
+Up Rewards spent....$131.52
+Up Rewards earned....$131.52
**I've earned the same amount as I've spent in +Ups at this point in May.lol
+Up Rewards left....$51.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period





So I spent $11.25 in FREE gift card money and took home $947.79 worth of stuff in May at Rite-Aid.
Plus I'll be getting a rebate check for $21.00 later next month from them and I have $51.00 in +Ups to spend going forward.

What is NOT to like about this system?!?!



Sluggy

May Decluttering P*rn....Part 3

Here is my latest decluttering/donation efforts this month.....

A set of plastic Cowboys and Indians that belonged to #1 son when he was 4 or 5.  While I might be tempted to hang onto them forever, #1 son doesn't have nearly as many sentimental bones in his body.

The 3 boxes(is that one of my plastic rubbermaid bins I see!?!)are filled with clothing from #1 son as well.  I guess most of this decluttering edition belongs to #1 son.  I asked him to go through his old stuff in the spare room and he done good. 8-)

Assorted cookie cutters and teenie beanie babies.  Also a tiny dog bandana for some poor nekkid tiny dog out there.

Some more piles of Daughter's outgrown clothing and 1 shirt from #2 son.
8 Christmas ornaments....5 Hallmark ones and 3 other ones.....all new in the boxes and unused.

17 yards of cotton fabric with assorted fishing and hiking themes.  Would be great to make a quilt for someone who is outdoorsy....that person does NOT live here.
My brain was not switched on the day I bought all this.  ;-)

More clutter to come later this weekend when I get back online.
Let's see if I can come up with FOUR full donations before May is over!

Sluggy

Chaotic Times.....The World Isn't Ending Yet!

First, I am SO glad that the world did not end last Saturday.
I just don't have time for that to happen right now....ya know? 8-)

Here are a couple of photos from a couple of weeks back.
First my daughter before she left for Prom......

She had a frugal-ish Prom.  The dress is the same one she wore/bought last year.  No multiple dresses were bought by the parents in preparation for Prom like some girls & parents do.  And it's a style she can wear and has worn outside of Prom occasions.  The shoes she already had and the necklace she bought last year.

Unfrugal would be the amount of money she spent on having her hair did.  She paid that bill herself and her eyes about bugged out at the price tag for some curling and hairspray. ;-)

Daughter has legs that go on for days.  Thankfully she didn't inherit my genetic code for short stumpy stumps.

And here is #2 son a few Saturdays ago when his musical friends came over to jam.....

The neighborhood got serenaded briefly.
Those tiny little amps sure ratchet up the volume....

Now this is where I apologize to all my readers and blogging friends for my lack of posts, effort and commenting/reading their posts this past week.
The accident threw a complication into my already falling apart plans for the week.  We've been dealing with insurance companies(notably an especially unfriendly-dare I say hostile-adjuster for the other driver's insuror), towing companies, hospital reports/forms and salvage yards.  Between jumping through these hoops and my elevated stress level, I've been a tad distracted.

The forecast kept saying RAIN on Saturday so I backed off of holding the Garage Sale and didn't advertise it at all.  Of course, Saturday morning the sun is shining and it's a glorious rain-free day.
Ugh.
Man makes plans and God laughs.....

We did get the Garage clean-out DONE....yay!  But since the Garage Sale didn't happen, I still have many boxes of HBA stockpile in the living room still.  After #1 son goes through it today to extract what he needs for the summer, we'll have to get it all moved to the garage....so there goes the cleaned garage.
Ugh.
But at least once the Garage Sale does happen, everything will already be there, organized, ready for me to set up the tables, put it all out and price.  Of course until I have the sale, the garage will be less navigate-able.
So I am hopeful that by this evening I'll have a mostly cleared out living/dining room, except for the furniture, and it will be ready for the 'relatives' onslaught which begins on June 5th.

Presently, I'm buried in Salvation and Salvation Army wannabee stuff.  Hubs trunk is almost full again, I've got items to take pictures of and I've got boxes of stuff to finish going through today.

Oh, and I have to drive #1 son across the state on Friday to his summer job since their car is totaled and IF we ever see any money for it from the responsible party's insurance company it won't be soon enough to get another vehicle for them before they both leave for the summer.   This accident has totally jacked up our plans for the summer but at least we all survived it. ;-)

Add in the end of the year regular craziness and it's full blown Pandimonium here!

And I need to go back to Rite-Aid today but nothing new about that.lol

So that's why I've been MIA lately.
More on this story as it develops.....

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Again.....And I Still Have to Go Back Again this Week!

2 Trips to Rite-Aid in the past 2 days....

1 x Suave Pro 'Poo on sale $2.50/wellness discount greater=$2.39
1 x Vaseline Lotion on sale=$2.50
2 x Degree Deodorant on sale=$5.00
1 x Ben-Gay Cream w/20% wellness discount=$4.79
1 x Breathe Right strips w/raincheck=$2.99
SubTotal.....$17.67

Coupons Used
1 x Free Item Q Suave Pro item(facebook homemailer Q)=$2.50
1 x $1/1 Vaseline ManuQ(sunday's inserts)=$1.00
1 x BOGO Degree Deodorant ManuQ(sunday's inserts)=$2.50
1 x $3/1 Ben-Gay ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Ben-Gay In-Ad RAQ=$2.00
1 x Free Item Breathe Strips RA wellness acct. Q=$5.99*automatically takes off full price amount
Coupon Total.....$16.99

$17.67-$16.99=$.68+.24¢ tax=$.92OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $3 +Ups(WYB 4 select Suave/Vaseline/Degree/etc. items).
The Breathe Rights count toward the $25 Allergy Deal and the Ben-Gay counts toward the $25 Weekend Warrior Deal.

