One Last Bit of February Decluttering Porn & Short Fat Ken Dolls

Let's close out February on this Leap Day in style, shall we?
How do we do that?
Why with Decluttering Porn, that's how!

Micro Machines Star Wars Action Fleet vehicle set
Micro Machines Star Wars Playset
McDonald's Playset
Lord of the Rings Mt. Doom Figure set
Star Wars role playing card game
Set of Miniature Teddy Bears
GI Joe action figures Keychain set
Power Rangers Trans-Armour Cycle with figure
Micro Machines Star Wars Endor Playset
4 x Micro Machines Star Wars vehicle sets
Small Soldiers stuffed toy
Power Rangers Card game
2 x 101 Dalmatians pens
101 Dalmatians cookie cutters
Hot Wheels truck

Set of John Wayne Racing Champion Cars
Small Soldiers Chip Hazard Room Defender figure
Star Wars Ep.1 Anakin's Pod Racer
2 x Micro Machines Star Trek Vehicles sets
Power Rangers mini Megazord figure
Power Rangers Zeo Ranger figure
2 x 101 Dalmatians mini pillows
2 x 101 Dalmatians water globe toys
Set of Dilbert magnets
2 Throw Blankets
12 Political Beanies

Star Wars Micro Machines Endor playset
Beast Wars Micro Machines playset
Numi blooming tea set
Pink & Yellow Power Ranger Dolls Set
20 Posters
4 Johnny Lightning cars
Drew Carey Doll
Small Soldiers Archer figure
Power Rangers playing cards
3 hand dyed Beanie Babies
Set of Power Ranger cupcake papers
Hot Wheels set of Reggie Jackson cars

81 more items outta here!!

Yes, turns out this was NOT the brilliant idea I thought it was years ago.
The Drew Carey Doll has not become a much sought after object of desire.....

...unless I want to take the doll out of the box and sell him as a "Short Fat Ken in Suit".  Which is what this guy does....he's hit on a formula to unload a buttload of these dolls.  Check out  one of his auctions HERE.

And speaking of Drew Carey, has anybody seen him lately?  I dare say he's looking mightily hot....

He's single, funny, rich, a Libertarian, is a close personal friend of Craig Ferguson and he gives money to libraries. 
Damn.....some days it's too bad I'm married! ;-)

I'm sure Drew would be thrilled to know he was included in a blog post about porn.....

But I do love his tv work.
And the various openings to each of the 8 Seasons of his tv series.....

Sluggy

Week #4 Low Spend & Declutter Challenge....I'm Done!

I have officially finished CARLA'S FEBRUARY DOUBLE CHALLENGE MONTH.....yay!  Here are my results with photos for Week 4.

First the Mini-Challenge....which was to put yourself FIRST!  Do something for yourself for a change.
And I did but with mixed results.
I spent a whole $1.99 on myself and rented a movie I had been wanting to see.
The movie?...."The Help".  I also want to read the book but will do that through the local library.

While I didn't feel guilty for spending the money and taking the time to watch it twice in one sitting(lol), I do, in a way, regret watching it.
Loved the movie, loved the fine acting.
But it made me ball like a baby!
Seriously.
Boo.
Hoo.

Even now I think about the story and I start getting weepy.
I am trying for the life of me to figure out WHY it affected me so.
I am not someone who cries at movies.....
Weird.

Onward to the Low Spending Part--
Feb. 22....spent $26.25 taking #2 Son out to Red Robin.  His meal was free! ;-) Went to Rite-Aid but no actual money was spent.
Feb. 23....no spending
Feb. 24....Went to Rite-Aid but no actual money was spent. Hubs & I got take-out, spent $19.50.
Feb. 25....$13.61 spent on groceries.
Feb. 26.... no spending
Feb. 27....$3.98 spent on groceries and I filled my car with gas-$48.01.  ouch....*sigh*
Feb. 28....$4.90 spent to mail our federal taxes.
I'm adding in Feb. 29 and I am staying home and don't plan on spending anything that day either.

No frivolous or unconscious spending this week....food, gas, taxes.  While the eating out is not a NEED, we can afford this little bit and budget for it, so the week is all good. 8-)

Onward to the Decluttering Part--

This final week was the DREADED CHALLENGE.
At my house, that is the garage.
We don't park cars in the garage.
I use it for storage.  With a large food & toiletries stockpile and selling toys now and again(which also means I need storage for shipping boxes), I have a lot of crap in my garage.  Add in storing certain household goods out there, a christmas tree, Hubs tools and workbench, window air conditioners, extra paint and flooring and anything else the kids & Hubs throw out there, my garage is quite a beast to tame.

