March 2024 To-Do List....How I Did

 Here is my March To-Do List and how it all turned out.  Sorry it's a month late.  Stuff happens. ;-)

MARCH

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Always first and foremost

*  Go to 5 Dr. Appointments  DONE   Saw my Orthopedist,  I also got sent for shoulder MRIs at the end of March after insurance approved those tests.  I also was sent for 2 MRIs by the Neurologist(not that he cares or ever gets back to me about any tests).

*  Have Shoulder Injections  DONE  The Orthopedist injected both my shoulders in the bursa sac. 

*  Send Package to Brother  DONE

*  Begin Going Through Merchandise to Sell  PASS  I pulled out some fabrics to sell on Etsy.

*  Send Boxes to Two Kids  PASS  Sent a box to youngest and stuff in there for Oldest he will pass on to him since I have no contact with him.  Still have to get a box to Daughter.

*  Start Packing for Cruise  PASS  Started packing and got most of it done before April began.

*  Make Appt. w/Old Dentist  DONE  After the disaster with attempting to use the Dental Discount Program that came with my Medicare Supplement, I decided to go back to our old dentist.  Had a cleaning and a couple of dental x-rays done.

*  Go Through Old Papers  PASS  I've gone through many of them but there is more to plow through in April and/or May.

*  Contact Lawyer about Will Changes  FAIL  I didn't get around to do this.

*  Read/Finish Two Books  FAIL  I had good intentions but this one got away from me.  I just haven't felt much like reading books.

*  Buy Stuff for House(Always)  DONE  Hubs bought "stuff".  I have no clue. '-)

*  Order Biz then Wash Baby Clothes  DONE  Evidently they don't sell Biz anywhere I can find on the Eastern and Central part of the US so I jumped on Amazon and had it delivered to my door(mailbox actually).  Kim swears by the stuff to whiten old wedding gowns of her clients who want to use their mother's or such gown.  I tried it on a bunch of old baby clothes I still had from when my children were young to try to get spit-up and other stains off of them.  It worked like a charm!

*  Giveaway/Donate Baby Clothes That are Salvageable  PASS  My Sister in-Law's Grandson and his GF had a baby boy in March so I shipped off a big box of baby clothes to them along with a small gift.

*  Start New Donation Box  DONE

*  Try to Hem Some of My Clothes  DONE  I got two dresses shortened and hemmed.  I only brought one of them on the cruise however.

*  Edit More Photos  DONE  Just when I think I've caught up, we take another trip and I have a big photo dump. lol

*  Post about Old Trips  DONE  Been working on posting the Western Road Trip STILL!  Will it ever end??

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE

*  Take Items to Goodwill  FAIL  Didn't get up to Goodwill in March.

*  Pick Out Fabric and Photograph to List  DONE  See going through Merchandise item above.

That's all I got done in March.

Sluggy

2020 To-Do List....May Update

*PLEASE NOTE--Posting may be a bit sporadic over the next week or so as I am sort of on vacation between getting stuff done here in Virginia and don't feel like writing blog posts worth reading.
I'll try to write something worth reading a few days a week.  Thanks for your indulgence on this.


Let's see how we did at getting stuff done in May.........

* Pay Bills  DONE
Always number one on the list and always done.

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  PASS
I only got 2 books read in May.
First off was this lovely tome..........

"The Land Will Be Deluged in Blood: a New History of the Nat Turner Rebellion" by Patrick H. Breen

This one read like someone's Master's Thesis that they expanded a bit.  Very boring for the most part especially if you don't like reading about history.  But I say that reading a book is always ok if you learn something from it.  Specifically I learned about the dual justice/court/legal systems in the Antebellum South which I was totally unaware of before this book explained it in great detail. 

and then there was this one...........

"Shakespeare's Rebel" by C.C. Humphreys
If you enjoy historical novels and are in love with all things of the Tudor/Elizabethan era and Shakespeare's plays then run and get this one!
The protagonist is a deeply flawed character called John Lawley, a drunk, ex-soldier and sometimes actor/sword master and fighting choreographer. Lawley is a fictitious character who interacts with historical persons of the era: William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage,
Queen Elizabeth I(my 4th cousin), Sir Robert Cecil(father in-law of my 10th cousin), and Robert Devereux the 2nd Earl of Essex(my 6th cousin, etc.).
I didn't get through a 3rd book in May.
Ah well.....


* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  The first winner never contacted me in the 48 hour window so I drew another winner and she has received her goodies and is enjoying them.

* Do a Sewing Project FAIL  Nope, didn't get anything sewn.

* Cash in a Savings Bond  DONE  We had a  Bond mature in May so it got cashed in.  Don't let US Savings Bonds sit if they have fully matured.  It's like putting cash under your mattress and letting it sit and not earn a penny.  Put it somewhere it will earn at least a little bit(or better yet, if you have debt, throw that cashed in bond toward your debt).

* Mail Cards  DONE  I needed to send two sympathy cards out to 2 friends.  The rack of cards was decimated at the store, the sympathy ones, I suppose due to Covid 19 victims lately.

