Updated To-Do List for Last Week & What's on Tap for This Week

Here's the Update on this week's To-Do List--

*  Finish cleaning #2 Son's room  no
*  Clean out & organize Hall Entry Closet  done
*  Clean out & organize Hall Linen Closet  done
*  Write 5 Letters  I wrote 1 letter.
*  Complete car donation to ARC  done
*  Call motel to make reservations for September  no
*  Call Boarding Kennel for October  no
*  If time for it, start in on Garage Cleaning/Organizing  done
*  Finish load to Salvation Army  done
*  Finish straps on the nightgown I sewed  no
*  Reconsider how to proceed with the Etsy store and eBay  done
*  Work on a home project this weekend with Hubs(probably the Garage)  done-We worked on the garage

Well I got ssome stuff completed.

The #2 Son room clean out isn't finished but it's in progress.  I really need to get this one finished because his room is going to be my staging area for going through the rest of my fabrics before I put them on Etsy.

Here's the new To-Do List for this Week--

*  Finish cleaning #2 Son's room 
*  Write 4 Letters 
*  Call motel to make reservations for September 
*  Call Boarding Kennel for October 
*  Clean out my bedroom closet
*  Go through my Christmas gift box(yes I just said CHRISTMAS!)
*  Finish straps on the nightgown I sewed 
*  Relist fabrics on listings that expired earlier this year on Etsy
*  Put up another shelving unit to hold fabrics in spare bedroom.
*  Finish going through stuff in garage to put on eBay or send to Salvation Army
*  Pick out some fabrics to sew into clothes when I go through the tubs.
*  Order photo prints from relatives Shutterfly account.
*  Clean out kitchen island and organize
*  Do Net Worth Statement for Sept. 1st
*  Calculate Food Spending for August
*  Calculate $24K Savings Challenge Results for August

Just a few things on my list this week, huh?
The beginning of the month is always busy for me with all the financial stuff.
Throw in what I didn't get finished last week with new goals and the financial stuff and I've got a big big week!
I am tired already...... ;-)
The reservations and the straps to be sewn on the gown won't take long but the rest of it?  Geez!
I'll just pick something each morning and go with it, ya know?

Here's what's ahead this week on the blog too--

*  This Week on the Dining Table
*  At least 1 July Trip post-I am so behind on writing these up!
*  Something genealogy related
*  Food Spending for Aug.
*  Savings Challenge for Aug.
*  Probably a mish-mosh of randomness
*  What I got at Rite-Aid this week-yep I am still doing Rite-Aid this week....

So what is everyone else working on this week?
How did your plan go from last week?
Did you get anough accomplished to feel successful?

Sluggy



 

Throwback Thursday on Friday...The Old Ball & Chain

Aug. 28, 1982.

32 years ago I said "I Do" to my soul mate.

Love them early 80's fashion and that outdated wedding apparel
And the hair......!!!

I truly have lived the frugal lifestyle.  That wedding was done on a shoestring.  No paid photographer, reception in the church basement, no honeymoon.  I may be wrong but this wedding et al(including rehearsal dinner & reception) cost around $700, much of which we didn't pay for....well we DID "pay" the minister and the state for the license and blood tests, as I rightly recall.
Yes, we were poor students.

I made all the gowns in the wedding party, and the hats too!
My mother was freaked out because I was up until 3am the night before the ceremony still sewing.

Hey!, I was the original Project Runway, wasn't I?
This wedding shindig would have been classier if Tim Gunn had been there though.

Look at the silly idiot in off-white with the 'fro hair.  She thought she knew it all.
And her life didn't turn out anything like she thought it would.

Life is like that, isn't it?  23 year olds plan and g*d laughs. ;-)
But I wouldn't go back and change most of it, and certainly not this part!
Well I would have did my hair differently.....

It's been a hell of a ride so far.
Here's hoping the next 32 years outdo the first......

Sluggy

My Free Shopping......or Better than Free

I traipsed up to Rite-Aid on Wednesday to drop off another prescription to have transferred(and to get another $25 +Ups on BIL's card).

While I was there I spent the $25 +Up Reward I received on Tuesday......

2 x Tresemme 'Poo on sale=$8.00
2 x Tampax on sale bogo50%=$8.68
4 x Ziploc bags on sale $2=$8.00
5 x Girl Scout flavor Nestle bars on sale .50¢=$2.50 *
8 x 6 pack Candy bars on sale BOGO=$5.96
2 x Finish dishwasher tabs 50%off=$6.78
2 x Nexxus 'Poo BOGO50%=$9.43
1 x Nexuss 'Poo 20% wellness disc.=$5.03
1 x Nivea lip balm 20% wellness disc.=$2.63

SubTotal....$57.01

*I was only buying 4 girl scout bars(on sale for .50¢ea. but the Catalina spit out a $1/5 girl scout bars after the cashier scanned them so I added a 5th bar so we could use this CatalinaQ on the order.


Coupons Used

2 x $2/1 Tresemme Load2CardQs=$4.00 **
1 x $2/1 Tampax ManQ(P&G insert)=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Tampax Load2CardQ=$2.00
2 x $2/2 Ziploc products IPQ=$4.00
1 x $1/2 Ziploc Load2CardQ=$1.00 ***
1 x $1/4 girl scout Nestle bars VideoValuesQ=$1.00
1 x $1/5 girl scout Nestle bars CatalinaQ(this is considered a ManuQ)=$1.00 *
1 x $2/$5 of candy bars R-A FacebookQ=$2.00
1 x $1/4 6 pack candy bars VideoValuesQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 6 pack Hershey's bars ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Finish products IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Finish products VideoValuesQ=$1.00
1 x $3/1 Nexuss items IPQ(coupons dotcom NLA)=$3.00
1 x $3/1 Nexuss items VideoValuesQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Nivea lip product Sales flyerQ=$2.00

Coupon Total......$30.00

$57.01-$30.00=$27.01

I paid with my $25 +Ups and another $2 +Ups from my stash.

$27.01-$27.00=$.01¢ OOP
Before I could dig out a penny to pay the cashier took a penny from the penny tray and used that.

I received back $12 in new +Up Rewards(3 x $3 Nexuss, $3 wyb2 Tresemme).

**  Today again, TWO $2/1 Tresemme Load2CardQs came off my card.  All I can figure is that the $2/1 Tresemme that was suppose to be only off of a STYLER came off on the second shampoo.  It's a headscratcher, that's for sure!