Here are the pics I took BEFORE and then AFTER spending an hour or two out there 5 of the last 7 days.

From the middle of the end of the garage driveway BEFORE.....

And AFTER......after putting things away, putting things back where they belong and moving the tubs of toys into the living room...ugh.....

The left side of the garage from the driveway BEFORE......

And AFTER.....not much moved but straightened....

The rightside of the Stockpile BEFORE.....

And AFTER rotating some, putting bags away, organizing some.....

The right side of the garage near the door into the house BEFORE.....

And AFTER, not quite showing the same spot....the boxes are empties for shipping stuff and the tubs are our recycling storage set-up.  I did get rid of enough toys to empty 2 plastic tubs, which I can now freecycle.....

The other side of the Stockpile, standing at the back of the garage looking out BEFORE.....

And AFTER.....a little can straightening and a lot of shipping supplies straightening....

Standing in the same spot, shooting to the right instead of the left BEFORE.....

And AFTER......shipping stuff is organized and shelving taken apart but still deciding what to do with it....

 By the door into the house  BEFORE....

And AFTER-2 different shots because I didn't stand in the same spot for this After shot.....bags of food put away, boxes relocated or emptied, etc.....

Hubs workbench area is still a disaster but it's not MY disaster so I didn't show it. lol
I still have work to do out there but the garage is much improved and easier to find stuff.

I am glad for participating in this Challenge mostly because it got me moving on some things I've been putting off or ignoring.  Having to be accountable helped me just DO IT!
Now it's on to MARCH and to decide what to undertake going forward.

So how was your February?
Did you get some task started or completed that you've been putting off or dreading?

Sluggy

Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway Box......Enter Now!

  The BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY 2012 Edition is OPEN!

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY is Ready!

Just to recap, I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  A Reach Toothbrush
2.  A package of 2 AA Batteries.
3.  A 2 bar package of Olay Soap
4.  A handcrafted  Madri Gras Ty HALO Beanie Baby

Yes, this is my handiwork.  Hand dyed holding a mask and wearing his own Mardi Gras beads.


If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.

Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I post another set of items for the Giveaway--which is usually about a week.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.  Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.  When I post again about this BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY entries on this Post will be CLOSED and you must post on the New Giveaway Post to enter.  I hope this isn't too confusing. ;-)  There will be a link on the top of the side bar to the current Giveaway Post.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get extra entries....

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with the URL of your blog. If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in your extra comment.
2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog or on a Message Board.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with a link to your blog post or the message on the board.

Again, you can enter on this post until I put another Giveaway Post up and then you need to enter on the NEWER Post.

Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan February Week 4+ & March Week 1

I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's-1970's or earlier.

This week I give you another kitchen of 1945.....

 Even though it's post-war there is still heavy linear design influence from the Art Deco styling of the 1930's.  The color scheme is very period, but in a pastel palette played against pops of black detailing.  There is a coordinating breakfast nook or morning room past the sliding glass door on the left.
The big deal here is the massive "picture window" located over the sink.  This feature became the standard into the 1950's and beyond for most any suburban tract home kitchen.  Moms across North America could now watch their precious kids playing in the back yard while still taking care of kitchen drudgery like hand washing dishes.

This nifty feature sort of distracted homemakers from complaining about not having an automatic dishwasher that was touted heavily in those "kitchen of the future" ads during the 1920-1930's.  We know the technology was developed so why the gap in production once the war was over?  I am sure if men stayed home in the traditional homemaker role of that era, automatic dishwashers would have been standard in every kitchen! ;-)

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Toasted Chicken with Veggies, Stuffing(boxed)

MONDAY--Quiche, Tossed Salad

TUESDAY--Pork Chop with Maple Glaze, Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

WEDNESDAY--Red Robin Free Meal for #2's birthday

THURSDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Hash and Pancakes)

FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out for Hubs/I, #2 Son was out with friends
SATURDAY--homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Most everything as planned but on different days.  Instead of leftovers night I took the leftover roast chicken and veggies, added a bit more veggies to it and made a large pot pie.  Hubs finished it up on Sunday for lunch.

