Showing posts with label birthday in january. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday in january. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

2020 To-Do Lists.........January Edition

Here's how the January To-Do List turned out...........


JANUARY

* Pay Bills  DONE  It's always done early or on time each month..

*  Read 1,2 Books  DONE 
I read this one........



"Tethered Citizens:Time to Repeal the Welfare State"
by Sheldon Richman

I am going to use an excerpt from an Amazon buyer's review here as it sums up my feelings so well about this book.
By A. Locke.....
"'Tethered Citizens' is truly an eye-opener.  Sheldon Richman illustrates persuasively and with much historical evidence why our welfare system fails and why it will always fail.  He shows that in fact our welfare system, which many believe helps the poor and uneducated, in fact tethers and enslaves them to the state.  He proves convincingly that welfarism does not work no matter where it has been implemented and in what fashion.  He also shows how the idea and methods used to implement welfare are inherently wrong and inhumane.
I especially enjoyed Mr. Richman's detailed historical examples which help to brilliantly illustrate and prove the point he is making.  Not only does it show the blunder that is the welfare state, it also proves that it is a blunder created not by one of the two major parties, but equally by both......"

I was given a stack of this book by one of the Porcfest speakers, Jacob Hornberger, when I attended his lecture last June, with an eye to distribute it among my readers who wished to read it.
If anyone would like a free copy of this book, email me.  I'll send them via media mail until I run out.  Just pass it along after you read it if you want or keep your copy.

And this one...........



"The White Princess" by Philippa Gregory

At Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor(later King Henry VII of England)defeats King Richard III of England. One is affiliated with the House of Lancaster, one is of the Houses of York and these and additional cousins have been battling over the crown of England, also known as the War of the Roses(Lancastrian sides' emblem was a red rose, Yorkist sides' emblem was a white rose-thus the name given to their ongoing struggle over who ruled England in that time).

In order to unite the country Henry Tudor must take as his bride Elizabeth of York, reported to have been Richard III's lover before his death in battle, and the oldest sister of the 2 Princes(Edward and Richard)who were locked up and purported to have been murdered by Richard III.
But even after wedding Elizabeth of the enemy's camp, Henry VII can't unite England, due to the unknown nature of whether the 2 princes are dead or merely in hiding.  The House of York supporters plot to put a York on the throne and it drives everything Henry VII does as king. (Spoiler Alert-Henry VII was NOT a popular king. lol)
Elizabeth is torn between her familial ties(she was also the daughter of King Edward IV-my 1st cousin, 18 x removed)and her new role as a Tudor Queen and her children, including the future King of England.

I enjoy reading these English historical fiction books by Philippa Gregory and this one didn't disappoint either.  After all, the subject of this one, the White Princess aka Elizabeth of York is my 2nd cousin, 17 x removed.  Her husband, Henry VII is also my 3rd cousin, 17 x removed.
They were the parents on good ol' Henry VIII whom everyone is familiar with(as well as his 6 wives). 8-)))
These Gregory books are an easy and enjoyable way to expand your historical knowledge of the ruling class of distant English history.  They are part history and part filling in all the details of all those interpersonal relationships/emotions that are lost to history but are plausible, the fiction part.

*  Hold Giveaways  DONE




2 Giveaways were held.

* Mail Giveaways  DONE
Both were mailed, one on Friday and the other on Saturday.  Still waiting to hear from Wendy if she got her box a ok.

*  Go to Louisiana  DONE
We drove to LA for the wedding.  Between the cost of flying and getting to the airport and driving and those costs it was a lot cheaper to drive there.

*  Wedding  DONE



It was a lovely evening and my daughter glowed.  More on the wedding and our trip another time.

*  Come back from Louisiana  DONE
We had some fun both on the way to and on the way home but of course there was a clusterfu**k on the last leg of the journey since of course this is how my life goes. lolz  More on that later too.

*  Put Christmas Away  DONE
It took about a week to get it all put away once we got home so mid January before this got accomplished.  But then again, we were in no hurry.

*  Declutter Linen Closet  DONE
With Hubs and Ex-CB shoving stuff in there all willy-nilly the linen closet had become unmanageable.  So I tackled that mess.
Before......


After.....

It's more organized now, stuff taken out and other stuff put in and more stuff moved around to make better sense.

*  Declutter Pantry  FAIL
I didn't get around to this item so it goes on February's To-Do List.

*  Clean House  PASS  
While I didn't get a deep clean accomplished between  putting Xmas boxes away, cleaning the living areas and a bit of garage reorganizing most of the house saw a good deal of cleaning.

