2011 Review Extravaganza......July to September

I'm taking part in this 2011 Review Extravaganza from over at Mimi's Place, Living in France.
Here is the link to The Rules.
If you want to take part go read the rules and then link up each Friday in December.
And to read the folks participating, go click on the Extravaganza Button on my side bar.


Onward to my 3rd installment of the  Review of 2011...the July to September months.

JULY

July was a very busy month here!

We started out the month at the halfway point of 2011.  I did a check-up on my progress toward my GOALS for the Year.

The Garden started off Doing Great!

I continued earning some Coin on the Side.

I tried to become an Amazon Affiliate.  This didn't work out very well as once it took effect, I could only post titles and no content on the blog.  I then posted about 20 titles in one day trying to get it to work.  HERE is one of those posts......HERE is another one.  Funest day ever!

I finally held another Stockpile Sale.  Here is the work I did to get THERE.

AUGUST

 I did a little DIY in the Kitchen in August.  Homemade Breakfast Sausage anyone?

 Who could not love CUCUMBER P*RN?

Can you believe we held another Stockpile Sale?

We saw some more Decluttering P*rn this month.

We waved goodbye to Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Holly when we dropped off our Daughter to college for the first time.

And I ended the month talking about my Artistic Past.

SEPTEMBER

I dug out the trash and got #2 son's room cleaned.   Most unusual garbage found?..... 52 Plastic Spoons.

Just into the month and our area was hit by the worst Flood since Hurricane Agnes-The Flood of 2011.

I reminisced about being Mortgage-free in one breath and  having our house insurance cancelled in the next because I lost The Bill. bleh

I talked about the End of an Era-my Rite-Aid Pillaging.

As part of my effort to get rid of the rest of the eBay stock I had hanging around, I decided to hold a Garage Sale-styleToy Sale locally.  I spent a large amount of time prepping for it like HERE.

We ended the month with a Lightning Strike!

What is in store for us after this?
Check back next Friday for Part 4 in the Series, where we dissect October to December.

Sluggy

The Year in Review 2010--Part III

No, I am not celebrating the New Year yet!
Mimi over at LIVING IN FRANCE is doing a Linky Thingy...don't ya like my use of technical terms?

Anyway, you are suppose to post your life's highlights from 2010.  This installment is covering July, August and September.  Be sure and check out the other bloggers' posts too....



JULY

After a rather late start to the growing season we finally have our first Harvest in early July....yay!

I start my Christmas gift shopping this month.  By buying throughout the year you can pick things up for discounted prices and save a ton over waiting until the Christmas season when discounted prices are hard to come by, if not impossible to find!  The key with shopping this way is to be O-r-g-a-n-i-z-e-d!  Keep track of what you buy and whom you need to buy for.  Otherwise, you'll find yourself spending way more than you need to or planned to.

It is a very hot month here in my corner of the world.  I don't do well in the heat....never have.  Despite that, I keep my donating momentum going and many more items are sent off to Sallie's.  I also glean the stockpile again and send off a large donation to the Food Bank in July, as well as a nice healthy cash donation. 

I talk about striking a balance between store bought/processed foods and making everything from scratch and the cost implications.  About that same time #2 son has a meltdown with me over not getting fast food anymore.  Imagine having a mother who cares enough about you to cook from scratch....why, I have alot of nerve torturing him that way, don't I?!?

I do some Rite-Aid shopping(not much really this month)and I hold a bevy of giveaways on the blog.

Our beagle is diagnosed with cancer.

AUGUST

This month I attempt to not spend money at the grocery store.  We eat from the stockpile/freezer, the garden keeps us in veggies and I supplement what the garden didn't supply with produce from the farmstand.   I keep track of how many pounds of food we grow and we pass the 29lb. mark this month.  

I reminisce about my Shopping Triumphs of 2009--The great Catalina scores and KMart Double Coupon shops that just seem to have not happened in 2010.  I shed a wistful tear or two.

Hubs & I take a short vacation to Maine for some decompression time.  We go sightseeing and visit  friends.  It is relaxing because we have no set itinerary.  We just play it by ear each day and chose something to do/see from our list and don't try to cram every possible entertainment in.  It is also a very frugal vacation since we stay in an RV, or with friends, eat cheaply or use coupons at restaurants whenever possible and do free or almost free activities.  We even Christmas shop at discount stores as one activity.

I turn my minivan into a solar oven.  #2 son and I make chocolate chip cookies.  They are excellent, cheap to cook(free energy!) and we do it all without heating up the kitchen or the house.

The fridge breaks and I can't get anyone to come fix it.  We buy a new fridge.  It is a necessity as....

#1 son returns home from his summer job.  He brings with him a friend from England who stays with us for a week.   Just guess how much food 2 19 year old guys can eat in the course of 1 measly week!

I actually sew....patch and hem pairs of  pants for #1 son.

As a thank you for sewing his pants, #1 son leaves home to go back to college, taking with him the other "Eating Machine".  My wallet sighs in relief.....

SEPTEMBER

By the end of this month, we top 77lbs. of produce from our garden...wow!

I hit a 75% clearance sale on food items at Rite-Aid.  Most of this goes to the Food Bank.

I put out a call for all Eastern/Central PA Bloggers to link up together.  Nobody answers the phone....

Just about the time I was running low on dog food, Weis Markets runs a Purina Catalina Deal and I take advantage of it.
Synchronicity?....I think so!

This month also sees those $5/5 Kraft Cheese printable coupons.  Many people end up with many many packages of shredded cheese for $1 a pack, myself included.

I talk about how to effectively complain to a company about a product to obtain refunds, free product or high value coupons.
I then complain to anyone reading the blog about how our local newspapers are inconsistent from one to the next with which coupon inserts are included on Sunday.  Maybe I should follow my own advice and complain to the newspaper companies and not y'all. ;-)

The neighbor's RV saga begins when I complain about how they leave that huge thing parked in their driveway and block my sightlines.  I get some Anonymous nasty comments over that one.  Hmmm....perhaps the neighbors read my blog?  Naaaahhh!

By the end of the month, the garden is still producing....especially Giant Alien Cucumbers.   Now there's a title for a Sci-Fi parody......"When Giant Cukes Attack!"

The Final Installment, PART IV, is coming tomorrow so I can get this finished before 2010 is over.

Sluggy