Stuff Going On in LIfe Lately

 We have a well loved Christmas cactus that dances and sings, "Feliz Navidad".  Well it use to dance.  I pulled it out this season and it's got a hitch in it's giddy-up.  Meaning it no longer dances, it just twitches slightly.  So bizarre but then again, everything around here is bizarre.

While we were away we had the PO hold our mail.  That worked fine until it didn't.

We came home to see a very soggy box sitting on our front steps. ???  The carrier couldn't be bothered to come 2 more steps up and put this package on the covered porch?  Or better yet, leave the box under our very ample car port where they ALWAYS leave boxes??  So 2 of the 3 items got ruined as this box, from our guestimate, sat out in the elements from Dec. 23rd until Dec. 30th and got heavily rained on for at least two of those days.  So now we are fighting with the USPS to reimburse us for this loss, especially since supposedly we had a HOLD on our MAIL during this time!  We were informed at the main branch that two different carriers handle the route we are on and there is no telling which one it will be.  I guess one of them didn't get the HOLD MAIL MEMO?  The Cajun Pony Express strikes again!

We went to World Market to check out their Christmas clearance.  I splurged on this tiny wool flamingo wrapped in Christmas lights with a gold star on it's head.  It was 75% off.

It's kind of homely but I like it.  We have taken down all the Christmas decorations so this is a fun thing to have on my desk seeing as my birthday is Tuesday.

I received a birthday card this past week from cousin Sonya.  It will probably be the only card I get besides from Hubby.  Thank you for being my friend. 8-)

 My son is obsessed with sloths.  I found this calendar in World Market too but he already has a sloth calendar for 2025 so left it behind.

Anybody here old enough to remember who Larry Flint was?  They still have a Larry Flint Hustler Club downtown here. Well at least they still have a prominent sign for it still up.

I have two different credit cards hacked in December.  The only common denominator is I had one attached to an auction site I used and after that one got hacked and I got send a new card, I attached the other c/c to my account there and the same think happened. ugh.  One card had two online charges I didn't make but the other card was to a physical/brick and mortar business in Owings Mills MD(some place I have never been)and evidently I bought 3 sessions of puppy socialization classes and paid for a cat cafe experience there!  Um, NO!! lol

I contacted the people running that selling platform and they don't seem to give a flip so I'll not be buying anything there anymore.  That makes me sad as now I can't support a business that sells there.  I guess the number of complaints like this has to reach a critical mass before this selling platform takes any action.

I got another $5 "come buy something" credit at Kohl's.  The Kohl's here is crap(doesn't have anything good and is a very small store)so I guess I'll go in and "buy" another Godiva dark chocolate bar.

My hair. oh, my hair.  It is finally growing back in and I look less like a cancer patient.  I did look for a time like a character from "Orange is the New Black".  Remember the mental patient named Lolly, who stomped a guard to death and buried him in the greenhouse?

Before I dyed my hair before our trip my hair looked something like hers.

Now it's grown bit more and I have the "French Collaborator" look going on.

French women who collaborated with the Nazis during WWII were publicly shorn of their hair to make an example of them and to identify them.  Many had people holding them down and just had others hacking off their hair in chunks with scissors, which is not a good look.

Either that or I have the "Alfalfa" of Little Rascals fame "gone wrong" going on.  I have clumps of hair and cowlicks popping up all over my head.

Picture Alfalfa with 10 cowlicks.  Neither is a good look, especially on a woman.  I am hopeful that my hair gets to a "normal length" at some point.  The dermatologist told me to get some Rogaine and put it on my scalp but the hair is too long now and there is no earthly way to part it to get to my scalp.  I may have to resort to those vitamins with minoxidil in them.

Here's the last photo I took of me with "real hair" before they shaved my head for surgery in July....

My hair wasn't in great shape at that point after my 2 older children decided to stab us in the back and it was falling out in clumps from the stress they caused me.  At least it is growing back in evenly if not quick enough.

My neurologist is still playing with my tremor medications-trying to find the right balance.
The first two tries haven't worked and now she had me change my blood pressure meds to something different that has the added possibility of helping with tremors too.  I now have to take my bp 2 x a day as this new Rx is stronger and it could cause my bp to go too low and there is the real possibility of me passing out. Oh goody!  Needless to say I haven't been driving until we know how my body will react to this new med.

I did get an offer to take out a student loan from a local bank.  I think they are 44 years too late though. 8-)

We saw an Ugly  Christmas Sweater with a sloth on it but alas it was about a 10 year old Girl's size so wouldn't work for my almost 29 year old son. Did I mention that he is crazy for sloths? lol

I saw these in Kroger.  It's a brand of wontons with "Squid Game" images on the bags.  Why would that creepy show entice someone to buy their product?  Marketing......It's beyond me.

And of course the obligatory discarded dental picks we saw on our trip....

That one was in South Carolina and I'll spare you from all the others we encountered in GA, AL. MS, NC and VA(and of course LA).  I now have so many photos of these nasty things I could fill a book with them.  For the love of god, please stop throwing these things on the ground and find a trash can people!  It's really not that difficult a task.

Last Friday on our outing to Kroger, we stopped at Aldi while in that city.  While I waited in the car while Hubby ran in to pick something up, I noticed snow falling sporadically.  It didn't amount to anything and by the time we drove out of their parking lot, it had changed over to rain.  And this new front moving in has shifted well South of us so no more snow here, just bitter cold.  Well bitter for people who have never lived in the North. ;-)

Sluggy

To-Do Lists for 2021.....The January Edition

 Here's how my January To-Do came out......

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything was paid(plus 1 bill was paid ahead annually for the year)and we had a shade over $300 leftover.  Go me.

*  Read 1 Book  DONE   I read this one..........

"The Seasons of My Mother: A Memoir of Love, Family and Flowers" by Marcia Gay Harden

I've always enjoyed Ms. Harden's theatrical work so her name on the cover drew me in.  It's a heartfelt account of Harden's life growing up, her later years and career and her close connection with her mother especially.  It's told in the present looking at her past and her mother through the lens of Alzheimer's as her mother developed that condition and how it affected Marcia's life.  It was a very interesting read(as Marcia led an extraordinay life, especially as a child)and very sad at the same time.
Marcia's mother was a master of Ikebana and she used that love of traditional Japanese flower arranging to entwine the chapters of her and her mom's stories.

I highly recommend this one and it's going on my book shelf instead into the donate pile. 8-)

*  Take Down Xmas Stuff  DONE   The tree and decor was taken down after the 10th of the month.  There wasn't much to actually do as we used the small tree that was sparsely ornamented and not much decor was put up.

*  Organize and Put Away Xmas  DONE  Well except for the Xmas table runner on the buffet(done now)and the Xmas tablecloth on the dining room table(still on it)everything Xmas is put away.  I just need to move everything off the dining room table(it has become a dumping ground for new R-A purchases and a staging area as I go through and organize stuff)to get that tablecloth folded and put in the buffet drawer.  It will happen soon but I am calling this item done....99.9%. ;-)

*  Organize Pantry  FAIL  I started going through the Pantry but got distracted and never finished that item.  sigh.  This goes forward onto February's list.

*  Clean out Fridge  DONE  I really need to put this on every month's list!  I cleaned/cleared out both fridges(we have one in the garage as well for overflow)in January.  It seems to be a constant cleaning/organizing chore.  I am trying to clear some "old dogs" out of the garage fridge too in my quest to use up stuff and have been relatively successful at moving/eating older things.

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE

*  Mail Giveaway  DONE  Promptly mailed and received.

*  4 Dr. Appointments  DONE  One was a Telemedicine appointment with the Sleep Doc.  Since I got a new BiPAP machine insurance required this appointment(in order for them to pay for it)even though I've been  using a machine for 7+ years now and I sort of know how to use it. lol
But hey, I'll pay the office visit charge for this appointment over paying OOP for a new machine. 

Then I had a routine check-up with my Primary Doc.  Changes some meds and we're all good there.

Also had an exam with the Ophthalmologist(eyes are the same, no changes)and new reading glasses.

Then I finally got my "annual" mammogram which was almost a year later than planned.  I usually go in Jan./Feb. but I decided to wait until Spring(better weather and less hassle)in 2020 and then Covid hit and the hospital here shut down doing mammography until Summer.  Then I had an HS procedure on my breast and couldn't get a boob smashing until that healed up.  After 1 aborted attempt in early October it got rescheduled a couple of times and I went on an antibiotic long term to get the incision finally healed.  End of January we had a successful mammo and Sluggy shows no signs of boob cancer.  Rah!

*  Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE  Last week....or so I thought.  Turns out I still have $4 in ECBs to use.  *Sluggy raises her fist to the sky and exclaims, "Curses on you CVS!!!"  More on that later as well.

*  Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  I successfully rolled/spent down lots of BC at Rite-Aid(See all the R-A posts for January).  This needs to continue into February as I hope to divest myself of BC altogether on 2 cards.

*  Celebrate my Birthday  DONE  Due to Covid nobody came to help Hubs and I celebrate my "early SS" birthday.  We did do some Birthday celebration eating(free burger out at Red Robin, Chinese take-out on my Birthday),Hubs gave me 2 gift cards and I received some Bday cards.  But other than that it was a lowkey celebration.  The big thing was Hubs made me a birthday cake from scratch(his first from scratch cake ever!).  It was yummy except he forgot to add raisins(carrot cake)but that's ok!  I just sprinkled raising on top as I don't do frosting on my carrot cake recipe as it's so rich and yummy and doesn't need frosting to perk it up. ;-)

*  Stay Warm  DONE  Well we had a good amount of snow and cold in January.  If I had a crystal ball I'd know that February was the month I'd need to put this item on my list! lolz
I've been more conscious about lowering the heat and or closing doors so we aren't heating spaces we aren't using so the electric bill wasn't too bad in January.  I've pretty much switched from iced tea to hot tea as my beverage of choice for now and I'm layering my clothes more to keep the chill off.  Too bad January was just the dress rehearsal for Staying Warm in February!

*  Eat Down the Freezer  DONE  Well we DID eat down lots of foodstuffs in the freezers but, because of some good deals I found we pretty much filled it back up in January so we ended the month a little below what we started with. lol  It's all good though as we used older things that needed using. ;-)

All in all, it was a successful for me month.  Not much going on and not much that was ambitious but I'm good with that.

How did your January turn out?

Sluggy

It's My Birthday!!!

First some business......

I did this on Sunday to use up expiring BC at Rite-Aid.
Except......I didn't figure things correctly, like the price on the body wash was reg. retail and not my 20% discount so I had to buy 2 candy bars to use the BC up instead of just one candy bar.
No fear though as Ex-College Boy has agreed to take these bars off my hands. lol

I ended up spending .36¢ on a R-A free gift card but I got the BC all used up.
Except....the Softsoap gave me a new $1 in BC.  So I'll find a way to use that within the next 30 days and I don't plan on having any BC on this Wellness card going forward, so 2 cards(almost)done.

I plan on emptying another card later this week on Friday.  More later as that unfolds.

* Today I start another trip around the sun.  I had planned a Giveaway to start today to celebrate my birthday but I've got people to see and places to go today and didn't get it finished yet so that will go up on Wednesday(if I don't party too hard today/tonight lol).

So have some fun and raise a toast today to the 'Ol Slug(and my haters can curse me as is their fashion)but do something out of the ordinary to celebrate your life!

And I'll see y'all tomorrow. 8-)))

Sluggy

January Is My Birthday Month! Giveaway #1

January is when I celebrate another trip around the Sun here on planet Earth.

This year is a big dreaded Birthday.
The big 6-0.
But seriously, I can't believe I am this old?!?!?!

Tell me, does this look like the face of someone turning 60?

Ok, maybe the crazed expression makes me appear old AND nuts, but still.........

How did I ever go from this.........

To this..........

In just 60 years?

If you have an answer please let me know.  ;-)


Moving forward.........
Let's make this month all about my readers and not me by holding THREE COUNT 'EM THREE GIVEAWAYS this Month!!!

These will be a little different(just like me lolz)and will NOT be an awesome collection of toiletries and such.

First giveaway--a set of bags, a duffle/tote bag and a purse.

These were part of a clothing order I made in 2018 but the last thing I need is more luggage/tote bags so they are up for grabs.

I will also throw in one of these sets of earrings and necklaces from Paparazzi Jewelry, winners choice.........

If you are selected as the winner, I'll send you a better photo of the 4 sets so you can choose which one you want.  All are lead and nickel free for those who have jewelry metal sensitivities.



Close up shots of the goodies..........

Both bags are made of a monotone patterned leaf print in a heavy canvas-like fabric.  The pink flowers are embroidered onto the bags.

The tote has longish handles, the purse has a long strap and an outside pocket on the back.
Both bags have zippered closures at the top.

There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY for this Giveaway.  Come back every day and enter though!
Please tell me what you love or hate about the month of January, how old you will turn in 2019(if you dare!), your best birthday memory, your favorite kind of birthday cake, the best gift you received for a birthday and how old were you, stuff like that in your comments.

You can also earn 1 additional Entry(one per giveaway)by blogging about this Giveaway on your own blog or on Facebook.  I need a link to that mention to check it, to make that entry valid.


I'll leave this giveaway open until Thursday, January 24th at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. On January 25th I'll mark all valid entries and use Random dotorg to pick a number and that corresponding person's entry wins.

*Please note the rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winner on this blog on January 25th and that person has 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

If I am not contacted via email, I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supplied with their entry(or gave me to add to the Giveaway Data Base)and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one with those Google Circles nonsense I CAN NOT CONTACT YOU as Google Circles doesn't show your contact info.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get the Birthday Giveaways started.  Good Luck to all!

Two more giveaways coming up later today.......

Sluggy

Feeling the Love

On Saturday after hauling College Boy back to school there was a card waiting for me in the mailbox.
On Monday there was another card in the mailbox.

Birthday wishes from distant family members?
No.

Both were from online blogger/friends........

I just want to thank Lorraine and Rachel for their thoughtfulness and good wishes for the day.
So unexpected and so appreciated!

I very rarely get personal snail mail and these were a thrill to receive. 8-)

Sluggy