Chatting About What's New in Sluggy's World

The big news is I continue to drop the lbs.
I'm down 28.8 lbs. since getting home from the hospital on April 5th.
Counting the 18 lbs. I took off the 4 days I was IN the hospital, that makes a weight(and water) loss of 46.8 lbs.

I don't care for blogs that go on and on about diets and dieting and loosing(or gaining) weight, they bore me to tears and I rather think MY weight journey is boring all of you as well, so I won't be making this sort of post a regular thing.
But I could use some "atta girls" and encouragement now and again, so you may see a desperate plea for High Fives now and again. ;-)

Perhaps I'll make a tab on the blog and I can post all the "Downsizing of Sluggy" reads there so those who are yawning even now at this mention of weight loss don't have to suffer through another one, but those who can't get enough of me(hehehe)can stay updated when there is less of me to love.

The big job this weekend was going through the stockpile and cleaning up the garage.  No matter how much I organize out there and try to keep it picked up, the other humans living here like to leave their stuff everywhere and trash my system.  It's my lot in life......at least until they all leave home. lol

So it started out as just going through the stockpile to get rid of everything I can no longer eat.  We did keep a little for the other people who live here since they can still eat it and they like it.
Things I no longer eat from my stockpile, due to the sodium content, that we either eliminated totally or just kept a few of are.....

*Spaghetti Sauce
*Tomato Sauce
*Knorr's Rice and/or Noodle Sides
*boxed Mac & Cheese
*Barbecue Sauce
*Marinades
*canned Soup
*packaged Taco Seasoning
*Lipton dry Soup Mix
*Seasoned Bread Crumbs
*various canned Veggies
*Green Olives
*As well as boxes of Cereal past their use by date(the kids never ate them) 8-(

I was going to throw out the Stove Top Stuffing but if I don't use the flavor packet(and make up my own spices/seasonings from scratch), I can still use the bread cubes.
We kept all the A-1 Steak Sauce too since #2 Son prefers to drown his pork chops and steak in it. shudder

What is leaving is 10 boxes filled with products.  I'll let the brother in-law go through it all to see if there is anything he'll use before I freecycle it all and trash what no one wants.

I also gleaned another box full of toys and housewares to take to Salvation Army while we were in the garage. 

I am STILL trying to learn Windows 8 on my new laptop.  It is so user Unfriendly!  I am taking so long to get the hang of it that I fear some of that weight loss was grey matter. lol
The most insane thing is that the mail program in W8 no longer supports a POP email account...which is what I have with my ISP.
So Hubs set it up with my Yahoo email(web based email) and some other hocus-pocus so that now I can get my email from my POP account into the mail program BUT email won't go to my Inbox.  He had to set up a separate folder in the mail program and all my mail goes into that.
Crazy shit....

I also can't upload photos from my camera to this laptop.  My camera technology is now officially OBSOLETE.
Sigh.
Hubs has to upload my camera card to his desktop machine and then email the photos to me.....into my "special folder" in this stupid W8 mail program.
And I can't find any photo editing feature/software on this laptop......there might be one but I don't possess enough brain cells any longer to FIND it!
Argggggghhhhhh

Plus my Wand Scanner, which I use to digitize all the old family photos in the scrapbooks.....the laptop has no orifice in which to insert the micro card adapter.  At the least, I need to buy something else to get the laptop to download the photos.

And since I'm on the subject of photos......I thought I had saved all my photos onto a flash drive from the desktop computer before it died.  Since Judy never posted about her Swap Sister presents and she STILL is not responding to my emails, I was going to post some photos of her goodies.
By the way, I was her Swapper person if you didn't figure that out from my last sentence. lol
I had taken pictures of her goodies before I sent them off.
Well, evidently I deleted them or never transferred the photos onto the flash drive since I can't find them!
I guess no one will ever see the awesome goodies I sent her and realize what a wonderful Swap Sender I am.  ;-)

Daughter is in her last week of classes for the term at the college.
#2 Son had his school orchestra and jazz concerts this past week.  The Jazz Festival was today and he has a recital this week along with the students of his flute teacher.

One of the highlights of my week was chatting with Mark of Our Simple Lives on the phone.  The only thing missing was a box of wine...... ;-) 
Mark and Fred joined the "Parent of a Teen" Club this week, when their son turned 13.  Hoist a glass or three to them with me!
And then go check out Mark's Facebook page for his side hustle HERE.  He's filling up garages at a swift clip in south central PA with his vintage, Mid-Century Modern, Danish and otherwise fashionable furniture.
Yes, Mark is now a furniture pimp.
 He's got inventory to move so if you are looking for stunning furnishings, check him out.
Of course when he brought up his new furniture buying/selling obsession I got to tell him he was turning into a hoarder, just like me.

Last night was the Junior/Senior Prom.  I snapped a few photos of #2 Son and his Date before they left for another photo session at another girl's house, and then on to the Prom.

I told them to look off into the distance for this one.....I kind of like it because they both started loosening up and had fun with this one.