The weekly food spending was $51.51. Most of that was buying whole roaster chickens at .88¢ lb.  Approx. $20 of stuff at Big Lots, some apples and onions and a gallon of milk and that's about it.

Almost 4 Weeks in and I've spent $207.26 of my $300 February food budget.  $92.74 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.  I've got 3 days left in the month so I doubt at this point if I'll exceed my budget for February.  Yay me! ;-)

Going into February Week 4+/March Week 1 have NO leftovers!  Imagine that?lol

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Hubs/#2 Son had Burger King, I had a big salad with nuts and fruit

MONDAY--Ravioli, Salad

TUESDAY--Pecan Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower/Carrot blend

WEDNESDAY--Meatloaf, Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes

THURSDAY--Fish, Rice, Teriyaki Veggie Melange

FRIDAY--homemade Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY--Leftovers

This menu gives us 5 new meals, 1 eating out and 1 night of leftovers.  The fish meal moved from last week's menu since it wasn't cooked/served.  Meatloaf is Hubs request and Pecan Chicken is #2 Son's request.

Items needed to buy for this menu are... salad greens.  I've got everything else here already in the freezer or the pantry.
We'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far this week are salmon for $5.99lb., and tilapia for $3.49lb.(and I have Qs for the tilapia, so $1 less per lb.)

Those bagged salad kits are on sale for $1.99 this week, so I'll be eating those a lot for lunch and serving them with 2 dinners.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Hijinx......Lotions and Satellites

When last we left out intrepid Rite-Aid shopper she had completed 5 transactions last Sunday and had finished off the $20 +UP Reward Deal on her card.

The last transaction done on the BIL's card tracked $11 in qualifying items and brought him to $84 toward the WR +UP Deal.
That transaction by my accounting should have brought his card to $87 toward the Deal, as there were $14 in qualifying items, according to the Buy & Save pamphlet.
So BIL's card stood at $84 in tracking, not $87 and I couldn't figure out why.

The Neutragena still hadn't updated....from buying the wrong 2 bottles, to returning them and then rebuying the 2 right bottles to get the monthly $10 +UP for buying $25 worth.  I think the cashier didn't actually rering the 2 correct bottles when I did the return and rebuy, so the system didn't recognize the correct bottles, I either had to call CS and explain all this or buy another bottle that cost at least $7 to get me over the $25 threshold.  I still had to make at least $13 in purchases anyway and I had +UPs to burn so I pondered just buying another $7 worth of Neutragena in that $13 I had to spend.

Then I did this transaction on Wednesday on his card....

4 x Hormel Compleats at $1.99=$7.96
1 x GE Lightbulb raincheck from last week using In-Ad Q$3=$.99
1 x Colgate Toothbrush on sale=$2.49
1 x Vaseline Lotion new one on sale=$2.97
SubTotal....$14.41

Coupons Used
2 x BOGO IPQ Compleats=$3.98
1 x $1/2 Compleats Load2card eQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 GE Lightbulb ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Vaseline Lotion ManuQ(AllYou mag)=$1.00
Coupon Total....$6.98

$14.41-$6.98=$7.43
I used $7 in +UPs and put the .43¢ on my gift card.
I received $3.50 in +UPs back($1.50 Colgate,$2 Vaseline).

*And I KNOW those Compleat things are nasty....but Hubs likes some of them to take for lunch at work.*

BIL's card showed $6 more in tracking(the lightbulb, the lotion, the toothbrush)toward the $20+UP Reward, for a total of $90, but my figures said it should be at $93.

I had now bought 3 bottle of Vaseline Lotion(limit 2 $2+UPs per card), 1 on my card and 2 on BIL's card.  I had bought 1 of each variety...Aloe, Coca Butter and Original and the Coca Butter had not tracked for the Reward on Sunday.  So went over and checked the shelf where it was kept and solved the mystery.....the Coca Butter variety had NO Buy&Save shelf tag, so it didn't qualify.  Weird 2 of the varieties counted and 1 didn't?
So I returned the Coca Butter and rebought another Aloe.
Nothing OOP and now the tracking is showing correctly at $93.

And then we come to Friday's Fun......*Sluggy rolls her eyes*.....

Still needing to buy $7 worth of stuff to get to $100, I bought this.....

 It came to $7.19 with my 20% discount.  I used +UPs to pay & put the .19¢ leftover on my gift card.  This purchase "should" have triggered both my $10 +UP Reward WYB $25 Skincare that was tracking at $18 pre-purchase AND my $20 +UP Reward WYB $100 in qualifying purchases that was tracking at $93.