*  Prefill Giveaway Boxes  DONE
I couldn't finish cleaning the living and dining rooms until I finished this item since filling them meant spreading toiletries and candy all over two rooms. lolz



But it's done now and I have 7 giveaway boxes ready to deploy when needed.
Added bonus(ie-cleaning....all the giveaway items left after filling these 7 boxes fit into 4 Rubbermaid tubs and are neatly stacked away.

*  Clean my Desk Area  FAIL
Again, parts got straightened up but it's still a mess.  I may need a better system and just less stuff kept there.
And I didn't take a picture of this mess. lolz

*  Celebrate my Birthday YAY!  DONE



It was a nice low key celebration....a cake, a steak dinner out and a matinee discount movie.  That was plenty for me though. 8-)

*  Have Dixie Fixed  FAIL
Well this didn't get accomplished due to not being able to book an appointment with the vet until February.  It's scheduled and getting done in February though.

*  Have a Financial Meeting  DONE
We got the meeting about our finances finally done right before the month ended.  With so much going on in January I didn't get the 2019 calculations finished until mid to late month, then we both needed time to sit down separately once I had all the numbers written out to ponder areas we needed to take action in.
But it's done and at any time in 2020, if we feel the need to reevaluate and change course that will happen too.

*  Plan Goals for 2020  IN PROGRESS
I am still working on what Big Goals need accomplishing in 2020.  Mostly these would be home repairs/improvements to get the house ready for market, any big trips/vacations, and some projects I need to progress on....more of those later in another post.

So it was a pretty good month with many things accomplished.
Three fails but one is not my fault. lolz

Onward and upward to February!  I still have some items to add to my To-Do List for this month.

Do you keep a To-Do List?
How did you do knocking items off your list in January?

Sluggy


Friday, January 22, 2016

Friday at Chez Sluggy

Sorry for the radio silence yesterday on the blog.
It was my birthday.
I'd like to say that I was too busy partying and carousing with friends to write yesterday.
But the reality was quite different and I was holding a little pity party for myself.

Some folks on Facebook did send me some Happy Birthday messages which I appreciated.
But I am so bad about remembering other people's birthdays I am not surprised, nor should I be, that most folks don't make a fuse for mine.
Plus not having any friends in "real life" living around here doesn't help.

So I just got wild and crazy yesterday and went up to Rite-Aid and picked up a prescription, bought some air fresheners(will be a .30¢ moneymaker after Saving Star Rebate(lolz), then I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets and spent 33.43, saving 58% over regular retail.  I then got some soup for lunch at the Chinese restaurant and laid down and took a nap.

Hubs took me out for a Birthday dinner at a local steak place that evening and I splurged and got a flight of Long Island Iced Teas......


What's with that face I am making? lolz
And I don't even remember actually eating dinner after drinking those little tiny drinks.
I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking.....

This weekend Hubs will get a cake and sing to me, after I stuff cotton balls in my ears of course......yah, he can't sing.  ;-)

As of now it looks like the Jonas Snowmageddon will miss us mostly.  Only 2-5 inches of snow in these parts on Saturday.  We can do that standing on our heads!  Eldest says they are predicting 2 feet+ down in F'burg and they called school off for Friday on Thursday.  Scuttlebutt by other teachers in his building is that school will be out for all of next week there too if they get as much as what they think is coming.

As for the good "deals" I picked up at Weis yesterday........

4 cans of Pillsbury Grands! biscuits after sale/Qs were .50¢ each.  At this price I don't mind using some of them to make dumplings for chicken 'n dumplings next week because they are as cheap as the store brand whack biscuits I use for this dish usually.
 
4 packs of chewing gum for free after sale/Qs.

2 jars of peanut butter for $1 each after sale/Qs.

6 boxes of whole grain Barilla spaghetti for .55¢ each after sale/Qs. (These are headed to the food bank.)

1.04 lb. of steak for $2.67 after sale/instant $2 off sticker.

1 bottle of ketchup for .79¢ after sale/Q.

4 cans of Hormel chili for .75¢ a can after sale/Qs.

1 bag of fresh spinach $1.24 after 50% off sticker.

4 bags of Oreos(for CB)$1.99 bag after sale/Qs (I'll also get a $2 rebate from Checkout51 for buying these so they'll turn out to be $1.49 a bag in the end.)


