To-Do List....The Last Five Months 2024

 JULY/AUG./SEPT./OCT./NOV. TO-DO LIST

I am just getting to the last 5 months of To-Do lists.

How I did the last 5 months....

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid on time even though I was in Virginia for half the month in July and when I was incapacitated in Sept.

*  Fly to Virginia  DONE  It was a nerve racking flight but I got there safe and sound(can you guess I don't like flying?)  And Hubs drove up to pick me up in August and bring me home.

*  Have Brain surgery  DONE  Little did I know that the side effects would throw me for a loop and cause a chain reaction of other conditions that went on for another 4 months before I began to feel like myself again.  Would I do it again?  The jury is still out on that.

*  Have YAG Laser Procedure on Right Eye  DONE  I had that procedure done before I left for Virginia.  I have no plans to go back to that eye doctor other than a yearly diabetic eye test.

*  Have New Skirting put on House  DONE  The workmen finally had a slot open up to do this in July, again before I left for Virginia.

Before shot the naked house after they removed the old broken skirting.

After shot with new skirting on the other side of the front of the house.
There were matching rose bushes in the front, one of each end of the house.  Problem was the rose bush growing on the side of the porch where the stairs were was rooted 
BEHIND the old skirting, and growing from under the house.  So Hubs had to cut down and dig that bushes stump out.  Who plants a rose bush under their house??lolz

*  Have Interior Work Done on House  FAIL  Other than the kitchen counter tops and molding work we haven't had time or energy to tackle some little jobs inside the house.  It's mostly painting and some molding repair work which we'll job out to local handyman operations

*  Hem Pants  FAIL  I haven't done any sewing since the surgery.  I bought some new pants while in Virginia but I either haven't hemmed them or one kind doesn't need hemming.

*  Move  PASS  We have decided where we are moving to, have gotten a realtor to sell this place and are working on our timeline.  I no longer will have to live 7 miles from a daughter who wants nothing to do with her loving parents after she asked us to move down here at her behest even though we had misgivings about living here.  Children can be heartless.  We have been nothing but supportive to this child her entire life and gave her a large amount of money to buy a house and this is how she pays us back, by turning her back on us?  I can't wait to get out of this place!

*  Contact Lawyer about Will Changes  FAIL  Just didn't have enough time to do this before I left for Virginia.  Since returning and after my hospitalization and rehab we have met with the lawyer in November and he is having papers drawn up with the changes we asked for which we'll sign this week.

*  Read/Finish One Book  DONE  I finished "Varina" by Charles Frazier.  He also wrote "Cold Mountain" which was made into a film of that name.

*  Buy Stuff for House(Always)  Done  I guess all the various bits and pieces Hubs buys at the Big Box Home Improvement Stores, plus the new Skirting and Rails goes under this item.

*  Start PT for Back  Done  My PT was interrupted by a hospitalization and the rehab clinic, then wound care for a place on my calf(if you have Home Health you can't do outpatient PT until that's over with).  I did finally had the PT, for my back plus my hip and thigh, but more than that, my Radiofrequency Ablation(RFA)did more good for my back/hip/thigh than PT.  I still do home exercises though.

*   Take Items to Food Bank  DONE

This was the July donation before I left town.  I found cans of baby formula in the  Kroger clearance area that were long dated so picked those up.

When I was finally released from the rehab hospital I was able to gather all this to take in for September.

Here is the October donation.  It was a good month.

So good it took me three photos to get it all in.

The next  two photos were a donation earlier in November.

And here is the donation we made in late November.  This will be the last of the year.  I think I did right by this food bank.

*  Start New Food Bank Donation Box   DONE  As noted above as we took a donation in we started filling up the Rubbermaid tubs with more stuff for the food bank.  Since I( won't be sending anything to the food bank until 2025 now, presently I am only gathering items with long shelf life/use by dates.

*  Edit More Photos  DONE  While I fell behind this Summer/Fall on the photo editing I have been working at this as time permits.  I still have quite the backlog of photos though to edit.

