The "Treading Water" Edition.....
Sluggy
Just an average Gal, older mom, trying to live a simple life & what happens along the way.
The "Treading Water" Edition.....
Sluggy
Here is how September's To-Do List turned out....
* Pay Bills DONE We got all the bills paid for Sept. So many bills, soooo many bills....*Sluggy buries her head in her hands*
* Pack & Move DONE It was painful and long but we got it done. 3 days to drive here.
*Read 1 Book FAIL Is it any wonder why I didn't do this this month? lol
* Hold Giveaway FAIL No Giveaway in September and they are suspended until some unknown date.
* Mail Giveaway FAIL Ditto
* Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie DONE Well this chore has become easy as I haven't gotten a newspaper/coupon insert since August and I have very few coupons left.
* Edit more Old Photos DONE I almost caught on a photo editing until I went to Florida earlier in October. lol
* Post about Old Trips FAIL With the move I've done very little of anything but pack boxes, drive and survive at my daughter's house. 8-)
* Work on Genealogy FAIL Nope, see above.
* Arrange for moving POD and Dumpster rental DONE Dumpster came, was filled and left. POD came, was filled and left. Pods didn't hold it all so we had to rent a storage unit too which Hubs has to go back and bring that all down here. Imagine if we hadn't gotten rid of a dumpster worth and about 12 car loads full of stuff to charity? Geez
* Spend Bonus Cash DONE I spent it all down. Got a few things we needed like dog food and snacks for the move. I bought stuff for 2 employees I liked as well to use it all up. Gonna miss Rite-Aid and my friends there. 8-(((
* Eat Down the Freezer/Pantry DONE We ate down as much as we could. Anything we couldn't fit in two tubs(non-perishable stuff)was given away to family and friends. We did have to throw a bit out as well. Sigh.....
* Pack for the Move DONE Somehow it all got packed up with help from 2 of our adult kids. We left some appliances(stove, fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer, lawnmower, chest freezer, smoker)for whomever buys the house along with extra flooring material, ice melt, snow shovels, etc.
* Power Wash House and Porch DONE Younger son came and helped out with this. The outside looked sparkly. Hubs also did a final seal on the back deck.
* Put House on the Market DONE We signed the contract, the agent brought in a cleaning crew to spiffy up the interior and the sign went up in the front yard before we got to Louisiana.
* Move DONE Yep we hauled ass outta PA September 12th and arrived here late on the 14th. Now we wait for the house to sell.
While some To-Do List items fell by the wayside(cuz they weren't important or time sensitive right now)a lot got done(well it HAD TO get done!). Moving halfway across the country is difficult even when things go right. We've still got possessions in PA but by this time next week they will all be here in LA. We donated or threw out what we didn't love and what would cost more to move than to replace once we landed somewhere here.
Do I ever want to do this again? That would be a definite NO! I'd rather slit my wrists actually. I'll live here until it's time to haul my dead carcass off. If you'd have told me I'd celebrate my 40th Wedding Anniversary by packing up my life and hauling it 1,431 miles I'd have said you need your head examined. Moving puts a strain on finances and relationships in even the best marriages. 8-)
Can I just say that I am GLAD this phase is over?? ;-)
Have you ever pulled up stakes and moved your life a long distance? What was your experience like?
Sluggy
The "Monday Post is Back" Edition.....
Me on the beach in Florida trying not to get sunburned. I think I lasted 10 whole minutes. lolzWell it is and it isn't. Still living at my Daughter and Son in-law's house and not in control of meals. It is killing every frugal bone in my body that my daughter orders these meal kits(for convenience as she gets home late)which are overpriced. I offered to shop and cook but she insists on doing it this way so we eat whatever is in the kit on the days dinner is provided and the other 3 nights a week we either eat leftovers, make something ourselves(ie-tv dinners)or go out or don't eat dinner. This is what it is and by next month we'll be on our own in our own place.
Sluggy
* Again, this is way late but I'm trying to get back on track.*
Onward to September's Food Spending report......
*I know I am way late with this but things like moving, living in one room and out of suitcase and then traveling to Alabama and Florida will take up all your time and energy. Plus the numbers are so so ugly this month. You have been warned. 8-) *
Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.
I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out. 8-)Sluggy
We had a lovely breakfast after a restful night in Tuscaloosa Alabama. A brief stop to gas up the cars and for a coffee and iced tea at a nearby Mickey D's and we were back on the road on the last leg of our journey to our daughter's house in Louisiana.
Back on the interstate heading West into Mississippi. Lots of truck traffic through MS(hubs almost got run off the road by one!)and we stopped in Vicksburg for late lunch/very early dinner at Popeye's then more gas at a Circle K near the Vicksburg Military Park and then over the Mississippi River to the first Louisiana rest stop to potty(us and the dogs)and eat. Did I mention that is was upper 90's F still at every rest stop? Should have done this trip in mid December for bearable weather. lol
Explain to me(if you can)the piece of lumber mostly painted white sticking out of the trash can at the rest stop.
It was hot as balls with trucks parked all willy nilly at this rest stop where they shouldn't be parked but at least the mostly treeless rest stop had covered pavilions with picnic tables. We ate, dogs pottied and watered and after a quick human pee break we were back on the road.
You can't make it out from this photo but the ladies bathroom had high tide in there.
Hubs, me and the doggies had our photos taken in front of the LA sign at the rest area. I sent one to daughter let her know we were in bayou(aka swamp)country now and would be arriving within 3-4 hours.
So we drove the last leg without incident, arriving at daughter and son in-law's house around 4pm. We ate something but I can't remember what given it was 3 weeks+ ago. We had to load our belongs into the house as well as the stuff for the dogs so that took awhile.
Thus we began our stay at daughter's house and sleeping on air mattresses for the foreseeable future. I must say after two nights on those air beds we declared our aged bodies were too old for this shit. ;-) But we were glad to be done with this part of our new lives.
Oh and here's my booty of found change from the 3 day journey South....
Sluggy