* Plant Garden  DONE  

We planted our usual garden along the backyard deck. Dan planted green bean seeds along the back of this area but nothing came up so after that the buckets behind the fenced barrel in the photo below, holding the collard plants I finally found at the nursery well after everything else was planted got put where the green beans didn't germinate.

And greens were planted in the 2 half barrels on either side of the backyard deck garden.

* Make a New Garden  DONE
We have an old dog run from when we had our beagles which has just sat on the back side yard for years.
I finally had a good idea on how to use it in the flat circular area of the backyard where our pool us to be................

We moved the dog run there and I had Hubs build raised garden beds inside.  Not a lot more space but enough to grow a bit more veggies this year and expand the garden with a built in fence to keep the deer and rabbits out.
Go us! :-)


*  Start Seeds  FAIL  I just didn't find enough time to get this done.  Then we got a spat of very hot unseasonable for us weather so the seeds went right into the ground instead.

* Bathe and Groom Dogs  DONE

The perpetual motion machine Dixie and the guardian Chester after being bathed.

* Change out Clothing for Summer  PASS  I got everything dragged out and changed over.  I threw out a few worn out items and will be glad when I finally get a few more pounds off for good so I can donate a few more clothing items once our thrift stores open back up.

* List Items on eBay FAIL  No motivation at the beginning of May and then since I was going to be out of town I figured wait until I was back to list anything in late June.

* Pack my Bags to Get the Helloutta Here!  FAIL  Nope I didn't get my luggage packed even though I got the Summer clothing out since I didn't know for sure until the last minute whether this trip was going to happen.

* Plan Goals for 2020  PASS  We have very few goals for 2020 at this point in the year.  Maybe a vacation in the Fall and a few house projects with an eye toward moving.  I am working on getting the ball moving on that moving/relocating goal this week.

That's about it for the highlights from my May.
What did you(or didn't you)get done in May that was on your list of stuff to do?

Sluggy

2019 November To-Do List Update

Here's how my November To-Do  List turned out............

NOVEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE  Top of the list, always gets done before anything else.

* Read 1, 2 Books   DONE  I actually read THREE Books this month! (It surprised me when I sat down to go over what I read. lol)

First off was this one.............

"Hanging Mary" by Sarah Higginbotham
A very well done bit of historical fiction, the author takes us into the world of the folks who lived at Mary Surratt's boardinghouse on H St. leading up to the assassination by John Wilkes Booth and how Mary became the first women in US history to be unjustly hanged for treason.
You really get to know the people who had close contact with JWB and how they were affected as the author is quite gifted at making all the folks involved in this drama come alive.

Then I read was this one.............

"A Soldier's Secret" by Marissa Moss
I didn't know going in but it became apparent quickly that this book was written for YAs(young adults/teens).  It was still enjoyable though and a very quick read.  Another historical fiction selection about Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman who ran away as a teen from a miserable home life in Canada(then a British possession)and lived for many years as a man, including volunteering to serve in the US Union army during the Civil War.  Though the dialogue is fiction, the characters were real people who lived during that time.  Sarah survived the conflict and eventually married and lived as a women.  She is the only women who secretly served as a man during the war to be inducted into the GAR and receive a government pension for her Civil War service.  She wrote a memoir about her life which was published in the 1880's and she toured and gave lectures.  This book was based on her memoirs.
Dialogue was a little stilted and tiresome at parts but worth a read.

And finally I read this one............

"The Liberal Redneck Manifesto-Draggin' Dixie Outta the Dark" by Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester and Drew Morgan   

I really related to this book, being a Southerner and all. 8-)  They dig in and go after every stereotype and shed light on many issues that people from this region of the country are affected by and still dealing with.  They go after both the good and bad of the culture and delve into the real history of why things are the way they are there.  These guys are a comedy trio of self-proclaimed rednecks but they are educated and articulate rednecks who are proud of their region and history.  They have lived real, sometimes painful lives and have seen both the good and bad about the region and have thoughts and ideas that may make you go, "huh".
This book will get you thinking and it's a must read for anyone who isn't from/didn't grow up in the South.
I am the product of a NY Yankee father and a VA Southern mother and was raised in the South.  Most of my Southern relatives come from uneducated redneck stock(at least for 5 or 6 generations)so this book spoke to me.  Living and traveling widely in other parts of the country I've seen the regional prejudice first hand Trae and company talk about.  I'd be delighted to spread some learnin' about true Southern culture(both the good and bad)to other regions.
HIGHLY recommend!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  Mailed off right away and gladly received.

*  Chester Surgery  DONE  My poor puppy lost his nuts in November.  He healed up rather quickly and didn't need the "cone of shame" but for 2 days.  The good thing is he is less likely to mark in the house now and we don't have to confine him as much.

* Repair DR Ceiling  DONE SORT OF  Hubs got the patch job done but he still has to sand and paint it.  It will get done as soon as I nag enough. lolz

*  Work the Polls  DONE  I did my civic duty.  It was a long day but enjoyable really.

*  Hem Hubs Pants  DONE  The denim was so thick and non-plyable that the machine needle wouldn't go through the multiple layers of fabric at the seams so I had to partially hand hem part of each pants leg. ugh.  But it's done.