This week I have 2 medical appointments-a CT scan and a follow-up with my new family doctor group.  The following Wednesday I report to the Sleep Disorders Center.  I suspect that will be a fun filled outing as well.

What's new in your world?


Sluggy

You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

This is the Versatile Blogger award which I was presented with by B-Kat over at Slay The Monster.
She just paid off her mortgage by the way, so go give her a nice pat on the back, won't you?

There are 2 rules that come with this prestigious honor....yes, make it sound like a grand event now, don't I?lol

Rule 1--Pass on this Versatile Blogger award to 5 other deserving VERSATILE bloggers!
And the award goes to.....

A Mom Money and More
Finally Frugal and Happy
Pay The Bills or Feed the Kids
Two Girls One Budget
Our Simple Lives


The second rule is to tell you 7 random things you don't know about me....oh, like anyone cares!
If you have nothing better to do(contemplating one's navel comes to mind), here are my 7 things.......

1.  My Great Uncle once gave me 4 wild rabbits he trapped, to raise as pets.  Within 1 year I had 52 rabbits.
2.  The high school I attended no longer exists.
3. I have driven a Chevy Chevette around Manhattan(more than once)and almost had it stolen once in Times Square.
4.  I have never attended a high school Prom.
5.  I have sung with the Naval Academy chorus and it was broadcast on the radio.
6.  In high school, some friends and I stole a duck out of a pond because we needed it to appear on stage in a skit we wrote.  It was returned with nary a feather out of place.
7.  I worked for awhile in Brooklyn with the sister of Michael Tylo.  If you ever watched "The Guiding Light", you know he played Quniton Chamberlain(aka Quinton McCord).....of Quint and Nola fame.....or "Quola" as die-hard GL fans refer to them as a couple......

Therefore, if I ever have to play "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" I can link to Kev in 3 moves....

I worked with Teri Tylo, who is sister to Micheal Tylo, who worked on GL(from 1981-1985/1996-1997) with Kevin Bacon, who played Phillip Spaulding (from 1981-1982).

And this proves that you NEVER know what you'll find here! ;-)

Sluggy

Chaotic Times.....The World Isn't Ending Yet!

First, I am SO glad that the world did not end last Saturday.
I just don't have time for that to happen right now....ya know? 8-)

Here are a couple of photos from a couple of weeks back.
First my daughter before she left for Prom......

She had a frugal-ish Prom.  The dress is the same one she wore/bought last year.  No multiple dresses were bought by the parents in preparation for Prom like some girls & parents do.  And it's a style she can wear and has worn outside of Prom occasions.  The shoes she already had and the necklace she bought last year.

Unfrugal would be the amount of money she spent on having her hair did.  She paid that bill herself and her eyes about bugged out at the price tag for some curling and hairspray. ;-)

Daughter has legs that go on for days.  Thankfully she didn't inherit my genetic code for short stumpy stumps.

And here is #2 son a few Saturdays ago when his musical friends came over to jam.....

The neighborhood got serenaded briefly.
Those tiny little amps sure ratchet up the volume....

Now this is where I apologize to all my readers and blogging friends for my lack of posts, effort and commenting/reading their posts this past week.
The accident threw a complication into my already falling apart plans for the week.  We've been dealing with insurance companies(notably an especially unfriendly-dare I say hostile-adjuster for the other driver's insuror), towing companies, hospital reports/forms and salvage yards.  Between jumping through these hoops and my elevated stress level, I've been a tad distracted.

The forecast kept saying RAIN on Saturday so I backed off of holding the Garage Sale and didn't advertise it at all.  Of course, Saturday morning the sun is shining and it's a glorious rain-free day.
Ugh.
Man makes plans and God laughs.....

We did get the Garage clean-out DONE....yay!  But since the Garage Sale didn't happen, I still have many boxes of HBA stockpile in the living room still.  After #1 son goes through it today to extract what he needs for the summer, we'll have to get it all moved to the garage....so there goes the cleaned garage.
Ugh.
But at least once the Garage Sale does happen, everything will already be there, organized, ready for me to set up the tables, put it all out and price.  Of course until I have the sale, the garage will be less navigate-able.
So I am hopeful that by this evening I'll have a mostly cleared out living/dining room, except for the furniture, and it will be ready for the 'relatives' onslaught which begins on June 5th.

Presently, I'm buried in Salvation and Salvation Army wannabee stuff.  Hubs trunk is almost full again, I've got items to take pictures of and I've got boxes of stuff to finish going through today.

Oh, and I have to drive #1 son across the state on Friday to his summer job since their car is totaled and IF we ever see any money for it from the responsible party's insurance company it won't be soon enough to get another vehicle for them before they both leave for the summer.   This accident has totally jacked up our plans for the summer but at least we all survived it. ;-)

Add in the end of the year regular craziness and it's full blown Pandimonium here!

And I need to go back to Rite-Aid today but nothing new about that.lol

So that's why I've been MIA lately.
More on this story as it develops.....

