Showing posts with label blog giveaways. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog giveaways. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

April To-Do List.....Update

We had a pretty long To-Do List for April so let's see how things turned(or didn't turn)out..........


*  Pay Bills--DONE  Everything got paid early or on time.

*  Read 1,2,3 Books--DONE  I had time leftover after reading my 2 books so I read a 3rd small book.


"George Washington and Benedict Arnold-A Tale of Two Patriots" by Dave R. Palmer
It's a more thorough history of the life of Benedict Arnold than any I have read before(not that there are many BA books to begin with).  It delves into his part in our American history and his intersecting history with another American Patriot that is revered today, George Washington.  You will learn many things in this book that I am sure, unless you are a American Revolutionary scholar, you didn't know and they don't teach in school about Benedict Arnold.
Did you know that George Washington thought Benedict Arnold was the best battle tested and valuable General in the Continental Army?  That had the Northern campaign of 1775 to take Quebec from the English of which Arnold helped spearhead had been successful, what was Canada at that time may have become America's 14th state?  Just a couple of nuggets of information contained in this book.
Written by a former Lt. General of the US Army and a past commander of West Point, the author Dave Palmer is well versed in and knows his territory here.

My take away from this-had Arnold's character been less flawed(who of us is perfect?)and there had been less backbiting and in fighting between and among the American military staff and the Continental Congress(even then the politicians added little to our progress!)would Arnold have become a turn coat?
It raised a lot of questions about how our history could have been different if certain dominoes hadn't fallen in the way they did.
Four thumbs up(if you like history).




"Presto!-How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales"  by Penn Jillette.
I love books by people who think outside the box and have a non-conformist outlook on life.  Jillette is funny as heck, profane and a Libertarian to boot so how could I NOT read this when I saw it at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)?!?
Besides anecdotal stories and ramblings about his life/outlook it's all about how, when faced with a life/health crisis he took his life into his own hands and make big health changes(and thus lost over 100 lbs.).  It pretty much spurned me on to take charge of my health and medical issues and attempt to make my own changes.
Even if you aren't contemplating health issues and changes it's a very interesting read.
Four thumbs up.




"You Can Stay Home With Your Kids!-100 Tips, Tricks and Ways To Make It Work On A Budget" by Erin Odom

This book took me a couple of hours to finish as there wasn't much new information here.  the author runs a blog which is highly subsidized and commercialized(her husband quit his job to help run the blog so it has to furnish a living for their family).  I don't fault her for her blog, she is doing what she has to do to make it profitable.  I just don't think her blog has much in the way to help someone else stay home with their kids.
The title-about making it work on a budget-is silly. Of course you need a budget to make this career choice work, unless your name is Gates, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, etc. and money is no object. lolz

She has filled her small book with what would be a starter's guide to being able to afford to be a full time homemaker/mother.  If you are young and wanting to be a stay-at-home-mom, this book may give you some food for thought on the subject but there is nothing really new here.
It was not applicable to me in my season of life.
I give it a one thumbs up.

*  Make Food Bank Donation--DONE

I got off my a$$ and got this done in April finally with Hubs' help.



This food bank takes toiletries, laundry detergent, paper goods, etc. too so 
I loaded them up.
Laundry and cleaning supplies

Non-perishable foods and even cookies! lolz

Some soups and even canned dog food



A few more items I pulled from the stockpile.

*  Take Food Bank Donation--DONE
We were able to take it in surreptitiously this time.  The doors were unlocked as there was some sort of Lenten weekday service starting when we went so no having to get buzzed in.  We got to be Anonymous this time.  ;-)

*  Hold Giveaways--DONE


One giveaway for non-winners



And one for previous winners and/or folks who brought in new readers.

*  Mail Giveaways--DONE  All mailed and received.

*  Work on Health Goals--DONE  I've been fine tuning what I eat and am preparing to go on an Elimination Diet of sorts later this month.  I need to "restart" my metabolism both to reduce my weight and to deal with diet issues with my HS condition.  We are ready to start this adventure once Daughter leaves on the 19th.

*  Fill 6 Months of Giveaways Boxes--DONE



 6 boxes ready to fill.....

And 6 months of giveaways ready to go!  I have since filled another 3 boxes too. ;-)




*  Plan Home Projects Timeline--SORT OF DONE
It's impossible to plan EVERYTHING that needs doing at this time so we have planned out(and time lined)the first 4 or 5 projects with the steps necessary to completion arranged in order.
These Home Improvements/Repairs will be ongoing for a while.
The first items to complete are.....1-Daughter's ex-bedroom, 2-Ex-College Boy's ex-bedroom, 3-Hubs man cave room.  Also involved will be moving items out of the master bedroom and walk-in closet and once those are moved the master bedroom and closet to can addressed.  Sluggy's big ol' game of Dominoes begins!