*  House Train Puppy  DONE  Dixie is finally house trained...yay!!

*   List Items on eBay  FAIL  I looked back and I didn't list a single item in November(though I did sell stuff that month).  I just got too busy with other things.  I'm not listing anything in December either due to being too close to Christmas now and we have the out of town Wedding in early January so I won't be able to ship stuff out.

*  Go to HS Clinic  DONE  Had my appointment and things are going well....not great but the outbreaks are not as bad as before going on Humira.  Only time will tell how successful this treatment will be and for how long.
In other medical news I also had my sleep doc appointment in November and I am now down to being borderline for needing sleep apnea treatment.  go me. ;-)

* Work on Christmas Gifts  IN PROGRESS  I'm not really "making" anything for gifts, it's just about making up gift baskets, wrapping all of it, and mailing a couple of things.  After we get the tree decorated this week my dining room table becomes wrapping central and the tape and scissors will be flying fast and furiously. lol

* Clean Downstairs for Turkey Day  DONE  Got the place presentable.  'Nuff said.

* Change Curtains in LR  DONE  Got Hubs to finally help hang the Winter curtains up without too much cursing(Guess who did the cursing?!LOL)

* Hang a Picture  DONE  Ditto the item above.  It was a much more difficult chore than the curtains but nobody committed murder in the process(though there were murderous thoughts on both sides).

* Hang Curtains in Hubs' Room  FAIL  I got him the curtain rod out but he just didn't do it.  I need to hem those curtains so they don't cover the baseboard heating unit under the window but he needs to get the rod on the wall so I know how much to cut off the drapes.  And he really needs to do this soon because we'll have folks sleeping in the daybed in that room for the Holidays and that window gets the morning sun so I guess I'll go into nag mode soon.........

* Cook Turkey Day Meal  DONE  It all got done and on time.  Cooking ahead really helped me not to overdo physically.  Even not being as tired and rushed I didn't take a single photo of the day. I was just in the moment for Thanksgiving(when I wasn't running to Rite-Aid that is.)

That's about all I can remember.
I hope everyone tackled everything on their November To-Do List and are satisfied with how things turned out.

Sluggy

To-Do List....February Update

Not a lot on my plate in February.  It's a short month and the dark and cold don't motivate me to do much other than stay warm.  Add in a rough month for my health this year and it's a good thing I have a short list.  8-)

Here's the list and what did or didn't get accomplished.

* Pay Bills  DONE  If nothing else gets done, this does.

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

Brothers by George Howe Colt

It was better than I expected it to be.  I didn't know this writer beforehand or his family but got to know them intimately in this book.  His younger brother, Ned, was a reporter for NBC news for a decade or so and was held hostage near Fallujah during the Iraqi war with his team for 3 days in 2004(this event was detailed near the end of the book).  Ned died in Feb. of 2015 of a stroke.

Having had some talks with Hubs about his family/siblings and their dynamic recently due to his sister's issues and treatment of us, we have talked about how children raised in the same environment and by the same parents(and those parents treating each child evenhandedly), how each child can come away from their childhood experience with such different perspectives and values.  This book and Colt's discussion about his siblings and himself brought that lesson home for me.
Colt also talked at length about famous brothers through history-the Thoreau brothers, the Wright brothers, the Booth brothers, the Marx brothers and the van Gogh brothers to name a few-and how their fraternal bond shaped them all.  Very interesting book if you are a fan of psychology or any of these famous brothers.

I also got another book read this month...........

American Rose-the Life and Time of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbott.
Since I was a kid I was enamored of the Broadway Musical "Gypsy" which was the singing and dancing fairy tale version of Rose Louise Hovick's life.  Gypsy was a nationally known strip tease artist.  The author actually met with people who knew Gypsy and Gypsy's mother, Rose Thompson Hovick, including Gypsy's sister, June(who died in 2010)to garner information for the book.
Again, this book was very interesting and a "the true story behind the show and film" look at a dysfunctional family.  The mother, Rose, turned these two daughters into psychologically damaged goods and all three were survivors-both of the times they lived through and their family dynamic.  There is also a fair amount of information here about the history of vaudeville and burlesque and some of the large players such as the Minsky Brothers.
This book got me interesting in reading June Havoc's(she altered her last name from Hovick)memoirs(she wrote 2).  I doubt if I'll read Gypsy's memoir as she spent her life hiding her true self from the public.
I've got a sort of connection to June Havoc.....she starred in the original production of "Pal Joey" on Broadway and I played Melba Snyder the reporter in my college's production of that show and sang/performed the number "Zip" which was a satire on striptease and Gypsy Rose Lee and one of my audition pieces while I was in the theater world was "That Terrible Rainbow" which was one of June's numbers from "Pal Joey".  8-))

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE
Crystal finally braved the snowstorm and her sickness misery and retrieved the box from the post office.  Use it all in good health!

* 2 Clothing Alterations  DONE

Daughter went to Sallie's a found some dress pants she needed for presentations in her Business class and to wear on her Science conference in March to New Orleans.
The only problem was they were too short so I needed to let the hem out as much as possible.