Sluggy

The End of Year Season has Begun! & a Bit of Bad News and Good News

Before you think my cheese has totally slipped off it's cracker, I am NOT referring to the End of the Calendar Year Season, but the End of the School Year Season.

If you have kids in school, whether Pre-School, Elementary, Jr. High, High School or College, the Month of May through June is a very busy time of year!
As various school programs and extra-curricular programs come to an end and summer plans begin, total mayhem takes over the parental life.

For example, here is what is coming up in my kids' lives in the next 8 weeks....

*High School Concert and Jazz Band Concert  Completed last night
*Senior Prom
*Final College Exams
*High School Marching Band Banquet
*High School Marching  Band Disney Trip
*Finishing Young Scholars College Classes(Dual Enrollment Seniors)
*French Honor Society Ceremony
*Graduation Practices
*Honor Society Ceremony
*Final Exams
*Senior Awards Night
*Graduation
*Senior Lock-In Party
*Packing 2 off to Summer Camp employment
*College Orientation
*Packing 1 off to Summer Camp

Add in bringing 1 kid home from college, taking him out for staff training for the summer job, having him come home for his sister's graduation, hosting a house full of relatives for said graduation, trying to clean and fix up house before said relatives descend on house for graduation, running around to get stuff kids need to go to summer camp(either to work or as a camper).
Throw in doctor appointments, dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, eye doctor appointments and refilling medications.

I'll get time around June 20th to sit down and breath again I am figuring.....lolol

Most of this craziness stems from #2 Son being in the band and Daughter being a senior in high school.
I suspect it won't be nearly as hectic next year when I have just the lone Sophomore in high school.
One kid left at home fulltime....
Wow!
I can't wait!!!

Mostly that's due to the fact that my Daughter is alot of work.
You mom's out there with both sons and daughter....do you find that the girls are just so much more exhausting?
Or is it just me.....and my girl?
Please tell me it's NOT just me!lol

Besides the High School Concert last night, we also got 2 pieces of news from the University Daughter is going to be attending.
First the bad news.....
Due to the proposed state budget for PA, the state colleges here are having their funding slashed, BIGTIME.
Daughter got a letter with the estimated updated costs to attend(since the state budget doesn't even get voted on until June sometime, we won't know the final costs until then).  Instead of the usual 8% rise in attendance costs, it's looking more like 18%!
More than DOUBLE the usual rate.
Suddenly the one school that Daughter wouldn't have to go into debt to attend is going to leave her with a small pile of debt when she is finished there.
At least she got that small Board of Governors Merit Scholarship for all 4 years of her undergraduate schooling, so if she can save some summer job money, she might squeak out with a teeny tiny pile of debt to pay back.

Now the good news.....
Daughter heard back from that pre-med program at the school and she was granted one of the five guaranteed seats at the Medical School after she obtains her 4 year degree at the college!
This means if she keeps her grades up through college and after she gets her B.S., she is automatically accepted into the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. 
I just think that is awesome! 8-))

So are you running the End of School Year gauntlet too?

Sluggy

What a Weekend! Proms & Cars & Poles, oh My!

The weather was beautiful here in Teeny Tiny Town this past weekend. Unfortunately, I've been fighting a massive attack of the sinuses, so my enjoyment of the weather has been taken down a notch or two.

Saturday was the Senior Prom night for #1 son's class. My oldest baby will be graduating in June, leaving for a summer job the week after that and then starting college across the state in Aug. Snapping pics of him in the yard before he left to go meet his date and take the limo to Prom was a bittersweet moment. In just over a month, he's done with high school and moving on with his life as a young adult.....and he can't WAIT to go!



And neither can I.

I mean it.

A small part of me is sad to see him grow out of his childhood.


But mostly I am glad he is ready to venture out into the world on his own as a man.

My job is done.


Well, not really....more like my old job has become obsolete.


My job has changed from raising him and instilling the things in him that we feel are necessary, to one of support. To be there when he needs advise, or direction or 20 bucks.lol


To put it into business jargon, I've moved from the manufacturing of this product to the customer support/service for this product.


Anyway, here are a few pics of our soon-to-be BMOC(=Big Man on Campus) in his Prom duds....

And ever the family comedian, here is his Captain Morgan photo....

After #1 son left for the Prom festivities, I took the daughter out for some driving practice.
It was NOT a good ride. I had her stop at the CVS, and as she was pulling into the parking place out front, her foot slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator.
And when I say she HIT, I mean HIT!!

She hit the metal pole holding the awning over the front of the store.
We had on our seatbelts and are fine.
The pole, awning and store are fine.

My car is another story......

The estimate I received from the Body Shop guy today is in the ballpark of 3 THOUSAND DOLLARS!

ACK.

Did I say 3 THOUSAND DOLLARS??

ACK AGAIN.

I think my sinuses spontaneously cleared after hearing that number.......

And it could be more once he gets the hood up and checks the frame inside. He didn't want to chance lifting the hood, as I had somewhere else to go and he might not have been able to get it closed, so we could be talking a couple more Thousand.

I'm Not liking this ballpark.

Sluggy