***  Evidently I had a $2/1 Ziploc Load2Card on my card too that I didn't remember being there.  I must have loaded it eons ago and forgot about it.  It is strange though that it came off since I used 2 IPQs on the Ziplocs.  The L2C Q shouldn't have come off.....but who am I to stand and argue about it with the cashier?  ;-)


I have plans for all of this......the candy bars are the beginning of my Halloween trick-or-treater supply, the women's products, shampoo and lip balm are for assorted family members and the plastic bags and dishwasher tabs are for my personal stash.

I might pick up a few more things at Rite-Aid this week(besides my rx refill).
I still have 2 $2/1 Tresemme ManuQs and I might pick up a bottle of Vaseline lotion cocoa butter for the sister in-law(it's her favorite).  This would "cost" me $3 in +Ups and .49¢(+tax)in cash.

I went to the drive-thru window that evening and picked up the rx I had transferred and put it on BIL's Wellness card so I got another $25 +Up Reward too.

I now have $53 in +Ups, have $125.07 worth of goodies and have spent .09¢ this week....well actually only .08¢ thanks to my cashier. lol

Sluggy

There'll Be Some Changes Made

Last week and the leaving of #2 Son for college have kicked off some changes here at Chez Sluggy.

Lots of changes both big and small.

First off was the clean out of #2 Son's room.......

 

I am still in the process of that one and I suspect it will take about another week to get it livable again. ;-)

Before #2 Son left home, he helped Hubs with this change......

Now you see it.......

Now you don't......

They took the rusted out pool down.

It got folded down into a flat steel package and they shoved it into the minivan and Hubs dropped it and all the metal support pieces off at the recycling yard last Saturday.

My backyard now, sans pool.

Later on last Saturday we took all the pots and pans out of the cabinet and all the foodstuffs out of the pantry.
Here is what the kitchen looked like then......

The lower cabinet to the right of the stove in the photo is where all my pots and pans were stored when not in use.  I have always detested this arrangement because that cabinet has no pull out lazy susan or other arrangement and I can't get to things in there with my short arms.  Plus it's like a dungeon down there and I can't even see what I am trying to reach!
I knew there had to be a better way.

The kitchen island filled with food from the pantry.

More pantry contents on the table.

The pantry had become a jumble of stuff mainly because #2 Son would go out into the stockpile in the garage and bring something in to cook/eat.
Then he would promptly change his mind and instead of returning said stockpile item to the stockpile whence it came, he'd just open the pantry door and shove said item in there.
Ugh!

As a result the pantry had devolved into a mish-mosh of both opened goods and stockpile duplicates of said opened goods.
This is the same child that would open a new ranch salad dressing when he wanted some, instead of using one of the already opened FIVE bottles in the fridge.

So everything from the pantry was sorted and returned to it's proper place and here's the pantry AFTER.....

Then I put all the pots and pans into a Rubbermaid container which will live on the floor of the pantry.....

I keep a lid on the tub to keep the pots and pans clean of course but removed it for this shot.

This arrangement lets me reach everything and SEE it too.  Not as convenient as having them next to the stove but I can manage the walk. lolz

And that dark, unreachable cabinet I despise?
Here is what is in there now......

A dish draining rack which holds the pot lids, pushed to the front of the door.
On the shelf above are my cast iron pans that I don't use as much as the other pans and behind in the depths of the cabinet is an electric griddle, which also isn't used as much as other items.

 

And the photo above is all the items I am getting rid of or giving to my older children if they need anything.

We cleaned out the other kitchen cabinets with dishware, glassware and serving/casserole pieces too and that is where some of this came from.

I still need to clean/clear out the island shelves and one cabinet under the microwave and the drawers to the right of the stove(which store towels/potholders, cutting boards, phone books and take-out menus)and then the kitchen will be done.

Plus I need to find a new home for the Bread Machine as the tub of pots displaced it from the pantry, but this will involve working on the Garage, which is next on my list of cleaning/organizing for the house.

And the latest change around here was yesterday.

Going.....

Going.......

GONE!

1 of our 4 cars is now at the Auto Auction.
And the minivan will be disposed of by the end of September which gets us down to 2 vehicles.

Updates later as they become available.

I am off now to go inform the insurance agent that the car went bye-bye and get my auto insurance lowered.
Woohoo!!!

Have you had a big change in your life lately that led you to change/clean/move things in your home?





Sluggy
 

Where is Kim!?!?

Has anyone heard from Kim lately?
She hasn't posted to her blog for 2 Weeks!
I have her last writing Aug. 13th, 2 weeks ago today.
Maybe she is away again?  But I didn't see her say anything about going on a trip later this month.

Anyone?

Kim, are you out there?!?

Sluggy the Worrier

More Load2Card Madness at Rite-Aid

Ok, maybe not madness, but something ain't right with it!

I went up to my favorite drugstore today........go on! Guess the name of it!......and bought this stuff on the BIL's card....

2 x Tresemme 'Poo on sale=$8.00
4 x Mentos on sale=$2.00 **Cinnamon finally!  These go in my candy stash.lol
SubTotal.....$10.00

I tried to use a $2/1 Tresemme Load2Card Q attached to this Wellness card and a paper ManuQ for $2/1 Tresemme from Sunday's inserts.
And my total would be $6 and I would have paid with $6 in +Ups from the $20 I accumulated last week.
Easy Peasy, right?

But the cashier told me my total was $6 before I even gave her the paper ManuQ!
She printed the receipt out and there were 2 x $2/1 Tresemme Load2Card Qs taken off my transaction already!  And I KNOW I only had 1 of these Qs attached to my Wellness card.

2 of the same Load2Card Q?
Yes!


We both shrugged our shoulders, I tucked my ManuQ back into my coupon pouch and gave the cashier $6 in +Up Rewards and my OOP was .00¢.
Nice

Besides my Zero balance you can see 2 x $2 Load2Cards came off on this shot of my receipt.
Very Weird.

I received back $4 in +Up Rewards($1 wyb4 Mentos, $3 wyb2 Tresemme)so I only spent down $2 on my +Up Rewards stash.

Then I went back to the pharmacy and picked up a prescription I had transferred from Walmart earlier that day.
Handed cashier my Wellness card and the Coupon in the sales flyer to give me a $25 +Up Reward with an rx transfer.  Then I swiped my HSA card and paid for the rx and I got this too.....

I see $25(or more)worth of free toiletries/etc. in my immediate future.  8-)
I had to fill this prescription and with Walmart and Rite-Aid being the same price for this rx, why not transfer it and get free stuff, right?

I may go back tomorrow and transfer another rx using the BIL's card and get another $25 +Up Reward.   There is a limit of 1 transfer/$25 per card account.  BIL doesn't get rxs at Rite-Aid so why not use it?