Whomever owned these pants before had been short and had hacked off the fabric in the hemmed portion with a knife or something(there was a line of stitching at the base of where the fabric was turned for the hem and all the fabric was jaggedly cut off there)before turning the pants legs up and hand stitching very badly a new hem.  I had to take out the old hem and then encase the jagged rough ends with seam binding just above where the line of stitching was before hand stitching a new lower hem.

What a PITA!
Daughter also bought a blue Women's dress shirt which was missing a button.  The shirt looked brand new and it appeared someone got rid of it due to the button missing only.  There was a spare button sewn into the bottom of the shirt so it was just a matter of removed the spare and sewing onto where the button was missing. lolz
I also had to resew another button as it came off in my hand when I was handling the shirt.  Factory machine sewn buttons are held on with a tiny bit of stitching which is prone to unraveling so always check your buttons when you buy a shirt and hand sew them for security.  It only takes a minute or two(and really, shouldn't everyone be taught to hand sew a button)and may help you avoid the embarrassment of one popping off at an inopportune moment. ;-)

* Load to Sallie's  DONE  Hubs finally hauled up a load of cast-offs and got them out of the living room.

* Redo Passwords Book  FAIL  I've been looking at the book I bought to redo my passwords/User IDs in but I just haven't gotten the umph to actually do this yet.  For sure this will happen in March.  It shouldn't take me more than an hour or two to wrap this up so I can't believe I am procrastinating so badly with this.

* Do Taxes  IN PROGRESS  I handed off taxes to Hubs(after gathering the initial paperwork)as he wants to handle it now that he's retired.  He is driving me crazy though as he works on it in drips and drabs and doesn't just DO IT!  And he insists on using software(that we have to pay for!)while I did it for years and years myself the old fashioned way.   Our taxes aren't so complicated we need to pay to do them but he's afraid of being audited and things doing them and mailing them in is now a red flag as most folks electronically file.  Whatever.  Just freaking get them filed already!!!

* Load to Food Bank  DONE  I finally got a good day when they were open to accepting donations and hauled up 6 jugs of laundry detergent, 4 bottles of shampoo and 4 bags of assorted canned/boxed/pouched food.

* Plan possible 2018 Travel  IN PROGRESS  A few ideas have crossed my mind but nothing has gotten to the make reservations stage yet.  I am just feeling uninspired about traveling right now.

* Work on 2018 Goals  Again, IN PROGRESS  We've got one big goal we've been working toward-selling the house in LA.  Keeping it another year and having Daughter and BF rent it from us after she gets her degree doesn't make sense to our bottom line so it's going back on the market with a better realtor.  I want it sold this year, period!  Dealing with people in Louisiana in a business relationship has been one headache after another and I want to leave it behind.

So that's what's happened here in February.
How was your month?  Did you conquer any goals last month?

Onward and upward to March's To-Do List!

Sluggy

Random Stuff with Photo Porn

Just some stuff that's been happening around here this week or so.

*  I picked the first "real" tomato from the garden on Monday.  "Real" meaning, not miniature sized, not buggy and/or didn't rot immediately after picking.  It had started turning so I beat the deer to the punch and plucked it before they fount it.

*  You will also notice in the photo above I colored my roots on Monday in preparation to going to the Family Reunion.  That's about all the fancying up and prettifying I do for it.  ;-)

*  This month has been crazy expensive with eating out.  Between having company and taking folks out for meals and the take-out food we've been buying while I was unable to stand to cook we've spent $280.62 on eating out/take-out at this point in September. bleh.  But then again I've only spent about $125 on groceries so far this month. lolz

*  This PT is doing nothing for my foot.  What helps is elevating it during the day and putting heat or ice on it and wearing shoes all the time(hate that!).  It feels better with good support.  It's probably something that will heal up on it's own with tender loving care.
Despite the PT I am off the cane now and bicycling shall resume next week, albeit wearing shoes.  rah!

*  I've paid all the bills for the month(besides one crazy ass bill the eye doc sent that makes no sense....their billing system is SO screwed up!)and have closed the books for September(except for any interest that will show up on non-retirement accounts on 1 October).  Even with assorted medical bills and the school taxes being paid in September we'll have a nice hunk of cash leftover to throw into savings.  Next month is the 3rd paycheck month(yeah!)but all the medical co-pay bills for the medical testing and other nonsense that happened in September will be arriving, as the EOBs from the insurance company have already been streaming in. ugh.  Other than that and credit card spending(some vacation charges coming up in October)we have no large bills left this year to pay.....just the usual suspects of utilities, medical drug co-pays, etc.  Of course Christmas is coming in 3 months so there is that too, although we don't go hog wild spending at the Holidays and we certainly don't put anything on credit that can't be paid off in January!

*  I have been doing a fair amount of sewing the past 2 weeks.  Already completed are 4 pairs of pajama pants for various offspring. 

These are projects that have ben languishing in my sewing piles for years now!  They still need elastic in the waist and hemming but I need the bodies here to measure and cut the hems and adjust the amount of elastic for that.  These bits are easily done.