*  Post About Old Trips  FAIL  I haven't had the time or energy to post trips.  I have trips going back to 2021 to still talk about.  Because of the medical fall out from side effects from that Focused Ultrasound Procedure we missed a planned cruise in September.  That was a big disappointment but I'm getting used to disappoint at this point in my life.  Luckily we bought the trip insurance so we got most of our money back.  Taking trips are my happy place so I really need to get back into posting about that and getting healthy enough to enjoy more adventures. 8-)

*  Work on Genealogy  PASS  I've done some genealogical work.  Mostly for cousins and folks who contacted me on Find A Grave and Ancestry needing source material or questions answered.

*  Edit Fabric Photos for Listings  PASS  Well I got about 2 dozen lengths of fabric photographed, measured and weighed and 8 of them listed with no action.  I really need to put this sort of item on Etsy but they require you to pay for a store on there and with what we have going on and now our trip to Virginia for Christmas that just doesn't make financial sense until January.  So I'll spend more time photographing,  measuring and weighing more fabrics so I can hit the ground running in Januay.

As you can see, this year has been a real hodge podge of a little bit of good and a lot more bad.  I hope 2025 is a lot nicer to us! 8-)))

Sluggyu

Frugal Friday....the Dec. 6th Edition

Here are our frugal wins for this past week......

*  I used some Paypal monies to pay for a Kohl's pick-up order.  The Paypal monies used were earned doing a grocery survey.

*  Kohl's sent me a $5 coupon to get me into the store to spend money.  The Kohl's store here is small and never has anything I want/need.

So when we went in there to pick-up an online order I saw this dark chocolate bar for $4.99 so got it for free with that $5 in scrip. 8-)

*  I hit my $5 Weekend Warrior Bonuses on Ibotta and I used a free $20 gift card at Walmart to purchase items we needed to get to my Bonus target.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We ate everything or put it into the freezer.

*  I joined FlavorWiki this week.  It's sort of like The Insiders where you buy and test products then give your feedback.  Then they reimburse your purchase plus some extra cash for your time and effort.   It's sort of a pain though so I might not be doing it for long.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or playing with the dogs.

*  I found money!  

We were in a Walmart in the next town over and I kept finding pennies throughout the store.

In our local Walmart the next day, I found two pennies near the change machine and then another penny outside in the parking lot.

The next day when we went to Kohl's to pick up my order and spend that $5 scrip they sent me I found a dime on the sidewalk as we left the store.

Total Found last week..... .18¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.54 & 5.30 Euros  I may hit $10 found before the year is out at this point.

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

Decisions, Decisions

I am still mulling over what to do with the blog.

FYI-one can not block a commenter on a blog like is possible on other platforms.  The only safeguard is to moderate comments but then, the blog owner has to see horrible and/or unsuitable comments before sending them to the spam folder.  And that's not something I want to see any longer.  It's bad for one's mental health.

I could make the blog private, by invitation only.  In that way only invited persons can see the blog and possibly comment on it.

I prefer to be transparent so this choice rubs me the wrong way, but if push comes to shove I may need to go that route.

My only other choice is to move the blog to another platform(which I don't want to do as I feel we have a supportive little online community here-let me know if I'm wrong on that score)or shut it down.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?  Is my content still relevant to anyone?  I know my heart hasn't been in this venture much since relocating to this state and all the turmoil we've suffered since the move and being basically physically alone and far from any family or friends who care about us.  

I am hoping I'll find my MoJo and enjoy doing this again at some point....mostly probably after we resettle in another area not so foreign and hostile with too many bad memories tied to it.

I've had this blog since January 2009(and another blog briefly before that).  I must say it's a hard habit to give up.

Sluggy

I'm Done

I guess I will shut this blog down.  There is really no point anymore as most of the comment I get are from insulting trolls and those comments will never see the light of day or assail a readers eyes.