Now I have to figure out how I want to spend this.
I have to come up with lots of different items to purchase in one transaction, using Qs and sale prices and items that generate more +Ups this week.
It's going to take some thinking and scheming on this tonight.

I could do this deal......get another $25 +Up for rx transfer, then on Thursday find a Rite-Aid that carries the portable DVD player that's on sale this week for $49.99, buy that and a Cela cherry so my total is over $50.  Pay with the 2 x $25 +Ups(and cash for any tax on the purchase)and get back $15 in +Ups-a double dip of two promotions on this item....a $5 +Up weekly deal and a $10 +Up monthly deal, both on this product.
This would give me a free DVD player and $15 in free stuff for those 2 rx transfers.  Too bad I don't need a portable dvd player though.

More tomorrow......

Sluggy

At the Tone, Leave Your Name and Message, I'll Get Back to You

Last week, I made a break through on one of my brick walls.

You see, I have a line of WOMACKS.
My 3 x Great Grandfather, Lewellen SNEAD from Halifax County, Virginia, married a Rebecca WOMACK from Halifax County, Virginia, on 20 January, 1849.
Rebecca's parents were Abraham and Tabitha Jane(nee HUDSON) WOMACK.
Abe was born in 1755 and the speculation is that Abe's father was also named Abraham WOMACK.
This is were this line of WOMACKS ends for me.
This WOMACK line comes off my mother's maternal Grandfather's lines of VASSAR and SNEAD.

But last weekend, while searching around on my mother's paternal grandfather's mother's line of DRISKILL(or DRISCOLL) I made a find.....which led to another unexpected find.

My 2  Great Grandmother, Mary Agnes DRISKILL, was born in Halifax County, Virginia in 1838.  Mary Agnes's Great Grandfather was named Daniel DRISKILL born 1730 in Campbell County, Virginia.
He married a woman named Ann WOMACK born in 1745 in Campbell County as well.

So it seems I have 2 lines of WOMACKS on my mother's side of the family.  It could be that these 2 liens are actually the same line but I have yet to connect Rebecca's line to Ann's line of WOMACKS.

There is much WOMACKS in AMERICA research already done as well as a fair amount of questions, undocumented info and speculation among the WOMACK information stretching from America back to the British Isles.

Even so, I have been able to connect Ann's branch back into a well documented part of the line.....one of the first WOMACKS to come to the New World, William WOMACK from either Lincolnshire or Norfolk, England.  This Womack is purported have come to Virginia in his teens or early twenties(1640's) and eventually died 1 Aug 1697 in Bristol Parish, Virginia Colony(a Crown Colony by the time this ancestor arrived).  Still not sure on whether during his lifetime this Parish was considered in Charles Cittie or in Henrico County.  If this William WOMACK is the one who is purported to have owned land in the Bermuda Hundred then it's Henrico County.

This William WOMACK had a son named ABRAHAM and as families were apt to name their successive generations after themselves, it's possible my other WOMACK line(the SNEAD/WOMACK line)with 2 Abrahams that I know of)is also connected to this WOMACK(on the DRISKILL side of things)line.
But I digress.....

Anyway, I started filling out the tree of WOMACKS with siblings/ancestors on this line from documented source material and on a branch sprouting from my 6 x Great Grandfather, Richard WOMACK JR.(William's grandson), instead of following his son/my ancestor James WOMACK, I started down his son/my ancestor's sibling Richard WOMACK III's branch.

While my branch of the family tree pretty much stayed in Virginia, Richard III's branch meandered around the South--from Virginia, to South Carolina, to Louisiana, to Georgia, to Texas, back to Louisiana, to Texas, to Arkansas, and back to Texas and finally the line led me to Oklahoma.

Richard III's 4 x Great Granddaughter was a woman named Abbie Lillian WOMACK.
She married a man named Charles Bailey MEEK from Arkansas and they settled in Oklahoma.
Nothing special here, except Abbie & Charlie MEEK were the grandparents of  James Scott BUMGARNER.

You may know him as James Garner the actor.

Or from this tv series of the 1960's HERE.
(That's Adam West in this clip, pre-Batman days.)

Jim went on to star in the popular series The Rockford Files in the 1970's, a series of very popular tv commercials in the 1980's for Polaroid, as well as 50 Hollywood films throughout his long career.
He died last month on the 19th of July at 86.

I use to love to watch the Rockford Files with the Hubs when we were young, as well as in movies.  I always thought James Garner was a good actor.
I had no clue back then that Jim was my 8th cousin through our shared ancestor, Richard Womack, Jr., born in 1674 in the Colony of Virginia.

You just never know what you will find when you start researching your ancestry!




Sluggy



 

What's Happening at Chez Sluggy This Week

I've got lots to do here at Chez Sluggy this week.  Some run of the mill stuff and some projects comprise what I need to get done.


This Week's To-Do List--

*  Finish cleaning #2 Son's room
*  Clean out & organize Hall Entry Closet  done
*  Clean out & organize Hall Linen Closet
*  Write 5 Letters
*  Complete car donation to ARC  done
*  Call motel to make reservations for September
*  Call Boarding Kennel for October
*  If time for it, start in on Garage Cleaning/Organizing  done
*  Finish load to Salvation Army  done
*  Finish straps on the nightgown I sewed
*  Reconsider how to proceed with the Etsy store and eBay
*  Work on a home project this weekend with Hubs(probably the Garage)


And here is what's on tap for this Week's Blogging Schedule--in no particular order

*  TWOTDT/Food post  done
*  Post about the Kitchen cleaning/organizing I did last week  done
*  1 or 2 Posts on my Road Trip in July
*  Something Genealogy? done
*  My Shopping this Week-probably a trip to Rite-Aid  done
*  Update on what I got done this Week

What do you have on your plate this week?

Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "This is What Happens When I Leave Home for 2 Weeks" Edition........

 

 

 

When I came home July 25th from my road trip, this is what my little gardenia bush looked like.
Yes, Hubs is the plant killer.
Sigh
I have been diligently watering it, it has shed most of it's curled up, dried leaves but there are some nice new green shoots now so it's hanging on.  I just might coax it back to life.