On the top is also a flannel nightgown I made for myself.  It's got 3/4 sleeves even though it's flannel because I just HATE long sleeves! lolz

*  I found my cousin Melanie on F/B yesterday and sent her a friend request.  I've been trying to track down my cousins for 2 years now since I had a phone call from my aunt in late June of 2013.  She wouldn't tell me and never wrote back to me their mailing addresses or phone numbers and of course my girl cousin got married so I couldn't even find her name now! lolz
But due to my mad genealogical detective skillz I found her last name, etc. and 2 of them are on F/B.
We were never close with my only cousins growing up partly because we lived in VA and they lived in MA.  This photo is from one of the only time we visited them up in MA at their house.  I don't even know the year but it's around the mid 1960's.

*  After PT the other day I went to Rite-Aid to get some free/cheap stuff...........

2 Transactions(1 on each card).  The body wash was free after IPQ Qs and In-Ad Qs were stacked.
The Watkins lotion was also free using up a rain check from a Black Friday deal last year(they finally got it back in stock!lol).  The Mentos were $1 for all 4 after earning $1 in Plenti Pts.  The single chocolate candy was because the Qs brought me into the negative at the register so it's a filler item.
Total spent OOP .30¢.
I used $2 in Plenti Pts. on the Mentos transaction, earned $1 back so 1 card has $11 in Pts. the other has $21 in Pts.

*  We finally hauled a load up to Salvation Army on Sunday as well.  Here are a few shots of some of what left the house............

Hubs had a fair number of "guy" things to take since he cleaned out/organized his garage workbench this month.  I had some odds and ends and a small stack of fabric to contribute, as well as clothing from his mom that's been in the garage for years now.

I tell you, it's getting very difficult to find stuff to declutter at this point.  Spending 12 years decluttering your life in conjunction with not buying new crap to take it's place for a large number of years kind of has that affect on your life. lolz
There IS more left to get rid of but not the sheer volume like before.  I am so glad I am not waiting until I kick the bucket and leaving a big mess for my kids to deal with.  8-)

*  We'll be going to the family reunion very soon.  This is the group shot from last year's shindig courtesy of Cousin Gary's daughter(sorry I don't know her name!).  I hope the weather is good again for the upcoming get together.  Then we see my mom's cousin's family from her dad's side for dinner that same evening.  This year my son who lives in Fredericksburg is coming too so that will be nice.

If you are a Baker/Vassar/Foster/Snead/Hamilton/Hudson/Womack/Redmond/Etc. come on down!

Sluggy

Weekend Happenings

               Last year's church auction goodies.

Since I don't have to go up to Rite-Aid today, whatever will I do with myself this weekend?!

It's rainy so no outdoor projects or the garage will happen at least today.

Hubs and I will be going to that annual local church auction this afternoon.  It's a fundraiser we attend every year for going on 6 or 7 years.
It's our regular October Date.
I get to be with my Hubs, spend money, get an adrenalin rush and buy stuff for cheap....what more could I ask for?
8-)

I posted a video about what I won last year in this post HERE.
It's a way to get stuff you need or want for cheaper.....and it helps the church pay it's bills.

Then I really do need to get some sewing done......at least cut some things out.
I have picked out fabrics and have my patterns made so I'll get to it this weekend.
Maybe...... ;-)

I've got leftovers still so no cooking today.
I've already viewed next week's grocery ads and between my main 2 stores there are only 4 items I want/need to pick up.
Next week is not a great week for grocery shopping here....at least for me.

Sunday starts a new week for my meal planning so I've gotten a start on figuring that out already.
Will work more on it this weekend.

I also need to change over my closet to Fall/Winter clothing and put the dresses which I usually wear in the Summer away.  The weather took a nosedive last night and the temperatures dropped significantly here.....and it's October already!?!
I should also start in on packing for our trip to Ocean City as it's coming up very soon.

After last week's Rite-Aid orgy my stockpile could use some reorganizing as well.
And speaking of stockpiles.....I need to gather another box of goodies for a giveaway.

Plus I have 2 dozen more fabrics to list in my Etsy shop.

And I could go to Rite-Aid on Sunday, since the new ad/deals start then, and do a transaction.

And if Sunday is nice Hubs and I could go for a ride somewhere together.

See?  I have lots of activities to participate in this weekend.

Or maybe I'll just stay in my pjs and take a nap or two......

What's on your plate this weekend?
Anything thrilling or out of the ordinary, or just the same old, same old stuff?

Sluggy

 

Happenings at Chez Sluggy Lately

Let's see what's going on around here this week, other than hitting up Rite-Aid for almost freebies and going to the grocery store.
Boy, do I lead a dull, dull life.......

Here's the biggest news this week.

Going......

Going......

GONE!

Another vehicle bites the dust.

We'll save approx. another $800 a year on our car insurance having this van gone.
Yay!

From a high of about $2,800 a year for insurance to $1,340 a year now.
Sweet.
My van insurance was roughly the same I now pay for the Sonic(since it's new) but unloading the Hyundai Elantra and Dodge Minivan will save us $1,460 a year going forward.
Plus all the repairs, gas and taxes/fees.
Plus we'll get a small partial refund on the car insurance bill I paid last month.