I use to get trolling comments about my weight when I was very heavy.  After losing what was equal to an entire person(and they could no longer hurl hateful fat comments at me), I now get the anonymous trolls telling me my attitude is terrible.  Well I may have a bad attitude at times but it is because of how some people(ie family members) have unfairly treated me the last two years, but at least I am a real person, who has been through things nobody can imagine.  I am unlike so many online phonies.

I tried to show people how to live debt free and make the most of what they have but no, all those snapchat selfie young people want is to appear to have the perfect life, the perfect house, the perfect whatever.  But I guess I am too old-fashioned for this young generation.  Blogging has changed from when I started when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

I am done with all the haters online.

It was nice while it lasted.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the Nov. 29th Edition

There are some Frugal wins over the past week.....

Here are our frugal wins for this past week......

*  I got my Coat in the mail last week that I ordered....

It was a great price plus it's Purple!

This will be the very last thing I buy from this company however.  They are forcing paperless billing on me or now charging me $2.99 for each statement I get.  I called and closed my account telling them I don't appreciate being charged money for the honor of buying things from them.  One less credit account and temptation to spend money, right? 

*  I got Hubs Christmas gift via Amazon..........

His luggage was getting raggedy and his favorite color is orange and these American Tourister bags fit the bill.  I used Amazon credit so nothing out of pocket.  I gave it to him early so he can use it on our trip to SC and VA.  8-)))

*  All that shopping for the food bank got taken in..........

Lots of goodness.

This makes our second trip with stuff to the food bank in November.

*  We hit Ollie's after dropping off the food bank donation.....

The Truvia and the Power Sheets laundry box weren't Ollie's(Kroger)but everything else was stuff I bought at Ollie's.  The canned Beets were 75% off even!  I should have bought more of those....

*  I hit my $3 Midweek Moneymaker & my $3 Weekend Warrior Bonuses on Ibotta and I used a free $20 gift card at Walmart to purchase items we needed to get to my Bonus targets.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We ate everything or put it in the freezer .

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or playing with the dogs.

*  This week was time to get my Rock Star drinks.  Bought them at Walmart, making this a $3.76 Moneymaker after my rebate.

*  I found money!  

I was in Dollar General last Saturday(using my $5 off $25 coupon)and found these two pennies inside the store.

If you don't go much of anywhere you can't find money, right? lol

Total Found last week..... .02¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.36 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

No Sew Fleece Blanket.....Xmas Idea

 A few years ago I wanted to make Kim a fleece blanket as I found a fabric full of doughnuts(her favorite food group).  

But I already had Essential Tremor so bad I was unable to sew(though undiagnosed as of then).

So I found this lady who I am assuming had had a stroke and only had partial use of one arm/hand, with a tutorial of how to make a fleece blanket where you didn't have to tie knots(as not having the use of two hands, knots were not going to happen for her).

This has got to be the easiest no sew fleece throw pattern on earth if anyone gets a mind to make one as a Christmas gift.

I pulled up this tutorial again this week to make this Christmas gift for someone.....

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table.....Nov. 24th to Nov. 30th

 The "Have a Twinkie Christmas" Edition.........

I snapped a shot of this display in Walmart last week.  Ginormous boxes of Twinkies in Christmas themed boxes.  These have to be the largest boxes of Twinkies I've ever seen!

I don't think most people would be happy to open this as a present on 

Christmas morning.

Would you?

I wonder how many of these will be bought?

Personally, I didn't eat these as a kid(well, maybe a couple)but I was never a fan.  I preferred the little fruit pies Hostess made.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here is what was planned for last week.....

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup, Biscuits

3. Tuesday--something Leftover

4. Wednesday--something Leftover

5. Thursday--probably Ham in some iteration, Green Beans

6. Friday--Leftovers? with Roasted Broccoli

7. Saturday--more Leftovers

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Didn't feel like cooking so we fended for ourselves(Hubs wanted Taco Bell for lunch so I didn't feel the need to eat much of anything after that)

3. Tuesday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup, Biscuits

4. Wednesday--Ham, Teriyaki Green Beans

5. Thursday--Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted Broccoli w/Balsamic Vinegar

6. Friday--Leftovers(Pork Stir-Fry)

7. Saturday--Leftovers(Beef Pie)

Pretty much most of what was planned happened.  I made the Beef Pie(which provided leftovers)and the Soup, though the soup happened a day later due to a scrumptious(eye roll)Taco Bell lunch on Monday.