 What was planned last week--

 

1.  Pulled Beef Brisket Sandwiches, Sugar Snap Peas

2.  Beef Pie-my version of a Shepherd's Pie but with cornbread on top

3.  Roast Chicken, Carrots, Potatoes and Onions

4.  Pot Roast with leftover veg from Roast Chicken and leftover brisket

5.  Chili, Tossed Salad
6.  Tuna Noodle Casserole, Green Beans with Red Peppers Saute
7.  Leftovers-assorted

 

And this is what actually happened--

 

1.  Pulled Beef Brisket Sandwiches, Sugar Snap Peas

2.  Beef Pie-my version of a Shepherd's Pie but with cornbread on top

3.  Roast Chicken, Carrots, Potatoes and Onions

4.  Pot Roast with leftover veg from Roast Chicken + mushrooms and leftover brisket

5.  Leftover Beef Pie
6.  Tuna Noodle Casserole, Tossed Salad
7.  Leftovers-assorted

 

Everything but the Chili happened.  Didn't need it as we had tons of leftovers to eat.....and we are still eating them! lol
  

Last week I made trips to 2 different grocery stores and the Bakery Outlet and spent $114.20 on $291.58 worth of groceries/toiletries for just shy of a 61% savings rate.
Add in the Rite-Aid spending/savings and my weekly total spent becomes $126.84 on $391.37 of goods for a 67.59% savings rate.
With all shopping/spending I am at $395.79 for August so far.  I have $4.21 left in the food budget for this month.
Who am I kidding that I can lower our budget to $300 a month for food?!? lolz  I keep saying I'm going to do it but it never happens.

Going into this week, in leftovers we have.........2 helpings of Beef Pie, some BBQ brisket, half a roasted chicken with veggies, a hunk of Pot Roast, 2 helpings of Mac and Cheese, and 2 helpings of Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Here is the plan for this week......mostly it' centers around using up the leftovers......

1.  Teriyaki Salmon, leftover Mac and Cheese, Spinach

2.  Pork Tenderloin Sammies, Honey Carrots

3.  ?  Might get some Lobsters or have Hamburgers on the grill Labor Day weekend

4.  Leftover Roast Chicken, maybe I'll make a soup with it, or?

5.  Leftover Tuna Noodle Casserole
6.  Leftover Beef Pie
7.  Leftover Pot Roast Sammies

No eating out planned this week but getting take-out one night for the weekend is a possibility since we have no plans for Labor Day festivities.

Food Waste--a grilled piece of chicken that got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten until it was too late to eat it.  ewww!

Other than lobsters if we go that route, nothing "needs" to be purchased for this menu.
There isn't much tempting me to go into the grocery stores this week....maybe another watermelon or some corn on the cob or another .99¢ lb. whole chicken.  And we need some fresh produce.....hmmm.
I'll be trying to keep my money in my pockets this week. I don't NEED to buy those things so maybe I'll just not.
Wish me luck! 8-)

   

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?
Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?
Do you have any money left in your food budget this month?

 

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid Talk

So I went up to Rite-Aid last evening to get another free Alba lip balm before the offer ended and to buy a container of Tide for cheap(to try to get to the $30 mark-after coupons-to send for the $10 rebate visa card).

1 x Tide on sale=$5.94
1 x Alba lip balm 20% wellness discount=$2.95
SubTotal....$8.89

I used a $2/1 Tide Load2Card that came off for this order....

$8.89-$2=$6.89 + .42¢ tax=$7.31.

I had a $25 Amex prepaid card with $7.57 left on it so I paid with that and no OOP for me.
I received $3 +Up Rewards for buying the Alba lip balm and I am almost to the amount I need for that Tide/Gain $10 Rebate.
And there is .26¢ left on the Amex card.
I have $18 in +Up Rewards going into the week of August 24th.

Then I hit Rite-Aid this morning and did these deals......

2 x Werther's sugar-free candies on sale=$3.00
4 x Mentos candies on sale=$2.00
2 x Cover Girl eye shadow BOGO50%=$5.08
SubTotal.....$10.08

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Werther's sugar-free candies IPQ=$2.00
1 x $3/2 Cover Girl items ManQ(P&G insert 7/27)=$3.00

This is how it was suppose to go but......

When the cashier gave me my total it was $3 less than anticipated.
So I checked the receipt after I paid........

Evidently I had an identical $3/2 Cover Girl items electronic Q on my Load2Card account and it came off as well as the paper ManQ I handed the cashier!!!
So instead of $3 off my $5.08 Cover Girl purchase I got $6 off.
HUH?!?
And then I got a $2 +Up Reward for buying 2 CG items......so Rite-Aid paid me $2.92 to buy these eye shadows. lolz

This is what I mean about this whole Load2Card program......nothing ever goes as planned.
I KNOW I have Qs to use and they don't come off the card half of the time, or things come off that double my savings, when they aren't suppose to do that.
It's Krazy....

So add another Q used to my tally.....

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Werther's sugar-free candies IPQ=$2.00
1 x $3/2 Cover Girl items ManQ(P&G insert 7/27)=$3.00
1 x $3/1 Cover Girl items Load2CardQ=$3.00
Coupon Total......$8.00

$10.08-$8=$2.08
I paid with $2+Up Rewards and paid .08¢ OOP.
Plus a roll of Mentos is the Savings Star freebie this weekend so I'll get back .50¢ into my Savings Star account on 1 roll of the Mentos.

I don't eat this flavor of Mentos(I only like the cinnamon ones)but they will make nice stocking stuffers.....remember there are only 123 more days until Christmas.  8-))

I received back $4 in +Ups($1 wyb4 Mentos, $1 wyb2 Werther's, $2 wyb2  Cover Girl)
Spent $2 +Ups, get $4 in +Ups back instead of spending down my +Ups by $1, thanks to the Load2Card goof.

I now have $20 in +Up Rewards and have spent $12.68 total on $140.20 of items last week.

This week's OOP total so far is .08¢ on $16.76 worth of items.
Except for getting 2 bottles of Tresemme later this week(2/$8, use 2 x $2/1 ManQ-today's inserts-which will cost $1 OOP+tax to roll $3 in +Ups)I am done with Rite-Aid deals this week.  Not much that is a good buy this week that I want or need.
I'll be spending some time this week getting my scenarios ready for next week's deals as they are a bit better.

I'm sorry if I am boring some of y'all with all this Rite-Aid stuff.
I tend to not do Rite-Aid for months on end and then go back to working the deals for a couple months.  As soon as the +Ups I have accumulated are spent down I'll probably stop doing Rite-Aid until the Winter Holidays when they are some really cheap/free/good deals.

Sluggy
 

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da

Before.......

After.......

 

As of last Saturday Hubs and I are empty nesters.
Well sort of.
Our youngest child went off to college that day for the first time.

#2 Son couldn't leave this two-bit, provincial town fast enough!
Yes, he has been ready to move on socially and academically for years.
He found his high school and this town stifling.

I hated to tell him that the town his college is in is even smaller and may be more stifling. lol
But then again, within the University will be larger opportunities for growth and people who haven't lived here their entire lives and he will find his niche and blossom.
And if he doesn't find it there, there are a myriad of other schools he can try on.