Then this morning I did this.....

1 x Revlon Crazy Shine Buffer w/wellness discount=$2.79
1 x Precise Patch w/raincheck=$5.00
1 x Breathe Right strips w/raincheck=$2.99
1 x Reach toothbrush w/raincheck=$.99
1 x Reach Floss w/wellness discount=$1.83
2 x RA Hydrogen Peroxide BOGO sale=$2.19
1 x Cella Cherry w/wellness discount=$.26
SubTotal...$16.05

Coupons Used
1 x $3/$15 purchase RA survey Q=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Crazy Shine Buffer RA wellness Q=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Precise item Q(sunday inserts a couple weeks ago)=$2.00
1 x Free Item Breathe Right wellness acct. Q=$5.99 *takes off full price automatically
1 x $1/1 Reach toothbrush tearpad Q(from my dentist)=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Reach floss tearpad Q(from my dentist)=$2.00
Coupon Total....$15.99

$16.05-$15.99=$.06 OOP  put on Rite-Aid gift card
I qualified for SCR #34($2.00)Buffer.
The Precise qualifies for the $25 Weekend Warrior Deal and the Breathe Rights qualify for the $25 Allergy Deal.

I've still got $16 +Ups to use before Saturday night since I haven't actually spent any so far this week.lol
I'm probably going to finish off the Allergy and Weekend Warrior deals tomorrow and then spend down what +Ups I have leftover after that by buying soda.  Then I should have enough for the Graduation Party and for #2 son and his friends(IF I hide it and ration it out thru the summer), and I shouldn't have to buy soda again until the fall.

THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$.98 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$46.22
SCR qualified for...$2.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$3.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$0.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$60.00  And I have $46.74 left on my gift card.




Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......19
Total Spent....$9.72 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$872.92
SCR qualified for....$16.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/21.....$57.00
+Up Rewards spent....$103.52
+Up Rewards earned....$112.52
+Up Rewards left....$60.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Rite-Aid & Weis on Saturday....and Shopping Plans for This Week, Anyone?

After I snapped out of my funk from Fridays happenings I still had $30 in expiring +Ups to roll/convert/burn by Saturday evening.
So Hubs went with me up to Rite-Aid and then Weis Markets.

I did 2 transactions at Rite-Aid....one of my card for the Biotene/Aquafresh Deal and one on BIL's card for the Colgate 360 toothbrushes Deal.
Here's everything together....

I did the Biotene/Aquafresh Deal twice(Buy $15/Get $5 +Ups) and used my $1.98 extra from the 1st time I did that deal earlier in the week, so I only had to buy $28.02(2 x $15 for each deal-my overage from earlier in the week).
After coupons/sales the 1st total came to $7.46.  I used $7 in +Ups and put the .46¢ on my gift card.
I received $10 in +Up Rewards back(2 x $5 Biotene/Aquafresh).

The 2nd transaction which included everything else(along with 5 12-packs of soda which is not pictured), came to $33.49.  I used the last of my raincheck on the Glad trash bags, but the soda, cookies, chips and toothbrushes(or so I thought!)were all on sale and the only coupons I used were the in-ad Q for the soda and 2 $1/1 ManuQs for the toothbrushes.  I used $33 in +Ups and put the .49¢ on my gift card again.
The $10 in cookies qualified for SCR #48 for $2.00.

This transaction was all screwed up.  None of the 360 toothbrushes were marked(only 1 kind was part of the +Ups deal)and I bought the wrong kind since they were out of whatever was on the other peg hook.  These ones weren't on sale, so my total was higher and they didn't produce the $2 +Ups.

So after I returned the toothbrushes, I got $8.96 credited back onto my Rite-Aid gift card.
The end result for all was $.95 off my gift card, $8.96 back onto it, I used $40 in +Ups, got $10 in +Ups back and a total of $120.28 worth of stuff.
So of the $46 in +Ups I used this week, I converted $8.96 into gift card 'cash', converted $2 into SCR cash, rolled $10 worth, which leaves $25.04 worth that I burned through.


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$.95 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$120.28
SCR qualified for...$2.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$40.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$57.00  And I am back up to $47.72 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......17
Total Spent....$8.74 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$826.70
SCR qualified for....$14.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/18.....$87.00
+Up Rewards spent....$103.52
+Up Rewards earned....$109.52
+Up Rewards left....$57.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


I had a $5/$50 Weis Q and a $1/1 any Full Circle Product item Q.  I also had a $6 Cat from last week's trip to Weis(when I rolled my $8 Cat by buying Pizza Rolls and Suddenly Salad....don't judge!).
Saturday was the end of the sales week there with 2 Catalina Deals-a Unilever and another one featuring Glad/Kingsford/Clorox/etc.
So I went with plans to roll my $6 Cat into 2 Cats worth $12, and find enough other things we needed on sale so my total was $50 and I could use the $5/$50 Q and get some gas points.

I have no photo for y'all but I found 6 packages of bacon on clearance for $.99, marked down from $4.99 each, 2 packages of Smithfield lunchmeat for $.99, marked down from $3.99 and 2 dozen free eggs with the Free Egg tearpad Qs wyb Hungry Jack hash browns(dehydrated ones and they were also on sale)I found in the store.
I ended up paying $36.47OOP for $97.10 worth of groceries AND have $12 in Cats to roll/use.  Hopefully, Weis will have another Cat Deal in the next 2 weeks so I can continue to roll these Cat Qs.
That's my problem with Weis Markets Cat Deals....they hardly ever have subsequent Cat Deals within the 2 week expiration timeframe.  Most of their Cat Deals are staggered at least 3 weeks apart which keeps you from getting full value for your shopping dollars.