But as my cashier(the manager)was completing the transaction, the Satellite went offline.
The Satellite that communicates with Headquarters and tells the register computer to print the +UPs on your receipt.  The other customer at the 2nd register was in process at the same time and lost their +UPs as well.
Plus the +UPs I used to pay were now "dead" and couldn't be returned to me to use again.
UGH!

So we waiting a few minutes for the system to get back online and tried a return and re-buy, the manager giving me cash for my now dead +UPs I had used to pay.
And my receipt printed out the message "Thank you for your purchases.  You have received your $20+UP for Winter Rewards."  They system thinks it printed my rewards out already and I got nothing.
**Face plant**

The manager went into the office and got on the phone with CS right then and they are sending the $30 in +UPs due my BIL's card.  She said they aren't allowed to just give me cash or a gift card this time, because $30 is too high a value. 

I'm finished with the Winter Rewards and have $35 in +UPs and have $30 more coming, for a total of $65+UPs to spend.

I have $15 +UPs expiring on 3/11, so I may take next week off from Rite-Aid.
We both deserve a break from each other.....

Sluggy

The MOST Boring of Boring Blog Giveaways....It's Baaaack!

After a year in hibernation, I am bringing back.....

SLUGGY'S BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY!!


I did this a couple of years ago and it was a big hit.  I think it's time to bring some fun back into my blog, don't you?

Here is what you can win.....

And just WHAT IS THAT, I hear you ask??
It's the inside of a USPS Priority mail box of course!

It's empty just now.....
But it won't be when you win it!

Here's what I am going to do.

I am taking a Flat Rate mailing box.
And I will add prizes to it as the weeks go along and I'll post pictures of what I have added, when I add it.
And when it's full, I'll draw a name at random and one of my lucky readers wins whatever is in the box!

And just what are the prizes?
Glad you asked!

The prizes will be items I pick up in my couponing travels for free or almost free and/or samples I have requested from companies that I feel compelled to share with my readers.
So you won't win Ipads or a Free Car but it will be stuff you need/have to buy and use anyway, so why not win it and not have to pay for it! 8-)

These will NOT be company sponsored Giveaways!  No company will send me stuff to giveaway.
These boxes will be filled with items I have purchased myself.  Payment for the items and the postage is coming out of my pocket.  Ya see how much I must love y'all?lol


Now I have no clue how long it will take me to fill a box.  It all depends on the size of what I throw into the box and how many items it takes to fill it.  From past experience, the process takes 3-4 weeks to fill.

So what are the rules?
1.  There will be multiple ways to enter per week.  Details will be spelled out in each Giveaway Post.  I'll post that a New Box Giveaway is ready to start and then let the entering begin!
On the right side of my Blog, right at the top will be a LINK to the current Blog Post about the Giveaway  where you are to leave your entry/comment.

2.   Besides just saying, "Here's my entry" & leaving your email addy, you will have to post some kind of a comment in your entry.  Talk about an amazing deal you got that week, what a wonderful person you think I am(LOLOL), something that happened in your life, a goal you have or have attained, how you killed some debt that week, what your weather is like, a story or joke or a link to a website we might like.....just post Something!

3.  You MUST be a follower of my blog to enter AND when the Giveaway Winner is announced, you must STILL be a follower.  No following, entering and then unfollowing.  If the name I draw is not a follower,  then I will draw another winner.
If you don't know how to follow, just look on the right sidebar for where it says "followers" and there should be a FOLLOW BUTTON you can click on.  If you are still having problem, email me at my addy in my "About Me" section and I'll try to help you sign up to follow the blog.

4.  Since the box is being mailed Priority Flat Rate mail, you must live where this can be mailed to.....meaning only people with US mailing addresses.  
** Not to leave out my Canadian friends, if someone in Canada wins, I WILL ship the prize box to them, however, I'll have to change the box and it's contents a bit.  I can ship a plain box weighing up to 4lbs. via 1st class mail, which, while more than the flat rate Priority to US addys, is still affordable.  These prize boxes usually weigh 7 or more lbs. when full, so if the winner is in Canada, I'll let them pick and choose which of the items they prefer sent in their box, until the box weighs 4lbs.  I hate to have to do this(not ship ALL prizes to them)but I would hate it even more to exclude them totally from entering the giveaway.  The Frugalista in me just can't see paying the $35 just for postage to ship this to Canada that it would cost.
 