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

*  1 lb. Ground Beef

*  a bag of Broccoli(went into the soup)+ some fresh Broccoli

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  a Ham Bone

                   

Last week we spent $109.87 grocery shopping.

Total shopping comes to $357.69 for November.  There are 5 shopping days left in November.  We are taking our last donation for the year to the food bank today so other than some Brussel Sprouts and maybe some Sweet Potatoes I am done shopping for the month.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $245.25 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $30.91 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $84.13 on Aisle, etc. in November. 

I've earned $15.58 on TaDa in November.

I've earned 35,652 points on Fetch from food shopping in November.

I've earned 15,074 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.($60.29)

I've earned 20,290 points on My Points in November.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 1,259 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.($12.59)

That is $360.29 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn gift cards)on $357.69 of grocery spending so in reality it's negative $2.60 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending(but I do count any rebates on those items) so it's a win/win--the food bank gets a large donation of goods and I get a lower grocery bill.

My savings percentage for the last week was 40.00% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 42.15% spent.

Leftovers going into this week.....Beef Pie, Ham, a Piece of Pork Tenderloin, Ham, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Ham, Roasted Broccoli, Ham, Green Beans, Some Rotisserie Chicken, Ham.

Here is this week's food plan.....

1. Sunday--Leftovers(Ham and Green Beans)

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Turkey, Stuffing, Brussel Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Rolls, Rutabaga(if I can find one that is bigger than the size of a tennis ball), Pie

6. Friday--New Leftovers

7. Saturday--New Leftovers

Other than Thanksgiving, we are all about the leftovers this week.  I've got meatballs and sauce in the freezer if we get tired of same old, same old.

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 last week? 

Sluggy

It's Just So Funny!

This commercial has been coming on the tv channels I've watched recently.  It just makes me chuckle to hear Christopher Walken's voice coming from a squirrel.   I keep waiting for him to say, "It needs more cowbell."  lolz

Have you ever seen this commercial?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the Nov. 22nd Edition

There are some Frugal wins over the past week.....

*  I had one dr. appointment with my Orthopedist.  Just a check in and I don't go back for 4 months. 8-)))

*  I did some more shopping for the food bank..........

There was a Quaker Products deal "Buy 2, Get 3 Free".  Last week I got Oatmeal packet boxes, this week I got 2 containers of oats and 3 boxes of pancake mix.

Then I got 2 shampoos, 1 Body Wash and 2 Deodorants.  I spent $7.97 out of pocket and then got $4 back from Swag Bucks for the deodorants and $2 in Points from Shop Kick for the same deodorants.

*  I hit my $5 Midweek Moneymaker Bonus which bulked up my rebating monies.  Last weekend's Bonus was only $1 so no, that didn't happen.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We have lots of leftovers/planned overs so we'll be eating on this until next Thursday probably.

*  This week was time to get my Rock Star drinks.  Kroger had them for $2 so this was a $1 Moneymaker

*  We finally turned the heat on yesterday night.  Temps got into the 30'sF last night.

*  I found money!  

I found a dime in Walmart on the 18th, near the coin sorter machine.

I went back to Walmart the next day to check on an Rx and found 2 pennies, one at the pharmacy and one near the Customer Service area.

Outside I found a nickel in the parking lot.  Nickels are rare as hen's teeth to find in the wild in my experience.

I found these two pennies in Ollie's on Thursday.  One in the store and one in the parking lot.  Can you guess which was found where? ;-)

I found another penny at Wendy's on Thursday.

Total Found last week..... .15¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.34 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

Something to Remember As We Head Into This Holiday Season

 I can't say it any clearer.....

Sluggy

Shop Kick Problem-Kroger is MIA in their app?