While we are not truly empty nesters yet, since our son will be back living here during school breaks, this "last child out of the nest" event has signaled the end of our active childrearing days, and has ushered in a new phase in our lives.
The "let's get nekkid & drink anytime we want and carry on like kids if we want" phase.

We do still have one dog left so we can't fully be free and just pick up and go, travel, etc. anytime we want yet.  But she's old and not looking real well so we are close. ;-)

I waited to talk about sending our last child off into the world for a bit instead of jumping right on this as a blog post earlier this week.
Because from everything I've ever heard about how mothers react to this event, I really didn't feel anything that fit into the stereotypical reaction.

I've always heard and seen that mothers, in particular, greet this new phase of life, with dread and gloom.  Many women sink into deep depression when their last kid leaves home.
Being a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, neither seem to matter in regard to a mom's reaction to not having children in the house anymore.

My own mother had a very difficult time when I left home to go to college.  Of course she had other "things" going on in her life that also led to her depression and her suicide attempt in the Fall just after I left home.
Most mom's don't resort to attempting to end their lives when their children fly the coop, but I have seen and heard that most moms do have some level of emotional crisis when this empty nest event occurs.

So I waited for the letdown to happen this week.
I waited for my eyes to mist up as I gazed into #2 son's bedroom or thought of something that reminded me of him.

And it never came.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids!
And it does seem strange to not have kids in my house after the last 23 years of yelling at, cuddling, picking up after, cooking for and washing their piles of dirty clothes.

But I just didn't see the end of this phase of my life as something to dread and mourn over.

Maybe I am just strange......I don't know really.

Sure, I think about them a lot and when certain things happen or I see something, it makes me think about one or more of them.
But I never burst into tears at some insignificant moment, or think I no longer have a purpose in life.
Well at least so far.....

All I feel is excitement really.
Excitement for my kids being "out there" in the world and excited for all the opportunities they may have and excited to see how they craft their own lives now with the tools, that hopefully, their parents helped them to develop in their formative years.
I'm excited for them to realize their own dreams and potential.

And excited for myself, for what new experiences await me with all this new claimed free time to myself.


But first, there is the issue of detritus.
The detritus of my youngest son's old life as manifested in his now vacant bedroom.

His room doesn't look so bad/filthy on the surface but you can't see all the crap under his bed or in his closet.

And on Sunday I began digging out his old room in preparation for a thorough cleaning and fumigating.

Now remember, this is the child that was hoarding a collection of plastic spoons from the school cafeteria, for no reason other than he was bored so he started taking spoons home.

During my initial survey of the filth in his room, I found this......

Oh Goody!
A new collection!!

8 containers of deodorant and/or body sprays, some with product still in them, and one not even opened yet.
I wonder how many more will be unearthed in the coming weeks?

Stay tuned.........



Sluggy-so over child rearing(& dog wrangling too)




 

More of Shopping This Week

Another round of Rite-Aid shopping on Wednesday, armed with my $14.50 in +Up Rewards I headed in.....

4 x Windex on sale $3 wyb2=$12.00
1 x Alba lip balm 20% off wellness discount=$2.95
SubTotal.....$14.95

Coupons Used
1 x $3/4 Windex or other SC Johnson cleaners IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$3.00

$14.95-$3.00=$11.95

I paid with $11.50 of my +Up Rewards and paid .45¢ out of pocket.
A 98% savings rate.

I got back $7 in +Ups and a $3 OYNO Catalina.

The +Ups were--$3 for buying the Alba product and 2 x $2 for buying the 4 Windex.  The $3 Catalina was also for buying the Windex.

Add in the $3 in +Ups I didn't spend and I now have $10 in +Ups and $3 in Catalinas to spend/roll.


Then this morning I had to go downtown so I hit a different Rite-Aid with my $13 in +Ups/Cats......

1 x Nexxus 'Poo w/20% discount=$4.79
2 x Eucerin BOGO50%(.99 reg. price)=$1.48
Subtotal.....$6.27

Coupons Used
1 x $3/1 Nexxus IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$3.00
1 x $3/1 Nexxus Video Values IPQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$6.00

$6.27-$6.00=.27¢ + .02¢ tax=.29¢ OOP

No +Ups used and I received back $5 in +Up Rewards($3 Nexxus, $2 wyb2 Eucerin).
I then had $18 in +Ups/Cats to spend/roll.


If you still have the $3/2 Herbal Essence from the P&G insert and you need shampoo, this week after the coupon you will pay $1 per bottle, as the HE is on sale for 2/$5.
Just a heads up for cheap 'poo.....and I stopped at my regular Rite-Aid on the way home and bought some on the BIL's card.......

2 x Herbal Essence 'Poo on sale=$5.00
2 x Alba lip balm at $3.69=$7.38 *This card has no Wellness discount*
SubTotal.....$12.38

I used a $3/2 Herbal Essences ManQ--$12.38-$3=$9.38.
I used $9 in +Ups/Cats to pay and spent .48¢ OOP (.38¢ + .10¢tax).
I received back $6 in +Up Rewards(2 x $3 Alba).

I'm loving that one of the bottles had a trial size bottle of their new body wash for free.

If I don't do anymore Rite-Aid shopping this week(I could roll $3 +Ups for another free Alba lip balm) I am ending the week with $15 in +Up Rewards(I started the week with $10 +Ups).
Nice. 8-)

So far this week I've spent $12.64 OOP and brought home.......

4 bottles of painkillers
1 pack of razors
8 small bottles of lotion
6 toothbrushes
1 pack of gum
2 tubes of topical pain reliever
3 lip balms
4 bottles of cleaners
3 bottles of shampoo

That's $126.22 worth of goodies.
And I have $15 in +Ups to spend/roll going forward.

Then yesterday, on my grocery shopping day,  I scored bigtime at Weis(PMITA)Markets.
I spent more than I planned to but if you have the cash and the deals present themselves, you just have to jump on them, right?
Just agree with me people.  ;-)

I went into the store to get cheap applesauce($.87 each), cheap mayo(the Kraft instant savings deal using $10 in Qs), cheap eggs($1.50 dzn.), cheap taco shells($.25 after Q), and cheap Cheerios(sale w/Qs=.99¢ a box), Napkins for $1 a package(sale and Q) and .49¢ Mitchum deodorant(after sale and $2/1 Q).  Once I got into the store I saw they had salmon fillets for $6.99 lb. and I was a goner. lolz

 

         Some of my Weis haul

I also bought a 12 lb. pork tenderloin at $1.98 lb. and I swear anne marie was whispering in my ear and making my hands reach for that hunk o' meat!