This week is a light Rite-Aid week for me as I only have $16 +Ups expiring on Saturday.  This seems to be a good thing as there is not much to roll your +Ups with this week.
Besides the Degree/Suave/Dove/Vaseline Deal, what is everyone else planning on buying at Rite-Aid?


Sluggy

Monday Chatter....the Wrecked Car Edition

I have decided that I should never ride in a car as a passenger if my daughter is driving.
The last time(before Friday's accident)I rode in a car with her driving, she ran into the pole outside of a local CVS.  Not that she is a bad driver or anything because clearly this wreck was not her fault.
Every time she drives me some place, the sound of steel & plastic crunching follows us. 8-(

Since the high school had a half day on Friday, we were going to close her bank account at the local bank and then go to the statewide bank and open a new account there in preparation for her leaving for college in August.
Well, we finished errand #1 and were on our way to the other bank to open an account.  We were at the intersection they call "The Triangle" around these parts.  It's a 4 way intersection but one of the roads comes in from an angle, so there is a piece of land there that is triangular shaped.
Get it?
Good.

So we are sitting waiting for the light to turn green....we are pointing to the west.  A semi-truck blows through the intersection on the road perpendicular to ours, while their traffic light is yellow....you can see their light from my angle in the car.  I make a comment about that truck going so fast and through a yellow light.
Then our light turns green.
And the daughter stars out into the intersection, heading to turn to the left, to proceed southbound down the road, in the direction that the semi just came from.
I had my head turned to the left, looking at daughter and daughter was looking ahead but a bit to the left, in the direction she was pointing the car in.
I saw the car coming right at us past daughter's profile....it wasn't slowing down and it was going at least 40 mph.
I made a noise or said something like "Look!" or "Oh!"
Daughter looked and I said "Brace!" or at least I was thinking that and trying to get it out before the car hit us.
It was like a dream.....seeing the car come right at us and it seemed like everything slowed down in time....the car took forever before it actually hit.

While I was trying to spit some warning out I braced myself on the dashboard with my right arm/hand and with my purse strap on my left arm I grabbed for my daughter to hold onto her.  I guess it was my maternal reflex to protect my kid kicking in.

Everything appeared to continue at a slow motion rate of speed until we stopped moving.
The car hit us on the front corner and left front side of the car, just in front of the driver's side door, as the driver tried to swerve to the left of us.
On the initial impact, daughter's head hit the rearview mirror and it fell into her lap.  I also hit something as we were flung to the right...maybe the latch were you click the shoulder harness of the seatbelt into the door frame.  Whatever it was I hit into it twice eventually, because I have 2 matching monster bruises next to each other, with a strip of non-bruised arm flesh between them.

Here's the right side of the car....the side that didn't get hit directly!  Hubs had to go remove some things of ours from the car and I had him snap some photos....

And here's the front of the car.....you can't see the damage to the impact site very well but everything is pushed to the right, the front left bumper is pushed up into the headlight and the frame is pushed toward the windshield.  But hey, the windshield wipers still worked!lol....

After the initial impact we got thrown to the left.  Daughter hit her head again on the front this time.  I banged my left shin into the floor gear console.  I also banged my left knee into something as I have a huge bruise on the side of my knee as well.
Our car was pushed a few yards and then got spun 180 degrees, so we were pointing directly opposite the direction we were headed before the impact.

After we came to a stop on this not so fun amusement ride, we looked at each other and asked if the other was ok.  Daughter picked the rear view mirror off the floor, where it had rolled after it fell off her lap and said, "Well this won't be useful now."
Well...duh!

The car's motor was still running so I told her to shut the car off.  I looked down and the gear shifter was laying sort of sideways.  Daughter couldn't get the key out of the ignition because she couldn't get the car out of drive.  Shifters don't work very well when they are sideways it seems.

I then pushed my door open(it was jammed and didn't budge at first)and jumped out of the car and told Daughter to get out of the car immediately....in case it decided to blow up or something.lol
The car that hit us, after impact had continued to travel around us, into one of the opposing traffic lanes and then she steered back to the right and stopped in front of us on the road.

We stumbled over to the right edge of the road away from the wreck site.
And I began to make phone calls.
Called Hubs, got voice mail.....of all times!
I called the insurance agent.....his office was 2 buildings away from where I was standing.  I walked a block down the road so I could read his phone number off his sign and call him.
So I'm talking to the cop, the tow truck guy, the fire truck guy(they had to clean the roadway), the other rescue squad guy who stopped to help, while trying to get Daughter and the 16 year old new driver who hit us to exchange the proper information.
Being the older, wiser mom, I had to remain calm.....or at least appear so.....and keep these two teens from falling apart.

Since this 16 yr old driver of the other car was alone....after the friend she was taking home got out of the car and walked home and left her there alone....I tried to settle her down, ask her if she was ok and told her that even though she could move her car off the street after the accident that it was a good idea to have her parents have someone look at the car since it seemed to be leaking something from under the hood.
Always a mother to somebody..... ;-)

#1 son came to pick me up after the ambulance took daughter to the ER.  She's 18 so I didn't have to go with her and Hubs left work early to go to the hospital to be with her. At this point, after the site was cleared and the teens were being looked after, my nerves started getting the best of me so I thought it best I get home.


About an hour after getting home and icing my huge leg bruise my muscles started to relax and I started to feel very sore from all the tension in my body.
I took a painkiller and went to bed.
I woke up Saturday even more sore with more lovely bruises.  While my neck was fine every other muscle in my body was aching.
Luckily, daughter checked out fine at the hospital with only 2 bumps to her head.
I'm not experiencing more soreness so I think I've turned the corner to feeling better now.
Daughter wanted to go out with her friends that same night!  Kids.....too resilient for their own good.

Some things that happened here that were 'good'.....maybe I don't mean good since being in an accident has no good parts, but if it did, these would be the good things about it.

*We were wearing seat belts.  When we left the house to drive to the first bank, daughter had chided me about not putting on the seat belt....so I had.  She always wears hers because she knows I'd kill her if she didn't.
Sometimes if I am just driving around our teeny tiny town I forget to put it on.  Those days are over! ;-)

*The car behind us at the light was driven by a rescue squad guy.  Not only did he see the whole thing and serve as a witness that that light was green(since the teen driver of the other car kept claiming that her light was still yellow and that she didn't run a red light!), but he pulled into the intersection behind our car when we stopped and turned on his flashing bar, donned his reflective vest and began directing traffic so no one got run over too.

*That the semi-truck that blew threw the yellow light wasn't a little bit slower and had come through the intersection 5 seconds later.  If it had, we most certainly would be pancake ex-people at this moment.

*I felt something when we got hit.....like someone holding us from behind and pushing us down into our seats.  Maybe it was centrifugal force or the G-force or something equally scientifically explained away but I think it was my mother's spirit keeping us from becoming human projectiles at that moment.  This had been her car originally that we were in and since she died, I've always felt her presence in it.
Whatever it was, I am thankful for it and that I am still here today to bitch and whine about my life. 8-)

The car, on the other hand, is toast.
We are still waiting to hear from our insurance adjuster guy, but the tow guy said from his experience given the age of the car, it will be totaled.
And we won't get enough money for it to buy another car similar to it...even if we could find a car this brand, this old, in this good shape with only 90K miles on it.
We had hoped that this car would get through another 3 years, since #2 son turns 16 next Feb. and needs a car to learn to drive on and then get to and from his part time job that he will get after he learns to drive.

This was also the car that #1 son was leaving for his summer job in on this coming Friday.  Now the older two teens have no car to get to and from their summer employment, which means Hubs and I will have to make even more trips across the state this summer as they come and go between home and the camp they work at.

Since we won't be needing a car for another 6 months or so, there's not much point to buy & insure another car right now.  If we had a car, the teens would use it this summer but after summer is over it would sit until next year sometime.
We'll probably put whatever we get from the insurance company in the bank for later when/if we do need to replace the car.

And yes, I got right back in a car on Saturday...my version of getting back on a horse after you fall off.   ;-)

Sluggy

Things Can Change At A Moment's Notice

Forget the post I planned for today.
I'm too shook up to write it.

Hey SonyaAnn!
I see your van's bumper and can raise you a totaled car......

Unfortunately my phone doesn't download photos to the internet so I'll show you a picture of a different wrecked Toyota.  Ours looks even worse at the moment.....

Some teenager plowed right into my daughter and me through a red light at the intersection in town.
She didn't even slow down....well, until she hit us doing 40 mph, then she had no choice.
We are ok, just a bit banged up, bruised and emotionally shook up.
The teenager is fine too.

Our car is totaled according to the towing guy.
This was the car #1 son was suppose to drive to his summer job next Friday.

It helped that we got hit within spitting distance of our car insurance agent's office.
It helped that a rescue squad guy was in the car behind us and immediately pulled his car into the intersection, put his flashing bar of lights on the roof on, donned his emergency reflective vest and started directing traffic....and that he witnessed the whole thing.

It's a good thing we were wearing seat belts too.

While I am thankful that we didn't become roadkill today, this does put a crimp into our lives.

Please drive safely!

Sluggy

Coming Clean with Another Frugal Life Hack

I hate to pay money for some things.....like liquid hand soap.
And since I can't always get it for free at Rite-Aid, I do weird things, like this.....
I buy clearanced gift sets after Christmas.
You know, those fragrancey shower gels and gift set stuff that go 50% off and even more off if they sit on the shelf long enough after the Holidays.....

Here's a bottle from a set of 8 shower gels I got for 75% off after Christmas 2 years ago.  The whole set of 8 had been $14.99 and was marked down to $3.75 or something equally ridiculous.
Comparing the ingredient labels, I found that the liquid hand soap and the shower gel were composed of the same stuff.

So I took this.....

An almost empty bottle of hand soap and did this......

Added the shower gel and left a little room to add about a 1/3 cup of water since the gel was thicker than the hand soap had been. Since the hand soap had a little left I couldn't use the whole bottle of gel so I put another 1/4 cup of water in the shower gel bottle and refilled the hand soap container later as it emptied.
By slowly tipping the container up and down, the water and old hand soap mixes with the shower gel without a mass of bubbles.  The old hand soap floated to the top but eventually it emulsified with the gel.

Voila!....you have a full bottle of liquid hand soap for far less than buying more hand soap, even a refill sized jug!
Those 8 bottles of shower gel were each 8 oz., so that's 64 oz.  Add 1/2 cup of water per bottle to thin to hand soap consistency is 32 oz. more, so a total of 96 oz. of new hand soap for $3.75.
That's about 10-12 bottles of hand soap for under .40¢ each.

Sluggy

Looking for Some Help for a Fellow Blogger in Alabama

I met Linda on the Compact list a few years ago.  She started her own blog about a year ago(ok, I could be wrong about that).  It's called Practical Parsimony and she's all about frugality, simple living, etc.
Recently a tornado ripped through her small town outside of Birmingham Alabama.  You've all heard about the devastation to this area of the South by now.  The photo above is an ariel view of a part of her town.

Linda doesn't know I am doing this and she'll probably kill me, but here I go anyway.......

Linda has limited means and is a woman of "a certain age" with no steady income.  Without going into details, she has made due for years now.  However her home has some problems which she has recounted in her blog over the past year.  Due to various reasons she hasn't had the resources (financial and physical)to make adequate repairs to her house.  Most tenuous is the condition of her roof.  It's disrepair has also caused additional damage to the interior of her abode and continues to do so.