*  Email a Company--DONE
On the way back home from SC in late March we stopped in Chambersburg, PA for a late lunch at a Bob Evan's(love me some Bobs).  Our waiter was really GREAT(the right mix of personable/friendly/above competent)! I got his name and made a point of emailing the company about him and what an outstanding job he does.  I did get an email back from Customer Services.  Here's the bulk of what they replied.

"How nice of you to share such kind remarks about Terrance!  It is always an encouragement to our employees when they receive positive comments from our guests.  Your compliments have been shared with the restaurant and the director of operations so proper recognition can be given."

I hope that "proper recognition" included some financial recognition(not just a pat on the back).   They would REALLY NOT want to loose him to another employer.  I hope they thanked Terrance well.

Also contacted was Rite-Aid Corporate about a candy bar I bought down in VA that looked like this when I opened it...........



That white thing on the left in the bar is a MAGGOT!  The holes were were it had eaten out the almonds in the candy bar while sealed in the package.  
ick

I did a chat w/a CS person online and they said a "team leader" would contact me.  The next day an asst. manager of the store where I bought this called to apologize and said I could get my money back if I came into the store.  Well, I live 375 miles from that store so I said no, I can't come in.  SUPPOSEDLY they were going to contact me again and mail me a check.  That was about a month ago and I have heard nothing.


*  Purge Garage--SORT OF DONE
We went through everything out there and pulled out all of Daughter's crap(except for the dreadmill)oveer the course of April.  It's sitting in my living room waiting to leave now. yay!
We still need to finish purging the rest of the stuff out there over the course of the Summer.

*  Clean Garage--DONE
Well it WAS clean but then Ex-College Boy started cleaning out his room and he's strewn stuff out there.  Once we get around to purging the rest of the garage the cleaning will happen in earnest.

*  Dental Appt.--DONE
Teeth are cleaned and checked and no cavities.  Go me.

*  Prepare Garden Bed--DONE


We picked up more top soil in April.  We raked a bunch of leaves into the fire pit and once the ashes were cooled we put them in the garden bed. The bags of fertilizer I got last Fall at Walmart for $1 each were mixed in with the ash, top soil and all was tilled.  A photo of the result with Cinnamon the dog supervising pictured above. 
The planting will happen in the coming weeks.

*  Cash in Savings Bond--DONE
Bond was presented for redemption the first trip to the bank we made last month.  No point in keeping the thing once it matured, right?  Get it somewhere else it can earn interest again.

*  Purge Q Envelope--DONE
I always purge the coupon envelope(the one that accompanies to the store)either at the beginning or the end of the month.  The Q inserts on the shelf didn't need purging in April but will get purged in May.

In the end it was a pretty successful April and we ticked off lots of items on our list.
Did you get a lot done on your To-Do List in April?  Tell us about your successes!


Sluggy

Saturday, February 9, 2019

January To-Do List Update

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


* Pay Bills  DONE  Number one priority each month.

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



"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

A fun read and a pretty quick one as well.  I also have the other two books in this trilogy sitting on the ready for me to get to.  I don't know how I feel about viewing the motion picture Tim Burton and Hollywood made based on this tome.  Perhaps after I read the whole trilogy?

And this one.......


"Coolidge-An American Enigma" by Robert Sobel
Most people wouldn't make it their business to read about our previous POTUSes or even read about American history.  It's the past and so dry so why spend your time on it?  
I find history fascinating(why else would I be "into" geneaology?!lol)and unfortunately, enough folks today don't care or think learning from our past is important.

What did I learn from this book?
Calvin Coolidge didn't follow the formula to getting elected that most men do in politics.  "Cool Cal" was his own man who had a strong moral compass who took the office seriously and wanted to serve his fellow Americans.
He was different and again, one of the few POTUS in the last 200 years(and especially the last 100 years) that didn't piss all over the Constitution and use his office to enhance the power of that office and feed his own narcissism/megalomania.


* Hold Giveaways  DONE





* Mail Giveaways  DONE  Everything has been received. 8-)))

* Plan Winter Holiday  FAIL  Well I did some work on it but Hubs hasn't been giving me input plus I need to hear back from my brother before I can actually book anything....but I have worked on this a bit.  Will carry over this item into February and get it DONE!  Have to since we are going in March so we're running out of time. lolz

* Start Getting Tax Stuff Together  DONE  I just need to print out the 1099 from our online bank.  UPDATE-Just did that so this is checked off the list.

* Put Xmas Stuff Away  DONE  All the Holiday decorations got put away well before my Birthday without having to nag.

* Celebrate my Birthday  DONE





An amazing Birthday week!

* Organize Toiletries Stash  DONE
I spent 3 hours up in the Stash gleaning out some stuff to give to friends and family and more stuff to put into Giveaway boxes.  That still leaves me with a LOT of toiletries, et al. for us to use.  Last January the big purge/organize in there took all. day. long.

* Put 2018 Paperwork Away  DONE  Files have been purged and all the 2018 paperwork(except what is needed to file taxes)have been put away.  We are ready for the influx of 2019 paperwork now....ugh.  ;-)


Basically I didn't have much on my list in January to accomplish.
After a busy December/Holiday Season I tend to take it easy on myself in January....plus it's my Birthday month. ;-)

So what did y'all do in January? 
Did ya'll get stuff done that y'all wanted to get done?
Is there anything you avoided doing/getting to last month?


Sluggy

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Goings On Around Chez Sluggy Lately


Oh, where to start.

My drug regime shake up has had some positive results on me.....well, after my angioedema/hives episode happened.
First off I had ENERGY last week!  That's something I've had none of most of this year.
I am actually getting things accomplished that I've wanted to do for months.
Go me.

Last week I........
* Cleaned out my painting supplies(plus washed the tubs I keep these in).
* Cleaned out the pantry
* Cleaned out the cabinet to the left of the stove
* Did some reorganizing in the garage/stockpile
* Cleaned the bookcase next to my desk
* Got together a Food Bank Donation
* Got a Salvation Army Donation ready to go
* Went through some files and purged a bunch of paper
* Cleaned and vacuumed my car(This is something I NEVER do!)

All this was in addition to my usual routine of cooking/laundry/shopping/blogging/etc.

And all this moving around has had me losing weight too, 8 lbs. so far.  I suspect one of the meds I was on that I am now off of was hindering me dropping weight.  Has to be a combo on exercise and off the drug as my food type/intake has not changed at all.

And then Daughter got sick and shared her grunge with me.
Ugh.
This week has been spent in a brain fog and 1 activity.....just trying to be able to breath out of my nose. ;-)
I suspect if this thing doesn't loosen it's grasp on me by Monday I'll be sitting in the Urgent Care early next week.

Another thing I got done last week was to prepare a whole slew of Giveaway boxes......



The open box is for December's Giveaway and the stack contains goodies for 6 Giveaways for 2017.
As long as the blogging ad revenue continues to come in(in drips and drabs)and I can cover the postage to mail these boxes with that tiny income stream(and I get stuff for Free to use as prizes)the Giveaways will continue!
Rah.

So barring catastrophes I am well ahead of the game for at least half of next year on this score.
I just need to figure out where to store these boxes in the house until needed. First world blogger problems, eh? lolz

Putting these boxes together came out of cleaning the dining room.  I had a large box of toiletries in there that needed to be moved out before Thanksgiving as we'll need that room then.  This box was overflow from the toiletries stash in tubs up in Hub's man cave room.  So instead of shoving them goodness knows where in the house and then trying to dig it all out to make up prize boxes for Giveaways I just "got 'er done" now and that potential job is off my plate.  I can just photograph the contents and write up each Giveaway post as needed next year.  I think I have room under the daybed that the dog spends her days napping on in the living room to tuck these away until needed.  This hiding place will be easy to access too.

Here is the Food Bank donation I gathered so far......


Assorted foodstuffs and 10 bottles of shampoo


I'll probably add to the food component before I take this all in next week, as I will be reorganizing the stockpile in the garage some more and will most probably find more "goodies".

And speaking of the garage, next week once I am feeling like myself again I need to concentrate on going through stuff in the garage to donate to charity.  Between the stockpile, Daughter and BF's stuff and all my old eBay selling days stuff out there it's just too, too much in there and I am ready to let go of more crap!

I want to do at least another 4 Salvation Army donations before the end of the year(not counting the one ready to go this weekend).  I've still got lots of new/unused toys and gift wear and this is the time of year that sort of stuff is highly sought after for gifting in the charity stores.
I'd rather donate and take the tax write-off(if we hit the threshold this year-last year we didn't)than spend lots of time and energy on eBay attempting to sell it.
There are a few items if I get the "umph" that I will try to sell....mostly items I know I can get a good price for(to make the hassle worthwhile).

Ok, I am off to breath and maybe get some more cleaning/organizing done today.
Oh, and a trip to Rite-Aid too if I can sustain some energy long enough to do that. 8-)))

What are y'all up to today?

Sluggy

Friday, November 19, 2010

Giveaways Galore....Go Check Them Out!

Lots of Giveaways out in BlogLand to tell y'all about today!

*First up there is Noreen over at Silly Mom Of 2 Silly Girls.
She has a bunch of Giveaways running.  My favorites are.....

Old El Paso Family Taco Night  Ends 12/1

Fiber One Bars/Cereal & Safeway Gift Card Ends 11/25

Lawry's Marinades and Mixes Ends 11/22

*Then there is Marilyn over at Marilyn's Money.
She has the OEP Taco Giveaway as well....

Old El Paso Family Taco Night  Ends 11/24

*And I just saw A. Marie over at My Money Mission Online put up a couple of  Giveaways too.

Hamburger Helper Show Your Helping Hand  Ends 11/27

MOZAIK® PartyWare   Ends 11/27

Go check them out and tell em  I gave them some Linky Love! 8-)

Sluggy