And then Linda was sitting on my devil-side shoulder and made me buy this.........

at least it was on sale.  8-)

After the fresh produce and some markdown croissants I left that store $73.45 poorer.
But will you lookie at my savings rate for this load of groceries........

53% savings!
I saved more than I spent.
How often does that happen outside of Rite-Aid?
Never!!!

The $5 Instant Discount Kraft Deal was great.
There are 3 different .50/1 Qs on coupons dotcom for Mayo/Miracle Whip.  I printed each one twice plus used a Weis flyer $1/2 Mayo/MW to get $7 off on just the mayos.  We are set for Mayo for awhile.

I got all this for $9.50........

6 x Mayo/Miracle Whip
2 x Salad Dressings
1 x Cream Cheese
It comes out to $1.05 per item!

And I'll be giving my Daughter the Miracle Whip(yuck! not a fan).  ;-)

Then I hit up the local independent grocer for their ConAgra Deal--spend $15, get $5 back instantly.
I got 3 Gulden's mustards, 5 Hunt's diced tomatoes, 2 Hunt's pasta sauce, 1 Hunt's ketchup and 3 jars of PP peanut butter.
$15.94-$5 Discount=$10.94
Add in 6 blocks of cheese at $1.99, a bag of taters for $2.99 and 2 clearance Del Monte diced tomatoes with green chiles and I dropped another $27.25.
I only achieved a 47.50% savings rate at this store.
Boo-hoo poor me......hehehehe

                       6 blocks of cheese not pictured

I am now officially grocery shopped out for the week and I have about $50 left for the rest of August from my $400 allotted for groceries.  Next month I am cutting back on the food budget since #2 Son is now gone.
Cutting back scares me.  I am use to cooking/shopping for 3 or 4, not 2.  I also need to cut down my recipes to cook less, unless it's something we "want" leftovers of.  Hubs likes leftovers and I like not having to cook every single day so we make a good team. lol

Sluggy




 

The WDYTYA Episode Last Night....Mostly for Linda

Well it didn't go quite as I thought.  That promo I saw early last week on this episode mentioned a "Patriot" and a "Pioneer".

They didn't do a patriot ancestor at all.  Besides Jacob Grammer I mentioned in yesterday's post on his father's line, there was another one on his mother's Dimmick/Dean line.  Comfort Dean's grandfather was Benjamin Deen(later changed to Dean).  Benjamin was from Ireland and came over around the time of the American Revolution as a teenager.  He fought as part of the Virginia Militia evidently and was awarded land for having fought.  The land was in Ohio in the Ohio River Valley region.

And I got Joseph Dimmick correct, sort of.  I mentioned Joseph Dimmick but the son Joseph Dimmick of the Joeseph Dimmick they profiled.  My Joseph Dimmick's parents-Joseph and Comfort Dean Dimmick-were the ones they talked about.  But my Joseph was there but he was only 9 years old at the time the family traveled on the Oregon Trail.

More interesting tidbits about Kelsey's 2 x great grandfather, the son Joseph, he was a twin with James Benjamin Dimmick.  As an adult Joseph worked as a school teacher and later as a dentist...his father in-law was a doctor and his wife's brother also worked as a dentist.

And Kelsey's 2 x GG Joseph's wife, Mary Frances Kriechbaum was also an Oregon Trail traveler with her parents John George(originally Johan as he immigrated from Germany) and Lucy Morgan Kriechbaum.  If Mary F. and Joseph didn't travel to Oregon the same year/in the same party(the Kriechbaum's started in Iowa, not Illinois), they settled near each other, which is how they knew one another and married.

And Mary Frances was married before she wed Joseph Dimmick, to a Lewis Belfils, a French immigrant.  She had 2 sons, Louis, in 1860 and Victor Hugo in 1863, both born in Oregon, before her husband died.  She married Joseph  shortly afterwards, as their 1st child together was born in 1865.
Joseph and Mary Frances Dimmick didn't stay in Oregon long, since Mary Frances and Joseph are found living with Mary's parents in the 1870 census for Sonoma County, near the Russian River in California, along with another son, Clarence, born in 1868 in California.  Joseph is working as a farmer and his father in-law, John George Kierchbaum is a doctor.  While still in Oregon, John George Kriechbaum was the Coroner for Benton County, Oregon.
More than you ever wanted to know about these families, right? lolz

They spent most of the show on Kelsey's Great grandparents, Ellis Loughborough and Genevieve Marriott Geddes Dimmick.

Ellis was quite the train wreck.  Married to Genevieve in 1905, Kelsey's grandmother, Evangeline, born Dec. 1905, Ellis abandoned her and the baby and is never found in census records living as a family unit. 
Incidentally, Genevieve named her baby Evangeline for her oldest sister with that same name.

Mother and baby were living in 1910 with her parents and her maiden and widowed sisters in Alameda, CA, then in 1920 Genevieve is living with her 2 maiden sisters and the baby, Evangeline, is living with her mother's married sister's family in San Francisco, CA. and in the 1930 census at the age of 24, the baby, Evangeline is married to Gordon Cranmer with a 1 yr. old daughter, Kelsey's mother, Sally.
In the 1930 census Genevieve is found married to William Foltz, a hotel clerk, living in San Francisco and by 1934 she is dead.  William was 13 years older than his wife and this was his only marriage.

The show covered Ellis' marriage to Genevieve and after his marriage to Genevieve in 1905 and leaving her and the baby, Evangeline, he enlists in the Marine Corps in 1908 and is promptly kicked out in 1909 because of his neglect of duty and "excessive use of intoxicants".

Here is what they didn't cover in the show.....
Ellis is found in the 1900 census living with a family named Heeseman along with 2 of his older brothers and lists his occupation as a brakeman on the railroad.   This was pre-marriage and baby.

In the 1910 census, after marriage, baby and expulsion from the Marine Corps, Ellis is found living again with his parents in Oakland, CA, at the age of 30.  He gives his occupation as a dentistry student.  That makes sense as his father Joseph was a dentist.  He does report himself in 1910 as married.
The whole dentist thing didn't "take" though(probably too much like work for Ellis), and he marries again to a Nora G. Sullivan in 1916, and then in 1918 he is working and living in a high tone hotel in Berkeley CA as a night porter according to his 1918 draft card and Nora is nowhere to be found by then..

In the 1920 census, he lists himself as widowed and is renting a room in the home of Amelia Blackman a divorced 53 year old woman, in Oakland, CA.  He lists his occupation as a rigger in a shipyard.
I can't find him in a 1930 census and by 1939 Ellis is dead.