#2 Son will either have to be happy to drive the purple car when he is home for breaks or he will get a lot of exercise walking places. lolz

In other news........

I didn't sleep well yesterday because I am stressing out over--

A.  The repairman coming back today to fix the a/c and heating units.  He left here 2 weeks back and couldn't tell me what was wrong with them.  He had to call for technical support to a guy in India...WTF?!?  I have little confidence that this will be fixed today.  At least we aren't paying for a service call or parts as we got an extended warranty on the thing.

B.  Someone bought a boatload of fabric from me on Etsy 2 days ago.  She didn't pay me enough so I am waiting on more shipping $ at Paypal to come through.  This stuff doesn't leave until I am FULLY paid.

The daughter paid us the first installment of the loan we floated her to buy her house.
Yay!
Only 119 more to go.
I hope I live long enough to get all this $ back. lolz


Not feeling so great this week, besides the not sleeping.  I have some naggy ailments happening, things that pop-up every so often.  Annoying and make me grouchy.

I also have to schedule a mammogram, a CT scan(for a final check on a scar on my lung to make sure it isn't a tumor)and I need to get to the eye doctor before the end of the year.  That "baby cataract" that wasn't even large enough to mention really last Fall is now causing me eyesight problems.  I dread having a surgery but I need to get this taken care of before I head off on any more driving trips.  I just don't feel confident driving long stretches with my vision as it is now.

Speaking of trips........

                         photo credit S Walker


Next Friday we head out for the Vassar/Baker Reunion down in VA.  This is a shot of last year's attendees taken by my 1st cousin's(once removed) wife.  I'll be more mobile this year since at last year's event I was still recovering from a blood clot in my ankle.

I hope people hang around longer this year and don't just eat and run like last year.  Between that and not getting around well I didn't get to talk to/get to know hardly anyone there. 

I also want to go visit a cemetery while we are down there and take some photos of my 2x Great Grand headstones.
Later on the evening of the Reunion we'll have dinner with my mother's cousin & her husband, from her father's side of the family.

I hope to stop at Berky's Restaurant outside of Lexington for early dinner or late lunch on the way down.  Never been, always wanted to go there.  The fried chicken is to DIE FOR!
I haven't had fried chicken in ages.......

What else--

*   I got an old ragged nightgown ripped up with the seam ripper so now I can use it as a pattern to make some more gowns.  I loved that gown and it hurt to have to let it go....sniff, sniff......

*  Paid bills.  It looks like we are going to end September with $2K+ for the Savings Challenge so we are on track for this month.  We are, however, behind for the year at this point in the game.
But never fear because October is our 3 paycheck month. 8-))

*  I mostly piddled around and didn't get much done besides canning the relish.  Now I have to find a place to put it all! 8-)

Not much else going on here.
How about you?
What are y'all up to?

Sluggy

 

Goals for 2011.....Halfway Point Check-Up

 Every January on my blog, I post a list of Hopes or Goals for my year.  HERE's the post from earlier this year where I talked about what I hoped to accomplish in 2011.

Since we are halfway through the year......let me say that again.....halfway through the year!......I thought it would be a predictable time to check-in and see how I'm doing or how I'm NOT doing at this point in 2011.

1. Put more Money Into Savings.

PASS-We are slightly ahead of our Savings Goal at the halfway point from 2010.  I only upped my Savings Goal 2 thousand dollars in 2011 since food costs have been rising this year and with another teen starting college in August, we have more expenses to cover.  We are on track as of now to meet our savings goal. 8-)

2. File all the Paperwork that needs filing  and completing it on time.

PASS-We got all the college and income tax paperwork completed with time to spare earlier this year.  I also tackled a huge pile of papers that needed filing in May(was it?)  Going forward I am going to try to file every 2 months so the pile doesn't get too unruly.


3. Declutter my entire house and garage, and storage unit(and then stop renting the storage unit).

PASS(so far)-This goal is ongoing throughout 2011.  I had the storage unit down to half-empty.  Then I had to temporarily put a large load of boxes from the garage into the unit so I could stage for a garage sale this month.  Besides just the moving of crap around in this way, I have decluttered at least 6 loads(off hand I think it's 6, I might be wrong) so far from the house and unit.  After the garage sale is over, more loads will begin leaving again for Sallie's.
This Goal is my largest, ongoing, physically challenging one for 2011.  It may just kill me by December. ;-)

4. Read 30 books this year, with 75% of them being non-fiction.

FAIL-I am STILL on Book #6(this one is a 'difficult' read) plus I pitched Book #5 before finishing it because it was just horrible!  So technically I am on Book #5 with 25 more to go. 
bleh.
I am just not feeling much like reading yet.  Maybe next month when the weather turns beastly hot I'll want to do nothing but sit still and read in the a/c.