5.  When the Prize Box is full,  I'll post a LAST CHANCE Post with the last date/time to enter for the current Giveaway.  After the Giveaway is closed,  I will use Random Generator to pick the Winner of the Giveaway. 

6. I reserve the right to change or amend the rules or end the Giveaways at any time.   It's my Giveaway so we play by my rules. ;-) 

I think that covers everything that needs covering.

So look for the 1st Prize Box Giveaway to begin Monday!

Sluggy

Wave Bye-Bye as It Goes Out the Door

Here's a quickie before I go out the door with a couple of bags of goodies for the food bank.
It's not food per se but toiletries are welcomed at my local food bank.
And thanks to Rite-Aid, I've got all this to give.....

10 bottle of contact solution
23 tubes of toothpaste
3 boxes of hair coloring
1 tube of denture adhesive

Then it's off to do some banking, food shopping and if my back is ok from yesterday, I'm going back into the garage to lift and tote around stuff out there.  Yesterday I gleaned this lot plus 2 more boxes of stuff for the Salvation Army.  I'm hoping to fill Hubs trunk for another full donation to Sallie's this weekend.
Maybe another post later....maybe not.

Sluggy

My Huge Head Diva Self

While I was going through boxes in the living room the other day, as part of Week 3's Decluttering Challenge I came across some old photos and momentoes.

One of them is an old photo of Yours Truly at about 2.5 years old. 
The story behind this photo......My grandmother had paid for a professional photographer to come to our house and take my photo while I posed in front of a white sheet.  My mom had taken one of the pictures that resulted from this photo shoot and shellac-ed it onto a plaster frame that had been painted gold.
Yes, we were high end, rich folks back in the early 1960's......lol

Anyway, as I mentioned in #2 son's Birthday post yesterday, that large, nah HUGE! heads run in my family, I thought I'd give you a looky loo at My Diva Self in about late 1960.

Is it me or does this look like someone took a cute little toddler's body and plopped a Rocky Dennis head down on it? ;-)

 And yes, we both have the "Ginger" think going on too!

Sluggy

More February P*rn of the Decluttering Variety!

You may have seen some of this stuff in one of my Feb. Decluttering Challenge posts.  This post is all about getting that crap and more outta the house.

Round 2 of Decluttering Porn for February........

2 Hoodies
2 Vans Shirts
1 Glass Rose
2 Pillsbury Doughboy Ornaments
3 Winnie the Pooh silver Charms
1 Power Rangers Backpack, Fanny Pack and Wallet

2 Throw Blankets
2 Weirdohs Model Car Kits
1 Star Trek Masterpiece Figure/Book Set
5 Star Trek Action Figures
2 Die-Cast Cars 1:32
4 Star Wars Action Figures
2 Star Wars Candy Dispensers
2 Diabetic Lancing Devices

9 Craft Kits
4 Miniature Disney Figures
4 Kid's Puzzles

1 Thomas the Tank Lunchbox
1 Safari Shuttle Sunoco Truck
5 bottles of Lotion
2 T-shirts
11 Boyd's Bears Pins
2 Sticker Sets
2 Partridge Family Bus die-cast Cars
1 Small Soldiers Model Kit figure

1 Address Book
1 Set of Playing Cards
2 Books
1 Toy Story Night Light
1 Kid's Musical Toothbrush
1 WWE Ceramic Mug
5 tubes of Glitter
1 Castanet

75 more things have left the building!
I'm off to the garage to start in there......

Sluggy

Babbling Wednesday & Birthday Time!

***It is with sadness that I write that Precious' blog, Frugal Makes Cents, is no more.   She posted about a week ago that she was going to end her blog.  I left a comment about her leaving the blog up as a reference tool for frugal seekers, as she had many good ideas included within over the years.

I went yesterday to see what other comments had been left and if someone had taken over her "Money Saving Challenge" for 2012, but I can't access the blog, as it's been privatized and I haven't been invited to view it.
*sigh*

I guess she's going to use it for other things and not leave it up for a frugal reference tool.
If anyone knows if someone is going to Host the Money Saving Challenge, please let me know.
I thank you....