So as Paul Harvey might have said, "Now you know the rest of the story."  8-)

Sluggy

 

Boring Genealogy Stuff.....Not Real Long Tho

I've been spending quite a bit of time with my genealogist's hat on lately.

*  I am sad that this season of TLC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" will be over in only 2 more episodes.

Last Wednesday evening's episode was neat because the first ancestor of guest Valerie Bertinelli had lived near were I am living now. 
Her great grandfather Gregorio Mancia tried to kill her great grandmother, Mary Possio Crosa Mancia, and then turned the gun on himself in a little town outside of Scranton, PA back in 1931.  Before removing to Lackawanna County, PA, Gregorio and Mary had lived in western VA, near Wytheville as his draft card noted.  He was a coal miner so both areas make sense for them to be living in during those times.

Anyway, after her paternal ancestor search, they moved on to her maternal ancestors and soon were revealing how one of her lines stretches back to Edward I of England and beyond to William the Conqueror.
Edward Longshanks happens to be my 23 x Great Grandfather too.
Thus Ms. Bertinelli and I are some sort of cousins.
Imagine that!

*  Then later in the week I was doing some deep ancestor hunting on my PARHAM line.  On my maternal grandfather's line I have Thomas Parham Sr. and Susannah Hunt as my 9 x GGrands.  I discovered that it appears that Susannah married twice, with Roger TILGHMAN being her second husband.
I know a fellow blogger who has talked about her TILGHMAN(later changed to TILLMAN) connection over the years so I wrote to her to let her know that we may be related through allied families(related by marriage of one line to another, but not directly by blood).  My blood relation ancestor, Susannah's son Thomas PARHAM, is not a TILGHMAN.
So we hashed it out and my 9 x Great Grandmother married the brother of my friend's 8 x Great Grandfather.
Are you confused yet? lol

I had seen that TILGHMAN name on my tree yet had never thought that it would be connected to fellow bloggers TILGHMANS, because mine came to/were based in Virginia and she kept mentioning Maryland in connection to her TILGHMANS.

But on further investigation her TILGHMANS were part of the Virginia branch of that family that ended up heading into Maryland early on after their immigrating to the New World in VA.
There are 2 different TILGHMAN lines in Maryland it seems--The piece of the Christopher TILGHMAN line that removed to Maryland and a line sprouting from a Dr. Richard TILGHMAN, for which TILGHMANS ISLAND and other areas in Maryland on the Eastern Shore are named.
And this is more than anyone reading this ever wanted to know about the Tilghman family I am sure. lolz

Having found that connection by marriage she led me to some more family Tighlman ancestry information going further back on the TILGHMAN line showing that Christopher/Gideon/Roger/et all descend from the Plantagenet line of the kings of England.
And this line is the same line that I and Valerie Bertinelli's have on our trees.

So fellow blogger and I DO share bloodlines after all, just further back in our respective ancestry.
Our most recent shared common ancestors are Ralph de NEVILLE and Joan de BEAUFORT as we are each descended from a child of this couple.  My 19th x Great Grands are also fellow bloggers 17th x Great Grands.  I guess my family is a bit sooner to jump into bed than hers.  ;-)

*  Then I got bored last week....after all, all the college prep was finished......so I started doing a family tree on the next TLC "Who Do You Think You Are?" guest, Kelsey Grammer.
I have never really been a fan of his but what the hey!  I am always up for a genealogy challenge.

I wanted to see if I could do this(without cheating and googling his line, other than his parents names and dates to get me started), tracing his ancestors back before the show aired on tv.
And I think I did fairly well.
I got back into the late 1600's on 2 of his paternal lines and 2 of his maternal lines, as well as back to late 1500's on 1 of his mother's lines.  I am not saying that there might not be errors in the information because, after all, I haven't documented all this information, but it's fairly accurate.
I found lots of English, some French, some German, even some Nova Scotian Canadian ancestors.

And the tv promos sound like the show will be investigated a "patriot" on one side and a "pioneer" on the other side of his family during his episode.

And I know EXACTLY which ancestors they will talk about now, since I found them too.  8-)
So stop reading this and don't scroll down to the end of my post if you don't want to spoil the surprise when you watch the show, ok?
Because I am gonna end this with the names but I won't give any other clues or information about them.  I just want a record of me having found this myself.  8-)))

*  Then late last week, I got an email from someone asking about a certain line of my ancestors.  This person manages DNA accounts at FamilyTreeDNA for, I am assuming, are other family members who have had their DNA tested.  She let me know that one of her subjects/members matched me in the autosomal testing they had done(about 50cms)and we also have one surname in common on our respective family surnames lists, DUDLEY.

It didn't take long to track down our common ancestor--Edward DUDLEY, my 10th x Great Grandfather.  Their ancestor William, and my ancestor Richard were the sons of Edward DUDLEY and Elizabeth PRITCHARD.
While it's not common to match DNA with someone when your shared ancestor is so many generations far removed, it IS possible and highly likely if the ancestors are affected by "Founder's Effect", and if you have ancestors who were very early (usually English)settlers to America and intermarried within their social circles.  You may be able to match DNA on those lines of your ancestry going further back than the standard 6 or 7 generations.

Keep scrolling for the Spoiler--

































SPOILER ALERT--
The patriot ancestor for Kelsey Grammer is probably Jacob Grammer, a First Lieutenant in the Maryland Militia/Revolutionary War, and the pioneer ancestors are probably Joseph Dimmick and his wife Mary Frances Kriechbaum, in 1852.  You figure out what state they removed to...it's out west and has a shoreline.  ;-)

Sluggy



 

Rite-Aid This Week.....So Far

I came into this week with a $10 +Up Reward.
We needed pain killers as we were almost out, so I got this on Sunday.....

3 x Ibuprofen 100 ct. on sale $4.99=$14.97
1 x Acetaminophen 100 ct. on sale but 20% wellness disc. better=$5.83
SubTotal.....$20.80

No coupons used and I paid with my $10 +Up=$10.80 OOP.
Yah, I know I spent a lot out of pocket but you would pay $10 for 1 bottle of Motrin or Tylenol.
I got 400 pills for $10.80.  8-)

And buying $20+ of this stuff got me another $10 +Up Reward.

Be careful if you try to do this +Up Deal.  The signage on the shelving was wrong(plus someone had stocked in the wrong spaces)and I had to check product codes against the shelf tags to see which pills qualified for this deal.  I picked up the red oval(tablet)ibuprofen first and price checked it but it didn't qualify.  Too many types of ibu and aceta Rite-Aid!  You should make it ALL(if 100 ct.)qualify or not offer this deal!!