Then the tornado came through last month and caused further damage to the roof....not alot but some.

Since her roof was already in a sad state pre-tornado, FEMA will not help her with repairing any of the damage-either with labor or monies. Nor will any of the local church or non-profit organizations in her town help her.
Now the situation has gotten to a desperate point.  Her local officials have served her with a condemnation notice unless she fixes her home(the roof seems to be the sticking point).
You can read the post specific to this event HERE

I am sad for my blogging friend.
Sad that I don't live nearby so I can hold her hand as she goes through this.
Sad that I can't pick up a hammer and put some nails into new shingles for her.
Sad that I don't know anyone who could assist her so she can keep her home.

So I am doing the only thing I know how to do.....blogging about this problem and hoping that there is someone out there--

*Someone who has the home repair skills and compassion who lives in her area or will be traveling to her area(possibly to help with tornado victims repair needs through their Church?).
*Someone who knows someone who will be in this area of Alabama soon who can repair a roof for her.
*Someone who knows how she can find the funds to get the supplies for the roof repair.
*Someone who knows what governmental channels she can go through to get help to repair &/or pay for the supplies.

If you are reading this and you have any ideas, or you can blog about this situation to spread the word so that we can reach someone, ANYONE out in cyberspace who would be a resource, please pass this message along.
Linda can be contacted directly on her blog.
Or feel free to email me and I'll pass along any help you can give or find for her.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this.

Sluggy

What I Bought At Rite-Aid So Far This Week

I've got $40+ in +Ups to roll/convert/burn this week.
I managed to convert $6 worth on Wednesday.  You can totally duplicate this transaction if your Rite-Aid has the Dental items Q booklet(it's hexagonal shaped), you have 2 copies of the 5/1 SS insert with the Colgate toothbrush Q in it and you have 2 Adperks/VV accounts set up.  If not, you can do something not quite as advantageous....

2 x Colgate 360 Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$5.98 *the limit for +Ups is 2*
2 x Biotene Mouthwash on sale $5.99=$11.98
2 x Aquafresh Toothpaste on sale $2.50=$5.00
1 x Easter Peeps on 90% clearance=$.19
SubTotal....$23.15

Coupons Used
1 x $3/$15 Customer Survey Q=$3.00
2 x $1/1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Biotene Q from instore booklet in Dental aisle=$2.00
1 x $5/2 Biotene items AdPerks/VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $1/1 Aquafresh premium Toothpaste Q from instore booklet in Dental aisle=$2.00
2 x $1.50/1 Aquafresh prem. Toothpaste AdPerks/VV IPQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$17.00

$23.15-$17.00=$6.15
I used $6 in +Up Rewards and put the .15¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $9 in +Up Rewards(2 x $2 Colgate 360 Toothbrush, $5 WYB $15 in select dental items-Aquafresh/Biotene).

THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.15 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$42.13
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$9.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$6.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$87.00  And I have $39.71 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......15
Total Spent....$7.79 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$706.42
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/14.....$84.00
+Up Rewards spent....$63.52
+Up Rewards earned....$99.52
+Up Rewards left....$87.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period



I've got $30+ left in +Ups to use up by Saturday so I'll be going back to Rite-Aid this week.  Not sure what I'll get yet.  Maybe I'll do the Pepsi deal for the kids hanging out here this summer. 

What is everyone else getting at Rite-Aid this week??
Give me some ideas people, ok? ;-)


Sluggy

More Decluttering P*rn......Toys for Days!

The first photo, to get you to your decluttering "happy place", is of a couple of bags of clothes Hubs and I purged from our closet.  I found skirt/top sets I hadn't worn in 10 years!  Also some heavier fabric tops I never wore.....ugh.  And some really ugly colored pants....

Now onward to the toys.....yes, toys for days and days and days.
Again, if anyone wants/needs any of this stuff and wants to make me an offer(barter is good and cash is even better!lol), just shout out.

Would you believe Get Smart action figures? *said in my best Don Adams voice*

Original Toy Story and The Mask sticker books with packs of stickers and vintage My Little Ponies in need of a good comb thru....

More vintage MLPs, along with Johnny Lightning brand Hot Wheels type cars, Furby and M&M ornaments and Power Ranger stickers.....

Power Rangers in Space Astro Megazord......

The Smurf Tree-Go-Round and Power Ranger Quasar Launcher weapon.  I wonder how many shots from the launcher would it take to obliterate the Smurfs?

Bendable Jar Jar Binks and Wattoo dolls.  The Bert and Ernie of outer space......

A Star Wars puzzle and a couple of Power Rangers on Galaxy Gliders...

A Curious George Gumball Bank and another Smurf.   Where's my Quasar Launcher when I need it?!?

Behold, the Power Rangers Galaxy Megazord....the tiny 6" action figure sized one.....
and a couple of fake shoes....tiny collectible fake shoes for tiny fake feet.

A couple of Doughboy ornaments because nothing says the birth of Jesus like baked goods, right?
And if baked goods don't do it for ya, you could hang the John Glenn Hot Wheels action pack figures on your tree instead because nothing says Christmas like jet fueled rockets and astronauts who Dance with the Stars!

a large The Dog brand stuffed dog.....a beagle wearing reindeer antles because nothing says Christmas, well you know the rest.....
Ignore the Precious Moments box, that isn't going to Sallie's.  I can sell that shit even though it weighs a TON! 8-)

And a baggie with an ANNIE book, tape and a couple of Annie dolls.  I think my mother picked this stuff up at a yard sale ages ago for my Daughter.  Mom never gave the stuff to my Daughter however and I found this among her things after she died.  After she found out that the Daughter undressed her Barbie dolls to use the clothes to put on her stuffed animals and left the dolls mangled in a heap under her bed or something, she prolly decided to spare the twin Annies from that nekkid and unloved fate.
So now I get to dispose of them.  Yay me! ;-)

More to come, maybe later this week!


Sluggy

The Weekend Here

Well Saturday I spent running around grocery and HBA shopping.  I hit some Rite-Aids(well, that's a given!lol), and did a Cat Deal at Weis Markets(to roll my $8 cat from last week), and did some Instant Savings Deals(like a Cat Deal but you get the amount off that transaction instead of a Cat to roll)at 2 of the local independent markets here.  I have stocked up on food for the Graduation Party, as well as lots of food items for when #2 son is home from school this summer and I am feeding him and his bottomless pit friends for days on end.lol

Rolling the Weis Cat I saved 68.25%.
The one Instant Savings receipt I saved 57.80% and the average of the other 2 trips to the other Instant Savings store gave me a savings rate of 55.41%.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that I have blown my food budget out of the water to the tune of $325.18.....and May is only HALF OVER!
Ugh.ugh.ugh.

Sunday I spent catching up on my bookkeeping, cooking, digging through the freezer and meal planning.  I still have a ton of bags littering my kitchen floor from the shopathon that need emptying and the contents need to be organized and put into the stockpile.

Between what I've stocked up on and the veggies I'm hoping to get from the garden, my summer food bill should be well under my monthly budgeted amount.
At least that is the fantasy I am holding onto in my head. lol


#2 son was on his Marching Band trip to Disney this weekend.  2 full nights sleeping on a bus, 2 nights in a motel and 3 days at various parks.  They had to drag him back onto the bus to go home.  He is exhausted and fell asleep before 8pm Sunday night.  Of course, he spent every penny of the $100 his father gave him for 'necessities'.
You know.....all those 'necessary' sodas and bags of food-like substances to drop by his gullet.

Daughter spent the weekend working her last 2 shifts at her job before she became an ex-employee there.  Now she has more free time for avoiding chores and school work. And she has no source of money so this will put a damper on her constantly wanting to go out with her friends because she knows better than to ask me for money for this.lol
One more month until I can relax when she walks across that stage and actually gets her diploma.

And Hubs spent Saturday driving across the state and back to retrieve #1 son from college.  I might add that #1 son got a 3.8 GPA this past semester......2 years down, 2 more to go until he can go out into the big, bag world and support himself. ;-)
He has a serious girlfriend now and stays up most of the night on Skype talking to her.  He either has to call her earlier or start using his "inside voice".  We don't have cement dorm walls here and I need my sleep. 8-(

Here is my Meal Plan for the week....
Sunday--Meatloaf, Collards(the last from the garden last summer), Dinner Rolls
Monday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Rutabaga
Tuesday--Chicken Fettucine Alfredo, Salad
Wednesday--Probably leftovers since we have a school function to attend that evening
Thursday--Enchiladas, Corn, Squash Casserole
Friday--Lasagna with Collards
Saturday--Chili with beans, Cornbread

The only items I need to buy are the squash and some ricotta cheese for the lasagna....and some milk for the week.  I'll probably buy some lunchmeat for #1 son for sandwiches this week as well.

I'm off to go figure out what I want to get done for the next 14 days since I have a strong teen at my beck and call  24/7 for the next couple of weeks.

Sluggy

Rite-Aid on Saturday....$74.55 Worth of stuff for FREE!

First let me update my Rite-Aid totals to include last Wednesday's trip.....this one.

Some how I forgot to update when I posted that trip on Thursday.


THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.21 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$35.13
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$2.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$0.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$79.00  And I have $40.54 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......12
Total Spent....$6.96 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$589.74
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/12.....$77.00
+Up Rewards spent....$57.52
+Up Rewards earned....$85.52
+Up Rewards left....$79.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


Now onward to Saturday's Rite-Aid shopping.  Since the deals are over I've just combined all into one photo and I won't do the anal breakdowns.  This was 2 transactions at 2 different stores.  I wanted to do the Colgate Spend $20/Get $5 +Ups Deal again(since I had $3.59 tracking overage from doing it the first time)but the first store didn't have enough of what I wanted to get, so I picked up the Palmolive & 1 pack of Breathe Right strips there and the rest at the second store.
And no, I am NOT pregnant!  The Similac was free after Qs so I'll put it into my garage sale and if it doesn't sell it will go to the local food bank with all the toothpaste and toothbrushes I've been collecting for my donation to them.

Total Spent....$.68 put on my free Rite-Aid gift card so ZERO OOP
Value of Items....$74.55
I didn't receive anymore $1 +Ups for the Breathe Rights since I hit my Limit of 4, but I got another of the $5 +Ups for the Colgate Deal.

$0.00 spent for $74.55 worth of stuff?
I'll take it! ;-)

And here is the now accurate update totals....

THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$.68 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$74.55
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$5.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$0.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$84.00  And I have $39.86 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......14
Total Spent....$7.64 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$664.29
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/12.....$79.00
+Up Rewards spent....$57.52
+Up Rewards earned....$90.52
+Up Rewards left....$84.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period
Sluggy

More Rite-Aid This Week

I am loving the overage the Breathe Right Qs are giving this week.
Here is Thursday's trip to Rite-Aid....