I was just wondering if anyone else is having this same issue with Shop Kick(if you use it).

I went to submit for an offer at Shop Kick which I bought at Kroger yesterday.  Only to find that Kroger is no longer listed in my Shop Kick app!  I hope it's just a glitch because it's one of the two main stores I shop at.  

I sent Shop Kick support an email asking what was up and they didn't even address my concern.  They neither denied or confirmed the status of Kroger as a participating store.

So disappointing.

* Must have been a glitch.  Kroger is back on Shop Kick now.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table....Nov. 18th to Nov. 25th

The "Meat & Three" Edition.........

I remember when we first moved down here we went to a "Meat & 3" restaurant.  We didn't have these type of establishments up North and I rarely went to one where I grew up in Virginia.

I have just "the 3" veggies and I didn't get the meat item.  That's my plate--some kind of greens, a sweet potato casserole and something else I don't recall now and the rest of a dinner roll.

I was not impressed by this lunch, especially the sweet potato casserole as it was sooo sweet!  Ya don't need to sugar up sweet potatoes! ;-)  The green were ok.

I wish other restaurants here did the "Meat & 3" but we just have this one local chain.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Leftover burgers, sweet potato fries.

2. Monday--Dinner somewhere on the road

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Spinach Souffle

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Salad

5. Thursday--Liver, Taters, Beets

6. Friday--Sautèd Scallops, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Spiral cut Ham, Veggies TBD

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Leftover burgers, Sweet Potato fries

2. Monday--Dinner somewhere on the road(Arby's Brisket Sandwich)

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Grilled Asparagus

4. Wednesday--Liver and Onions, Gravy, Broccoli

5. Thursday--Ham, Green Beans, Pineapple

6. Friday--Pork Teriyaki Stir-Fry Veggies

7. Saturday--Fajitas

The liver finally happened (Look away Anne!) We didn't have any mashed potatoes with the liver(as is tradition)and we didn't miss it.  The souffle, chicken parm and the scallops didn't happen but we have ham for days now!

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

*  Salmon

*  Liver

*  Ham

*  Pork Tenderloin

*  Stir-Fry Veggies

*  Chicken

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  3 containers of ice cream(there was a pie and ice cream deal)

*  2 lbs. meatballs

                    

Last week we spent $112.28 grocery shopping.

Total shopping comes to $247.82 for November.  There are 12 shopping days left in November.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $188.69 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $25.66 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $57.16 on Aisle, etc. in November. 

I've earned $15.57 on TaDa in November.

I've earned 27,312 points on Fetch from food shopping in November.

I've earned 13,720 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.($54.88)

I've earned 20,120 points on My Points in November.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 103 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.($1.03)

That is $271.51 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn gift cards)on $247.82 of grocery spending so in reality it's negative $23.69 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending(but I do count any rebates on those items) so it's a win/win--the food bank gets a large donation of goods and I get a lower grocery bill.

My savings percentage for the last week was 50.29% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 45.05% spent.

Leftovers going into this week.....Ham, Pork Stir-Fry, Ham, Pineapple, Ham, Fajita filling and did I mention Ham? ;-)  That's what happens when you defrost and cook a spiral ham and there are only 2 people to eat it and I wasn't about to cook ham for Thanksgiving.

Here is this week's food plan.....

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup, Biscuits

3. Tuesday--something Leftover

4. Wednesday--something Leftover

5. Thursday--probably Ham in some iteration, Green Beans

6. Friday--Leftovers? with Roasted Broccoli

7. Saturday--more Leftovers

With all that ham and other foods leftover I don't plan on cooking for most of this week(other than some veggies).  It's not even "soup weather" here(is it ever soup weather here??) but I am craving Cheddar Broccoli soup so I'll sweat and eat it.  If  I can find rye bread we'll have Rueben sandwiches(sort of, I have Pastrami not Corned Beef)one night but otherwise it's ham.(And I don't even like ham and I can't remember what possessed me to buy one...oh yeah, it was on clearance.) lololz

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 last week? 

Sluggy