5. Finish ALL in progress sewing projects and alter ALL clothing that needs it or give it away.

FAIL-I hemmed some pants and worked on some PJ pants for my Daughter but haven't finished them.  Hubs bought 4 pairs of pants for me to hem so the pile has gone UP not DOWN. 
bleh. bleh. bleh. 
I just can't seem to get into a sewing zone.  This is worrying me.  People are going to start thinking I really can't sew.lol

6. Cook more foods from scratch and phase unhealthy options out of my stockpile.

PASS-I was doing very well on this earlier this year.  I was cooking much more from scratch and we were down to a small number of cans of soda(of which I was only drinking 1 can per week if that)and I only had 2 tv dinners in the freezer.....no frozen pizzas, no 'snack' foods like Pop-Tarts or Toaster Pocket thingies, Froot snacks, only a few Helper type mixes.  Ok, I still had a ton of cake mixes and breaded chicken products.lol  Then school ended and I caved and bought some pizza rolls, pizzas, chicken strips, ice cream and more soda for #2 son.  The kid has to eat lunch, right?lol  And unless I want to spend ALL DAY cooking this summer, I'm giving him easy things to make for lunch(rather than spend a fortune buying Taco Bell and Baconators at Wendy's)and I'll give him healthy foods for dinner.  It's the compromise I'll make to get through until school starts again.

And I promise I shall NEVER buy Pop-Tarts again....Nasty!

7. Grow more of the food we eat or source our food from non-grocery chain stores.

 FAIL(so far)-With the wacky weather and being super busy in May/June with the impending Graduation and all that entailed I was sooo not 'into' my garden this year.  We did get it planted but not everything I wanted.  I don't feel we will have as much to eat from our garden this year as we did last year.  As for sourcing from non-grocery chain stores, we are just getting into the season where we can buy from the local farms.  I am determined to get to the farm stands this summer and put up produce for 2012.  I am still looking for a local source for meats.  The closest is over an hour's ride away so not very economical.

8. Use my skills to step up what I do for Others.

 NEUTRAL-Ok, I can't say Pass or Fail on this one.  OTOH, I have done on par with last year in terms of family and food bank donations so far this year.  As soon as the garage sale is done I have another donation to take to the food bank.  But since I have not been 'extreme couponing' this year(due to the lack of deals locally, not traveling where the deals are because of the price of gas and wear and tear on the minivan AND the lack of good value coupons this year, due to the tightening up on coupons by manufacturer's in part because of "That Couponing Show Which Shall Not Be Named")I haven't had as much to donate as in past years.  It will take me MORE money in 2011 to donate the same amount of food as I did in 2010.  I just don't know if I can come up with enough money this year to put toward this goal to "step up" what I give. 
I may have to look at other ways besides monetary/food donations to do for others.

9. Be more "in the Moment" for my Family.

PASS-I feel that, so far in 2011, I have been more 'there' for the family.  I have tried to limit my time on the internet by blogging less(ok, not MUCH less!lol), and spending less time deal hunting.
See?....crappy coupons and local deals give me more time to be with family, so there is one good thing about the dirth of deals!lol  With less of a stockpile I spend less time organizing it.
Of course, the teens don't actually want to spend time with me when they are home, unless I have cooking them food or handing over cash....oh, the blessings of having sullen, eye-rolling teens! ;-)
Now that #2 son is home from camp, I'll be offering to drive him places and do some things for him so he can hang out with people that aren't his family. 

10. Organize the running of my Home.  

How to score this one?.....
I guess I'm on my way to a PASS with this one.  With 2 less kids home things are running fairly smoothly.  With less clutter in the way, it's easier to keep what is here organized and clean.  But with so many projects pending or in progress(garage sale, cleaning out the storage unit, sewing, home repairs/remodeling)it seems like everything is at 6's and 7's and just a moment away from flying off the tracks.  Since the older 2 kids don't have a car while working across the state this summer(due to the car wreck in May), I'm having to deal with business stuff for them like driver's license renewals, dr. appointments, prescription refills, college papers/forms, scholarship forms/requirement, ordering books and tuition bills.  This is stuff they should/would be taking care of but since they don't have transportation or bank/credit card access it's all falling on me.  I haven't screwed anything up yet, knock on wood.lol

So how about you?
How are your goals for 2011 panning out?
Are you on track to accomplish what you want to this year?
Have your goals changed significantly since the beginning of 2011?

Sluggy 

The 3 S's.....Sewing, Stockpile & Snow

As you can see from my To-Do List I finally got around to starting on one of my long neglected chores--my unfinished sewing projects!
It only took me a year and almost 3 months to get to it.....sheeesh!lol

 Under that pile of clothes is the long neglected sewing projects "in progress" tub.

And here it us after being uncovered......

Notice all the dust on the lid....lol
And here is inside the belly of the beast....

Well at least the top layer inside the beast. ;-)
So I pulled out a project.....well 3 projects really since I have 3 pairs of pajama pants cut out for my Daughter.  I'll be working on those this week and hopefully by week's end I'll have something to show for my efforts.

Before I did another else on Sunday, I went up to Rite-Aid to roll some +Ups and get my free after Q and +Ups toothbrushes.....