2 x Precise patches on sale $5.00=$10.00
2 x Welch's juice on sale $3.00=$6.00
1 x Herbal Essence 'Poo on sale=$3.00
2 x Breathe Right strips on sale $3.99=$7.98
SubTotal.....$26.98

Coupons
1 x $1 your purchase AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
2 x $5/1 Precise item ManuQ=$10.00
1 x $1/1 Herbal Essence home mailer Q=$1.00(sent with the last free 'poo Q offer on facebook)
2 x Free Item Breathe Right Rite-Aid Q=$11.98(scans at reg. price of $5.99)
Coupon Total....$23.98

$26.98-$23.98=$3.00
I used $2.64 in +Ups and put the remaining .36¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card, so Zero OOP.
I received $3 in +Up Rewards back(1 x $1 Welch's, 2 x $1 Breathe Right).

And I finished using up the expiring +Ups for this week.


I went back up on Friday and saw that the Reach toothbrushes had $2 Peelie Qs on them.  These are the same toothbrushes that I have rainchecks on, for .99¢ each....plus there are $1/1 Reach toothbrush AdPerk/VV IPQs available to print this month.  And I have $1/1 tearpad Qs on these items that the store lets me use WITH any peelie Qs on the same items.  Crazy overage ahead....lol

Between the potential Reach overage and the Breath Right Q overage this week, I decided to try to do the Get $5 +Ups WYB $20 of select Colgate, Palmolive, Irish Spring and Speedstick items Deal.

I also had $10 tracking on the Weekend Warrior Deal(to get $10 +Ups WYB $25)and $17.98 tracking on the Allergy Deal(to get $5+Ups WYB $25).
I used the survey that printed on the previous transaction's receipt to get a $3/$15 purchase Q and here is what I did.....

3 x Precise items on sale $5.00=$15.00
4 x Irish Spring BOGO sale $3.79=$7.58
2 x Palmolive dish soap BOGO sale=$3.39
2 x Ladies Speed Stick Deo BOGO sale=$3.69
2 x Colgate toothpaste BOGO sale=$4.79
2 x Colgate toothbrushes BOGO sale=$3.79
2 x Breath Right strips on sale $3.99=$7.98
3 x Reach toothbrushes raincheck .99¢=$2.97
SubTotal....$49.19

Coupons Used
1 x $3/$15 from survey=$3.00
1 x $1 any purchase AdPerk/VV IPQ=$1.00
3 x $5/1 Precise item IPQ=$15.00
2 x $1/1 Irish Spring 3 bar pack ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Palmolive dish soap ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 SpeedStick Deo ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Colgate toothpaste ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Colgate any toothbrushes ManuQ=$1.00
2 x Free item Breathe Right strips RA Q=$11.98(scans reg. price automatically)
3 x $1/1 Reach toothbrush Tearpad Q=$3.00
2 x $1/1 Reach toothbrush AdPerk/VV IPQ(May)=$2.00
3 x $2/1 Reach toothbrush Peelie Q=$6.00
Coupon Total....$48.98

$49.19-$48.98=$.21 OOP
I put the .21¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card so Zero OOP.
I received $22 in +Up Rewards back....
*2 x $1 for the Breathe Right strips
*1 x $5 for spending $20 on Colgate/Palmolive/Irish Spring/etc.
*1 x $5 for spending $25 on Allergy products(Breathe Right items)
*1 x $10 for spending $25 on Weekend Warrior items(Precise items)

And I went back later that evening and got this stuff on the BIL's card.....

2 x Glad bags raincheck $2.99=$5.98
1 x Herbal Essence 'Poo on sale=$3.00
2 x Reach toothbrushes raincheck .99¢=$1.98
2 x Breath Right strips on sale $3.99=$7.98
1 x clearanced Easter peeps=$.25
SubTotal....$19.19

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Glad bags IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Herbal Essence 'Poo home mailer=$1.00
1 x $2/2 Reach toothbrushes IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Reach toothbrush Peelie Q=$2.00
2 x Free item Breathe Right RA Q=$11.98
Coupon Total....$18.98

$19.19-$18.98=.21+.36 tax=$.57 OOP
I put the .57¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card so Zero OOP.
I received $2 in +Up Rewards(2 x $1 Breathe Right strips).

Just in case anyone wants to know, the limit this week on the Breathe Right strips $1 +Ups is 4 per account/card.

And it would be a good thing to get a raincheck on the Breathe Right strips at the sale price this week if you have any of those Free Item Breathe Right Qs left to use in the coming weeks. ;-)


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....3
Total Spent....$1.14 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$187.96
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$26.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$2.64
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$77.00  And I have $40.54 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$6.75 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$554.61
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/6.....$53.64
+Up Rewards spent....$57.52
+Up Rewards earned....$83.52
+Up Rewards left....$77.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


Sluggy

'Fess Up.........Who Broke It?

Some Friday the 13th joke, huh? ;-)

Now who done broke blogger?
Fess up!

Here's something to ease y'all into your weekend.....
Enjoy!

Sluggy

Quickie to Rite-Aid.....Rainchecks and Not Using my +Ups

I sort of figured that they would be out of the Precise Pain Patches that are free after the $5 ManuQ by Wednesday afternoon, but I still had to go up to get a raincheck, right?  I did ask and my store will honor that new $5 Precise ManuQ that expires 5/15 if you get a raincheck for the item.  Since the Q is so short lived(only a week!)and it will take at least a week to get more of the item in stock.  It's worth asking your store's manager if they will honor the expired Q in a raincheck situation for this item.

4 x Dove Easter candy 75% off $1.24 each=$4.96
2 x Breathe Right strips on sale $3.99=$7.98
1 x canned Clams on sale=$1.25
SubTotal.....$14.19

Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Dove candy AdPerk/VV IPQ=$2.00
2 x Free Item Rite-Aid IPQ=$11.98(rings up for $5.99 reg. retail for product)
Coupon Total....$13.98

$14.19-$13.98=$.21 OOP
I put the .21¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $2 in +Up Rewards(2 x $1 Breathe Right).

I was going to get either the Hyland's leg cramp med or the StopPain topical pain reliever....they are $6.99 and give a $6 +Up this week.  I heard that there was a Q inside the packages, so I figured I'd open the boxes, take out the Q and use it on that purchase, right?
Well, that was a bust, because the Qs inside the packages are for Calm Forte, not the product in the box.
I hate rolling +Ups where I lose +Ups(in this case $6 rolls and you burn that $.99).  And I don't even have $6 to roll this week anyway....sigh.

As for the transaction I did do, I don't know WHERE my brain was because I had $2.64 in +Ups to use up before Saturday and I didn't manage to use any of them!  I should have figured in $2.64 in additional merchandise in that transaction.
Ugh.

What's happening to me?
Am I losing my Rite-Aid Groove?lol

So I'll be going back to Rite-Aid this week and try to spend those $2.64 in +Ups.
What are the good deals you are getting this week at Rite-Aid?

Sluggy

School Photos or A Comb, My Kingdom for a Comb!

All you parents out there.....
You all know how annoying those school photos can be, right?

It's a production line of kids on Picture Day so the photographers are more concerned with getting all those photos snapped within the never long enough time frame they are given and not how the kids actually look in the photos.
It's quantity over quality, right?

The kids often look uncomfortable....because they ARE!lol
They are forced to pose unnaturally and the smiles are so fake and forced.
Blogging Buddy Mark did a piece on this very same subject yesterday over HERE.

And then the schools here started those Spring photos too.
You know, the set your kid brings home without you even knowing they took more that year!  The school/photography company figure if we give the kids a big fat envelope of photos with their sweet cherubic faces on them, the parents will not be able to resist keeping them and sending us a big fat check in return.
No thanks I say....one set of awkward poses and forced smiles is enough for my checkbook per year.

And I won't even get into the whole lame photography monopoly between the photo businesses and the school boards.

Since Daughter was a senior this year(which is a whole other way to drain your bank account with overpriced graduation photos, announcements and tchotchkes), we only had the one kid left doing the School Photo schtick.
So I filled out the order form for the smallest package they would allow and went up to the blood bank to sell some plasma so I could afford to write a check to send to school to pay for the pictures.lol

A couple of weeks go by and #2 son brings home his Freshman Year school photos.....the photos that we will keep to remember this special time in his life and cherish said photos forever.

And here is what we got for our money.....about 12 copies of this in various sizes......

Was there no adult there with a comb?....or enough sense to tell him to move his hair out of his eyes?
He is a teenager for gosh sakes....his brain is NOT always engaged!

This school feels comfortable reaching into my home and telling me what I can and can't do with my kid yet they can't tell him to get the hair out of his face for a photo?  Ooooh, that would be stepping on his rights.  We may damage his self-esteem!  And we can't have THAT!!
Puhleez......

Sluggy

Decluttering P*rn...the Big Purge of 2011 Begins

Here is the first load of stuff I am letting go of in the Big Purge and Clean-Out of 2011.
Most of this stuff is new merchandise(a few vintage/used/valuable things too but mostly new)I bought to sell on eBay but for some reason or other it just didn't happen.
If anyone sees something they can't live without, give me a holler and maybe we can do some bartering. ;-)

Spock and "Q" Star Trek action figures anyone? I think I have the whole set of 5 or 6 figures in this series but I just haven't located the others yet....maybe they've beamed themselves up somewhere else?

An old kid's book from when my kids were tiny, a bunch of new/unused stuff like Power Rangers folders(Go Go Power Rangers.....Go Go do your math and spelling!) and a couple of Star Wars Posters and Books....

 Elvis has left the building.......sorry, but I couldn't resist saying that.......

More merchandise--a Power Rangers Megazord 3-D wall plaque(scary enough to give any kid nightmares), an Austin Powers adult novelty/gag gift toy(*ahem* don't ask!), a set of collectible Lord of the Rings playing cards, 2 black bear Christmas ornies and a SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas ornie(because obviously nothing says celebrating the birth of Jesus like black bears and cartoon sponge people), a vintage English tinware decorative bowl, a Ty brand Monkey plush, a Power Ranger Galaxy Megazord figure & a Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss novelty clock(complete with Thing 1 AND Thing 2 no less!).

3 pairs of shoes(2 used/1 pair is new in the box from Christmas-they didn't fit Daughter), a Boyd's bears tapestry wall hanging, 2 Disney store Tiny Kingdom figures, an eyeglass case, a set of Power Ranger cupcake liners, a Lionel brand porcelain Santa Christmas ornie, a change purse, a gold lame evening bag, a vintage beaded/pailletted  evening bag.....

a Hot Wheels Home Improvement Action Set, a Beetleborgs action toy, a set of Scooby-Doo themed hot wheels cars, a miniature Hallmark tractor ornie, 8 sets of Toy Story stickers, 12 Small Soldiers window clings, a Johnny Lightning eBay car, a Precious Moments beanie, a Gargoyles set of stickers and a novelty "Wisconsin Mosquito Trap" bought at a tourist place in Wisconsin on my way home from Minnesota many years ago.....

Assorted used video tapes my kids have outgrown like Veggie Tales, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Herbie the Love Bug and The Muppets to name a few....

Lastly 2 large garbage bags full of clothes that no longer fit, that my Daughter cleaned out of her drawers.
This was the nice stuff we could send to Sallies.  She filled an additional bag of  'raggy' clothing we'll cut up for rags and such.

After #2 son gets back from his Marching Band trip, I'll be supervising the clean out of his clothes.  I can't wait to get to that, but we'll have to shovel a path from his door to the closet first! ;-)

All this is headed to Salvation Army by the end of this week unless someone gives a shout out that they want something in this batch.

1 load down, more to come.......

Sluggy