College Boy likes Golden Oreos but I just had to get a bag of this one I haven't seen before, Cinnamon Bun.  I may have to actually try one of these before he gets home for break as I love anything Cinnamon......lolz

I'll be going back to Rite-Aid today to do some deals on my Plenti card(I already did some deals on Eldest son's card last Sunday).  I have $5.94 spending tracking toward #1 $30 Bonus Plenti points Reward from those air fresheners I bought Thursday.  I couldn't finish off the deal I wanted to do yesterday because they were out of some of the products so I have reformulated a plan and will go back later today to "work it".  After all is said and done I'll spend $43.96 in Plenti points, get back $40 in new Plenti points AND qualify for $15 in cash Rebates so another moneymaking opportunity!  8-)

Eating out this month...We have only gone out twice--for my birthday dinner last night and for breakfast on Monday(Hubs was home and I had a dr. appointment so he came with me and we hit Denny's for some eggs) and my take-out Birthday soup.  We have spent $75.99 on only 2 meals out/1 take-out meal.  I don't foresee anymore eating out this month so we will stay under $100 on that tally.

All the bills for the month are in and paid for January.  It's only been about a week since the credit card bill cut and we already have $500+ more on that one which will be due in February.  Half of that is for 1 drug refill(medical high deductible)so it's really not so bad.  We had a car that needed it's yearly inspection, another car needed an oil change/etc., CB needed a black shirt for symphonic band performances, we spent $75 at Lowe's and another $75 on CB's books for the semester and then CB's new glasses didn't come in until after he went back to school so I had to mail them to him yesterday so postage was put on the credit card.
The costs of just living your life do add up, don't they?  8-)))

I tried to work on a Giveaway to post yesterday but didn't get very far with it and certainly didn't get it all sorted so I could post it.  Maybe this weekend I'll finish that up and it will go "live" as they say.

Not much else new going on here that I can talk about yet.  I'll have something to share after next Tuesday so stay tuned..........

What's going on in your world?

Sluggy










Tuesday, January 15, 2013

It's the Middle of January Already?!?


I find it hard to believe that half of January has gone by already.
For gosh sakes, I haven't even settled on my Yearly 2013 Goals, let alone which ones to tackle in January! lol

2 Weeks+ into the year and I am already behinder.

So I'll refer to my "To Do" List posted on the sidebar for January(over there --->)
and see how I'm progressing.

*  Gather tax records  working on this one, slowly

*  Make new Price Book working on this one also, I've got 5 more weeks until it's done

*  Shutdown eBay Store  DONE!  Got it shut down and paid the bill, sort of.  I'll get a $10 credit on next month's bill, but eBay doesn't cut you a check for a refund....no, they keep a credit on your account.  As I don't want a $10 credit sitting there unused for another year or forever, I paid my last invoice minus the amount of the future credit, so that my next invoice will be a zero balance.  Makes sense right?  Oh, not to eBay!  They send me a collection email each week, with progressively more threatening language.  Ooooo!  They are going to charge me late fees(of 1.5%)and send my debt to a collection agency.  I am so scared!!  How will I ever afford that 15¢ late fee?
Get real eBay.....I don't care.

*  Clean out InkFrog files & Close Account working on this one too, trashed 300 files so far.  I need to transfer my descriptions and images back to my HD and then onto a flash drive in case I ever need them again.  I hope to get this finished before I have to pay another $9.95 a month.

*  Scan 1 scrapbook of photos Not even begun yet
I'll start this later this week.  No time limit on it but I want to get it done this month.


*  Finish reading John Lee Holt book working on this one, on page 105.  It's not an easy read.  Plus it's quite depressing, since I know the outcome and it's someone related to me.  Chronologically I am at Aug. 18, 1862.....almost to 2nd Bull Run.  I have to keep stopping every so often to refresh my memory on particular battles of the war so I don't get lost.   John is now a part of Pickett's Brigade, Longstreet's Division.  About 9 mos. before Gettysburg.....
Perhaps I should avoid reading any books concerning Lincoln's War in the Winter time. 8-)

*  Put Christmas stuff away  DONE!
Usually this takes all month or longer, but I nagged enough to get everyone cooperating enough to finish the tasks.

*  Defrost and organize Freezer  DONE!  Got the freezer de-iced last week.  Amazing amount of space once the ice was gone!lol  Filled up the new empty space last week as well with some good meat deals.

*  Drop NCP Membership  DONE!  Just waiting on the scanner to arrive back at the HQ in NY.  Gawd!  I will be so glad when this whole adventure is done!!!  What a PITA this was.  Whoever gave me the notion to join this Nielsen Home thing in the first place?  You better be glad I can't remember shit anymore because if I could, I'd be showing up on your doorstep to kick. your. ass.
If you ever see these people advertizing for Panelists, RUN in the opposite direction!  It is so not worth it unless you like doing mindless crap for NO reward.


*  Celebrate my Birthday!  Not time yet--next week  Friday kicks off Birthday Week at Chez Sluggy!  My and Martin Luther King are partying hard this year.....just no CHEESEcake! lol

Sluggy