***While Hubs and I completed filling out the FAFSA forms this past weekend, I didn't actually submit them until Tuesday evening.   I also found out I could efile the older 2 kids' federal taxes.  Did 1 and once it was accepted by the IRS, I efiled the 2nd one yesterday.  Beats having to mail them to the kids for signatures and then having them pay to mail them certified/return receipt requested.  Too bad Hubs and I can't efile our federal return or tele-file our state return.  Gots to go OLD SKOOL with the paper returns.....

***I can't believe how many things I have crossed off my "To Do" List for February so far.  This coming week is all about cleaning out & organizing the garage.  I need to get Hubs to drop off the Sallie's load in his car so I can load him up again.  The donations are backing up here....

*** I also can't believe the weather we've had this Winter!  Tomorrow is suppose to hit 50 degrees here and Friday 54 degrees....INSANE!!!  Usually by this time, it looks like this around here.....

 OR like this in really bad years.....

Not what it actually looks like today....

***Today is my baby's birthday.  16 years ago today I was in labor and trying to pop his massively large melon head out my HooHa.  The week preceding his arrival, our region was facing massive flooding from a late February Winter snow melt-off combined with days upon days of rainstorms.

My water broke as I rolled over on the sofabed at home at 5:30am.....I had been sleeping there as my regular bed had been too uncomfortable to sleep on since December.  Dropped 2 kids at friend's house and Hubs, my mother(who had flown up from VA for the birth)& I drove to the hospital.

Got hooked up to PIT around Noonish, to get things cranking along.  Around 2 o clock is when the pain got heavy.
I was going to attempt another no epidural/drugs delivery.  By 4 I was pushworthy.  His head was down and engaged in the birth canal but he just coudn't/wouldn't leave.  The nurses had me standing on the bed, hanging onto a bar which they set up over the bed(think gymnastic apparatus!) in a semi-squat position.  This power position and gravity was to help me squeeze him out.
After almost 4 hours of this, interspersed with mind blowing contraction pain, I threw in the towel and BEGGED for a C-section.

And about a half an hour later at 8:26pm, the youngest was pulled from my abdomen and commenced hollering.  Hubs still remarks about how freaky it was to be sitting next to me in the OR while the doctors had my ueturus sitting out on my abdomen, chatting away with him, while they cleaned up large amounts of scar tissue from an emergency appendectomy I had undergone when I was 30, before putting me back together.  Yes, good times!

And they fished #2 Son out not a moment too soon, because by the time they stitched me up and got me cleaned up and back to my room and got the morphine flowing(ah!), it was Thursday and nearly time for ER to come on tv and I never missed that show!lol  That boy would rue the day he interfered with his momma's shows.....

And we found out why there was no way on God's green earth he was coming out the other way.  The doctors(I got 2 for this procedure...I am special!lol)said his head was the largest they had every seen(well, for a non hydrocephalus baby).  The nurse measured it when they take all those vital statistic thingys and his head was literally the size of a toddlers.  He was a big boy anyway at 9lb. 11oz.  So between my 5'1" frame with a normal sized pelvis and his melon head, there was no tunnel egress for him!lol

And both his mother(that would be me)and my oldest brother had exceedingly large heads when we were young so it runs in our family.  My brother had a genius IQ so I like to think that WE both needed those larger than normal heads to hold all those brains WE had......well, that's my story anyway.

Because of the C-Section, #2 Son and I had an extended stay in the Maternity Ward.  Between my surgery/stitches and his high Billirubin count(and his time under the lamps with his cool shades), we became fixtures on the ward.  By the time we came home, my mother was worn out from watching the older 2.   Pres. Clinton came to town while we were lazing around the ward but he didn't stop by the hospital.  I still tell #2 Son that Clinton came to town to celebrate his birth.....so what if the town the hospital was in was declared a federal disaster area that week due to the heavy rains, massive snow melt and unseasonably high temperatures that caused flooding.....the presidential visit was all for HIS birthday!

#2 Son has always been my quiet child.  He is introverted and is not one to yammer on or show off, like his older siblings.  We never thought he'd talk when he was young, as his siblings never shut up long enough to give him a chance to speak!lol  When he was born his sister was 3 and his brother was 4.5 years old.  Yes, I had 3 kids under the age of 5 at once. ;-)
#2 Son is my last hope for producing an artist.  #1 Son had a talent for performing/acting and he studied music for awhile put lost interest in it.  Daughter is the least gifted in the artistic realm but she has continued with playing her guitar.  #2 Son has a gift for visual arts(though he doesn't believe what his teacher and I see there) and he has a passion for music.   He eats, drinks and breaths music.  Though he gets good grades in all his classes, if he didn't have music, he'd probably decide to drop out of school now that he's old enough to do so.(And it's not like I'd allow that anyway!lol)  Being an introvert, he can take or leave the whole social aspect of high school.

He lives for music.  And I am thrilled to say that he is making progress in his skills and music loves him back.
Happy 16th Birthday #2 Son!!!

Sluggy

Week 3 Low Spending & Decluttering Challenges Results

Week 3 of Carla's Double February Challenge is done....at least for me it is!

First the Mini-Challenge.....where you are suppose to help someone.  That would be today, when I used my mechanically prowess to help #2 son with his problem.
Yah see, his friend gave him a guitar flanger pedal for his Birthday.  It's a little hunk of metal and plastic that you plug your electric guitar or bass into and it distorts the sound the instrument produces.  #2 son says "this pedal makes your guitar sound like it's on acid."
Okay....
Anyway, it worked for the first few minutes he used it but now it won't work at all.  He's been nagging me to order him a new one on Amazon since Sunday.  No, he can't wait to take it to the music store and see if they can fix it first.  He has to go out and drop $30 on a new one.....and pay for Express shipping to boot!
So "hell no you don't need express shipping" mom goes on Amazon.....and she starts reading the reviews on this item since she knows nothing about guitar flangers, heck, she didn't even know what a flangers was until #2 son told her about them.
And mom reads in a review that there is a battery inside this nifty little device, so mom asks #2 son if he has opened the flanger up and changed the battery inside.  To which he responds no.
You see where I am going with this now, don't you?
So mom opens and changes out the 9Volt battery and Voila!....It's a miracle!!....his Flanger works!
I saved him $30.
Of course after all that I don't get a thanks mom....he just grumbled some more when I told him he owed me $4 for the battery. ;-)


As for the Low Spend part.....
Food shopping.......$73.02
I actually spent money on something other than food though.  #2 son is in need of new footwear as he has holes in every last pair now.  So I went on eBay and bought him 2 pair of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.  We usually hit the Converse outlet in Rehobeth Beach to get them for a discount price but he wore the last pair out sooner than expected.  I got them on eBay and with the shipping they were the same price as at the outlet-but without paying for gas for the car to get there.lol
2 pair Converse....$72.98

As for the Decluttering Challenge.  This week was the Productivity Challenge.
I am working on my dining room/living room.
I don't think I was very productive though.

Before I show you my living room, let me explain that it isn't really a living room yet.   I've used it for storage....stored various things over the years.  First we moved here sort of in a hurry so it held lots of moving boxes.  Then after I got that stuff put away we got another load of my mother's things....my mother passed away the week before we moved here. So the next 2 years, as my brother settled her estate, we had to cart my inheritance stuff home from VA and find places for all that stuff. Then my eBay inventory grew so some of it got shoved into the living room.  At one time the room was wall to wall boxes of crap.....very similar to one of those Hoarding shows, except without the trash and animal feces. lol
We also had 4 dogs-one of which was very destructive-at one point and there is a white carpet in that room, so we had to gate off the living/dining room.  The destructo dog is gone but we still have 2 dogs, 1 of which is paper trained but she also considers the dining room her toileting area, so we still have to gate the rooms off.

I have almost gotten the living room emptied at this point.  I am tired of waiting for the last 2 dogs to pass on to fix up my living room, so I am working on getting repairs made and the room painted and furniture bought so we can use it as a living room.
*Deep Breath*

Here are the before shots.....

 That old rug is there from when the Xmas tree was up.  Not quite as bad as leaving your lights on your house all year, but close.lol

 Tubs of eBay merchandise that hasn't sold yet....and that isn't even listed right now.lol

I emptied the ugly plastic shelving unit and got rid of it.
I also got rid of 2 boxes of trash.....

And I gathered all this to donate......

And here are the after shots.....

I cleared the paperwork off the table(for the most part).  The stuff in the chair are my Xmas presents I still haven't opened. lol

I washed and rehung the curtains.

 I gleaned and restacked the eBay merchandise that's left.

 Other than sending some Christmas stuff back upstairs where it belongs and trashing that plastic shelving unit, I still need to work on this part of the room at another time.

The same goes for the table at the bottom of the stairs...though some of this is stuff that is going upstairs.

So that is that.  I am not done but progress was made this week.

Sluggy