I hopped up to Rite-Aid on Monday to get this stuff......

1 x Zim's Max-Freeze on sale=$5.00
1 x Bic razors on sale=$5.99
1 x Reach toothbrush multipack on sale=$3.00
2 x Eucerin lotion travel size BOGO50%=$1.78
1 x Stride gum on sale=.79¢
SubTotal......$16.56

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Zim's product FacebookQ=$2.00
1 x $3/1 Bic razors ManQ=$3.00
1 x $1.50/1 Reach multipack Load2CardQ=$1.50
Coupon Total....$6.50

$16.56-$6.50=$10.06

I used my $10 +Up Reward to pay and spent .06¢ OOP.

Sweet!

I received back $10.50 in new +Up Rewards($5 Max-Freeze, $2.50 Reach, $2 Eucerin, $1 Bic).

At first I needed to add the gum and was confused as it didn't add up right in my head.
Then I realized that the Load2Card Reach Q had attached to this order and I wasn't expecting it to.....since my L2C Qs NEVER work when I want them to! argh.
But it was a good thing that it worked so I happily added the gum and paid 6 cents.  ;-)

Tuesday morning, we took our $10.50 in +Ups and got this on the BIL's card.....

1 x Zim's Max-Freeze on sale=$5.00
1 x Reach toothbrush multipack on sale=$3.00
4 x Eucerin lotion travel size BOGO50%=$3.56
SubTotal......$11.56

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Zim's product FacebookQ=$2.00
1 x $1.50/1 Reach multipack Load2CardQ=$1.50
Coupon Total....$3.50

$11.56-$3.50=$8.06

I used $7.50 in +Ups to pay......$8.06-$7.50=$.56 + .03tax=$.59¢

I received back $11.50 back in +Ups(2 x $2 Eucerin , $2.50 Reach, $5 Max-Freeze).

$11.45 spent OOP this week for $79.24 in products.

When added to the $3 in +Ups I didn't spend from yesterday's trip I now have $14.50 to figure out how to rolls later this week.

Sluggy


 

Sluggy's Solo Road Trip.....Part 2......OH to IL

So after choking down a half stale bagel on Saturday morning at the Ramada in Elyria OH, I got onto the Turnpike heading west into Indiana.

My head wasn't in a good place that morning.
A not-so-restful night at the dingy motel combined with weather that was off and on again miserable Plus a general sense of trepidation as I drove toward the outskirts of Chicago and the clusterf*ck of traffic I'd have to dodge just took all the wind out of my emotional sails.

I stopped somewhere in IN at a turnpike rest area during a torrential cloudburst to eat a fish sandwich and some apple slices and buy a soda for the ride since I needed a caffeine boost to keep me going.
I downloaded the On Star directions that would guide me to Sonya Ann's house while I waited for the skies to let up.

I had a printed out MapQuest direction sheet but felt better having the GPS thingy on too, since once in traffic, it's hard to be looking at a paper for your next exit while driving 70 miles an hour.

I kept driving in and out of rainstorms until right before I got to the western edge of IN.

Once I got near my exit onto I-80 West I panicked when I saw that my exit was CLOSED due to construction.  And just where did the fine folks of the Department of Transportation detour me to?
The Chicago Skyway.
Crap!
Anyone who has driven this piece of Roadway Hell knows why I was crapping in my pants.

Hubs and I were sent through this Death's Highway last August when we went to IL for his sister's wedding.  But last year, HUBS was driving, not me.
Fan-so-tastic!

So I was doomed to the Skyway.  sigh

I have to say that the On Star GPS thingy worked well and other than the permanent marks left on the steering wheel from my white knuckle driving I did aok.  All those rainstorms slowed traffic around Chicago way down(which was good in a way), but it also made the time it took to get past Chicago longer.

Ok, here is where I get to rant and rave about the outrageous tolls I had to pay driving through OH, IN and into IL!

The Ohio Turnpike robbed my pockets to the tune of $17, the Indiana Toll Road for $10 and the Illinois Toll Authority/Chicago Skyway for $5.50.
$32.50 total.....and that was just one way on the trip!
Thankfully I was NOT returning along that route to get home again.

Incidentally, this stretch of the trip was the only part with toll roads in it.  Everywhere else I went had the good sense NOT to charge me to use their highways.

So my original plan would take me west of Chicago past Joliet, past the urban centers and then north, up to Sonya's house.   It was sort of a roundabout longer way but with less driving stress.
With the I-80 detour that plan didn't happen.  It was the Skyway around Chitown and then up to the suburbs. bleh.

Since the rain had stopped by the time I got to the Skyway I made a stop in Kildeer IL to do some shopping at a World Market store.

I won't go into the "almost incident" that happened in the parking lot at this shopping center when a over botox-ed anorexic old bimbo with an expiration date of 1990 walked out right in front of my car as I got between her and the overpriced shoe store she was wanting to get to, and she made a face at me(even through the Botox, what an effort that took!)and I saw red and pictured myself calling Sonya Ann from a local jail cell to come bail me out, after I had run this bitch over.
Nope we won't go there......

I "heart" WM.
I picked up 12 more gourmet sodas, which happened to be half price!

A bottle of a most excellent sparkling Moscato from Australia that is now discountined at WM

Bottles of Torani Syrup(also on sale), a couple of single bottles of craft beers for Hubs that we can't get in PA.

                                 One of the beers for Hubs--ChiTown

3 bags of dried cantaloupe fruit(love this and can't find it anywhere but WM), 2 large bars of Ghiradelli Chocolate at 55% off(A $1.26 for chocolate?  Yes, please!), and a bag of Maple Bacon flavored Potato Chips.
Mmmm....bacon......

 

This particular WM has just begun carrying hard liquor, besides the beer and wine offerings all WMs sell.  I spied a Utah based whiskey Hubs can't get in PA, so that also left the store with me as well.

You can tell Hubs likes it because it's already half gone! lol

After dropping $127 at World Market I gave Sonya a call and said I'd be arriving in about 45 minutes so get my drink ready because after the drive I just had, I really needed one! lol

And 45 minutes later I pulled into her driveway and gave her a big hug.....before taking my drink and parking myself in her living room.

The rest of the day was devoted to drinking and gabbing, then a little eating(it was a spaghetti feast & Den made a really good dip/salsa thing with sun dried tomatoes too!)and then more drinking and gabbing until we just couldn't do either anymore and we fell into bed(well, 2 different beds....get your minds outta the gutter willya?!).

Next time, Sonya makes a big impression, we go to Vegas, buy out a liquor store, frugal shop and eat cheap steak.

Sluggy