1 x Resolve on sale=$1.99
5 x Reach Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$14.95
SubTotal....$16.94

Coupons Used
1 x $1 any Purchase AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x .75/1 Resolve IPQ(from Resolve website)=$.75
5 x $1/1 Reach Toothbrush tearpad Q(from dentist office)=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Listerine/Reach AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total...$7.75

$16.94-$7.75=$9.19
I used $8.88 in +Ups and put the $.31 OOP on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $11 back in +Up Rewards(5 x $2 Toothbrushes, $1 Resolve)so I am "up" $2.12 on this transaction.

Then I did the same transaction again but my coupons were a little different....

Coupons Used
1 x $1 any Purchase AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x .75/1 Resolve IPQ(from Resolve website)=$.75
1 x .25¢/1 Resolve Peelie Q on product=$.25
3 x $1/1 Reach Toothbrush tearpad Q(from dentist office)=$3.00
1 x $2/2 Reach Toothbrush IPQ(old IPQ that was expiring soon)=$2.00
Coupon Total...$7.00

$16.94-$7.00=$9.94
I used $9.88 in +Ups and put the $.06 OOP on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $11 back in +Up Rewards(5 x $2 Toothbrushes, $1 Resolve)so I am "up" $1.12 on this transaction.

The reason I broke this into two transactions was because I had more than 1 $1 any purchase AdPerks/VV IPQs that were expiring on 3/26.  If I had done it all in one transaction the second $1 off Q might not have gotten used before Saturday.

My planning wasn't too great because I still have $2 in +Up Rewards left to use by Saturday.  I should have bought an 11th toothbrush....ugh.
And my gift card is down to $53.20.

I didn't get the Night Guard mouthpiece and roll $19.99 in +Ups.  I'll get a raincheck and hopefully they have it in stock after March 30th, when the April SCRs start.  There is a $3 SCR for the Night Guard item for April so I'll buy it on raincheck(the raincheck price will be $4.99 after $15 +Ups discount).  I'll use my $5/1 Night Guard Q and pay nothing OOP and then submit my receipt for the $3 SCR.  In the end I'll make $3 for buying it by waiting until the new SCR period. 8-)



After my Rite-Aid trip I went out into the garage to organize the stockpile.
As you can see, things have gotten out of hand in the last few months.....

Mostly it's stuff not getting put away and stock not being rotated back to front as it's used.  It's gotten so bad you can hardly walk around out there.


Plus the field mouse getting in kicked my ass into gear!lol  BTW-We "took care" of mr. mouse the next night....I won't share the details or the photos of his extermination. ;-)

I spent hours out in the garage on Sunday and ended up with a more organized mess.....

 Cereal, Paper Plates, Tea, Coffee, Hot Cocoa, Oatmeal, Taco Shells, Compleats, Granola Bars, Jello and Pudding, Condensed Milk, bagged/boxed Potatoes and "Helper" mixes

 Spices, Rubs, Powders, Sauces, flavored Noodle bags, Steak Sauce, Baking Soda, boxed Bread/Cake/Brownie/Muffin Mixes, Frostings, dried Fruit, Pie Fillings, canned/bagged Nuts, Coconut Milk, flavored Rice bags, dog Treats, canned Dog Food

 canned Soups, canned Veggies, Olives, Green Chilies, canned Tuna, Sardines, Evaporated Milk, Chocolate Syrup, Pancake Syrup, baking Chips, Sugar products(honey, agave, brown sugar, fake sweetners)

 Croutons, Trash Bags, Foil, Parmesan cheese, Ramen and other Noodles, Freezer Bags

 Cereal, Crackers, BBQ Sauce, Marinades, Bread Crumbs, Flour, canned Beans, Spaghetti Sauce, Tomato Soup, canned Tomato products, Pasta, Chili, Hash, Jellies, Peanut Butter

 Salad Dressings, Fruits, Condiments, Oils, Maple Syrup, Juices

 Hand Soap, Dish Soap, Cleaners, Sprays, Wipes, Baby and Wet Wipes, Stain Sprays, Fem. Products

Toilet and Facial Tissue, Paper Towels, Napkins

 It's not perfect but it will do for now.  You can see why I haven't done any grocery shopping for weeks now, can't you?lol
I also culled out 4 boxes of food from the stockpile.....1 for BIL, 1 for the food bank and 2 boxes to offer on the local Angel Help Community Yahoo group for Easter.

By 8pm Sunday night I was a stiff, sore mess....so I went to bed before 9.  Me?....the night owl.
And the most amazing thing was I slept until 9 this morning.  12 hours in one stretch.  It's so unlike me.

 After a semi-productive weekend I woke up to this.......?!?!?......

WTF?!?

I had no clue we were due for more snow!

I'm off now to the stockpile and freezer to figure out the meal plan for this week.  I might hit the grocery store(for more than milk)this week since there is a cheese Catalina deal at the local Shursave affiliate store....spend $30 get a $10 Cat....as we are getting low on cheese.

Check me later for the Meal Plan for the week.

Here are the Rite-Aid numbers for Sunday and the running Totals....
THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$.37 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$56.48
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$22.00
+Up Rewards spent....$18.76
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$105.00

TOTALS--March Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$3.38 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$527.07
SCR qualified for....$45.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for March SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 3/19.....$101.76
+Up Rewards spent....$212.76
+Up Rewards earned....$68.76
+Up Rewards left....$105.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy