It's WEEK 2 of The 1st BORING BLOG BOX OF FUN GIVEAWAY of 2010!
Here is what went into the Box today.....
1. 1 set of Make-Up Brushes.
2. 2 travel size Tubes of Toothpaste(Aquafresh and Colgate Total).
3. 1 Tube of Rite-Aid brand Apricot Scrub Face Wash.
If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways on THIS POST.
Time to enter.....You can enter this week from today, February 7th through Saturday, February 13th.
1. 1 entry per person per week. Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.
2. MUST be a follower to enter.
3. MUST still be a follower at the time the the winner is posted.
There are 2 ways to get extra entries each week....
4. Blog about my Giveaway on your blog or on a Message Board. Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with a link to your blog post or the message on the board. You can earn an extra entry each week by reposting about the Giveaway.
5. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll. Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with the URL of your blog. You can earn an extra entry each week by keeping my blog on your roll.
I'll post again about this Giveaway when the new week is here(Feb. 14th) to remind ya'll it's time to enter again and let ya'll know what I've added to the box.
Any questions? Just email me at slugmama@yahoo.com
Happy Entering!!
Sluggy
Just an average Gal, older mom, trying to live a simple life & what happens along the way.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Hubby Dated me for my Baltimore Colts Connection
Hubby is a true blue American male.
How do I know this?
He loves sports.
All kinds but especially baseball and football.
He'll watch anything sports.....golf, lacrosse, soccer, bull fighting, arm wrestling, tiddly winks, paint drying.....
The list goes on forever.
Sports and me?
Not so much love there.
I'll watch winter sports and some gymnastic type things, or anything my kids are competing in.
So I don't do Super Bowl or football at all.
Hubby has 3 teams he has followed since he was a young testosterone-producing zitster.
Baseball....the NY Mets.....secondarily The Baltimore Orioles.
Football....the Baltimore Colts.
He even stuck with his Colts after they secretly packed everything up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of the night and moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
That was truly a black day in our house.....
As fate would have it Hubby attended college in Baltimore in the mid to late 1970's.
Sportwise, he was in his glory to be residing in the town of 2 of his favorite sports teams.
I also went to college just outside of Baltimore at a small 'exclusive' women's school called Goucher College.
Here is the dorm I lived in my freshman year.....
Well, it's actually in the wing of the building on the left in the photo....the front building contained 2 commons rooms, an old cafeteria that wasn't used any longer, the laundry room, the RA's rooms, vending machines, the building switch board room and some old 'dating parlors'.
And yes, even though it was 1977, it looked just like this much older photo.
Some days I would wake up and think I was still in 1952.
I lived in Tuttle House, second floor.
And we were special in Tuttle House.
Why?
Because we had window air-conditioners in our rooms!
This was back before central air-conditioning in the dorms at Goucher College.
No one else had A/C units but us.
And do you know why we had A/C?
Because out of all the dorms at the school our 3 floored Dorm House was where the Baltimore Colts players slept during their Summer Training Camp.
The Colts rented out Goucher College's facilities in the summer and held their Training Camp there.
And if you don't believe me, go check out this article HERE
Just think.....I could have slept in the same bed as Bert Jones.....ok, so it wasn't Johnny Unitas as he had retired already but still....
Sometimes I think that is why Hubby went out with me to begin with....it was almost as good as having a Balto. Colt for a girlfriend.....or something like that.
I'm just thankful I didn't pick up any "diseases" from that mattress. I've read Ball Four. I know what goes on at training camps.....
At any rate Hubby will be rooting for his Colts this Sunday.
Me?
I already told Hubby I'll be rooting against his team.
Why?
Because if the other team wins...I don't even KNOW who this is!....I'll get a free bottle of Hot Sauce!!
Sorry honey.....Free Food always trumps....
Sluggy
How do I know this?
He loves sports.
All kinds but especially baseball and football.
He'll watch anything sports.....golf, lacrosse, soccer, bull fighting, arm wrestling, tiddly winks, paint drying.....
The list goes on forever.
Sports and me?
Not so much love there.
I'll watch winter sports and some gymnastic type things, or anything my kids are competing in.
So I don't do Super Bowl or football at all.
Hubby has 3 teams he has followed since he was a young testosterone-producing zitster.
Baseball....the NY Mets.....secondarily The Baltimore Orioles.
Football....the Baltimore Colts.
He even stuck with his Colts after they secretly packed everything up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of the night and moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
That was truly a black day in our house.....
As fate would have it Hubby attended college in Baltimore in the mid to late 1970's.
Sportwise, he was in his glory to be residing in the town of 2 of his favorite sports teams.
I also went to college just outside of Baltimore at a small 'exclusive' women's school called Goucher College.
Here is the dorm I lived in my freshman year.....
Well, it's actually in the wing of the building on the left in the photo....the front building contained 2 commons rooms, an old cafeteria that wasn't used any longer, the laundry room, the RA's rooms, vending machines, the building switch board room and some old 'dating parlors'.
And yes, even though it was 1977, it looked just like this much older photo.
Some days I would wake up and think I was still in 1952.
I lived in Tuttle House, second floor.
And we were special in Tuttle House.
Why?
Because we had window air-conditioners in our rooms!
This was back before central air-conditioning in the dorms at Goucher College.
No one else had A/C units but us.
And do you know why we had A/C?
Because out of all the dorms at the school our 3 floored Dorm House was where the Baltimore Colts players slept during their Summer Training Camp.
The Colts rented out Goucher College's facilities in the summer and held their Training Camp there.
And if you don't believe me, go check out this article HERE
Just think.....I could have slept in the same bed as Bert Jones.....ok, so it wasn't Johnny Unitas as he had retired already but still....
Sometimes I think that is why Hubby went out with me to begin with....it was almost as good as having a Balto. Colt for a girlfriend.....or something like that.
I'm just thankful I didn't pick up any "diseases" from that mattress. I've read Ball Four. I know what goes on at training camps.....
At any rate Hubby will be rooting for his Colts this Sunday.
Me?
I already told Hubby I'll be rooting against his team.
Why?
Because if the other team wins...I don't even KNOW who this is!....I'll get a free bottle of Hot Sauce!!
Sorry honey.....Free Food always trumps....
Sluggy
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Decluttering and Organizing Your Life....Start Small
In the past week, while surfing around in Blogland, I've noticed quite a few bloggers are talking about and/or holding "DeCluttering your Home" Events this month or throughout 2010. Organizing Junkie is holding a February Decluttering Challenge HERE and there is this Full Year Declutter Project HERE.
Just google "Declutter Blog" and you'll find enough organizing angst writing to fill your day.
Clutter and decluttering seem to be HOT this year among the mommy &/or frugal blogs.
Clutter is bad.....that we can all agree upon.
Clutter gets in the way of you being your "authentic self".....geez, did I just say that?
So decluttering is always a good idea.
I doubt there are few among us who couldn't use a little decluttering and organizing.
Some of us, on the other hand, could use a FLEET of 1-800 Got Junk? Trucks!
In between racing off to grab another load of Catalina deal-ed goodies at Price Chopper or picking up more almost free stuff at Rite-Aid, I decided to take an hour out this week and declutter/organize something in my house.
But what?......what could I finish in less than an hour??
And then it hit me.....well,literally.....it's on wheels you see and the dog can push it if he jumps up on it's side looking for food.
My junk drawer in the kitchen island!
Small and an overflowing pig sty...perfect!!
First I had to clear the island's top....ugh.....the scope of this job is expanding....
Step One....I dumped it out....
Did all that actually fit in that little drawer?
Then I took the drawer out and wiped it down.
Here it is all cleaned up.
Can't I just leave it like this?lol
Next I made 3 piles....a "Will Live in this Drawer" Pile, a "Has to Live Somewhere Else" Pile and a Trash Pile.
Every item was touched once....if I touched it I had to make a decision and put it in one of the piles immediately. No putting it back and dealing with it later on.
After about 15 minutes I had 3 separate piles and was ready to move on to Step Two.
Step Two involved....
1. Putting the trash pile in the trash. Gee, that was complicated....lol
2. Putting the stuff that was going back in that Drawer back into the drawer, but NEATLY this time. I had 2 organizing bins in there already but this time I USED them to organize.
Imagine that....
3. Putting the "Needs to Live Somewhere Else" Pile into a bag so I could walk around the house and relocate each item to it's proper location--the canning jar lids in the garage with the canning supplies, the magnifying glass into my desk drawer, the coupons in the coupon box, etc.
And here is what the Junk Drawer looks like now....ain't it pretty?
February 4th and this is the extent of the organizing I have done for 2010. I have done some decluttering but organizing?.....this be it.
I'll put more organizing and decluttering on my list after I get the taxes finished.
If you've been putting D & O(that's organizing and decluttering) off, you probably have a BIG job ahead of you.
Take my advice.....start small. Find some area that is small or break a larger area it down into zones to work on instead of trying to tackle a whole room. Breaking it down into small jobs gives you more of a sense of accomplishment as you can complete something. When you have a success behind you, you will feel more positive about moving on to another zone to clean.
How about you? What have you done in the way of decluttering this year?
Let us know in the comments section.
Sluggy
Just google "Declutter Blog" and you'll find enough organizing angst writing to fill your day.
Clutter and decluttering seem to be HOT this year among the mommy &/or frugal blogs.
Clutter is bad.....that we can all agree upon.
Clutter gets in the way of you being your "authentic self".....geez, did I just say that?
So decluttering is always a good idea.
I doubt there are few among us who couldn't use a little decluttering and organizing.
Some of us, on the other hand, could use a FLEET of 1-800 Got Junk? Trucks!
In between racing off to grab another load of Catalina deal-ed goodies at Price Chopper or picking up more almost free stuff at Rite-Aid, I decided to take an hour out this week and declutter/organize something in my house.
But what?......what could I finish in less than an hour??
And then it hit me.....well,literally.....it's on wheels you see and the dog can push it if he jumps up on it's side looking for food.
My junk drawer in the kitchen island!
Small and an overflowing pig sty...perfect!!
First I had to clear the island's top....ugh.....the scope of this job is expanding....
Step One....I dumped it out....
Did all that actually fit in that little drawer?
Then I took the drawer out and wiped it down.
Here it is all cleaned up.
Can't I just leave it like this?lol
Next I made 3 piles....a "Will Live in this Drawer" Pile, a "Has to Live Somewhere Else" Pile and a Trash Pile.
Every item was touched once....if I touched it I had to make a decision and put it in one of the piles immediately. No putting it back and dealing with it later on.
After about 15 minutes I had 3 separate piles and was ready to move on to Step Two.
Step Two involved....
1. Putting the trash pile in the trash. Gee, that was complicated....lol
2. Putting the stuff that was going back in that Drawer back into the drawer, but NEATLY this time. I had 2 organizing bins in there already but this time I USED them to organize.
Imagine that....
3. Putting the "Needs to Live Somewhere Else" Pile into a bag so I could walk around the house and relocate each item to it's proper location--the canning jar lids in the garage with the canning supplies, the magnifying glass into my desk drawer, the coupons in the coupon box, etc.
And here is what the Junk Drawer looks like now....ain't it pretty?
February 4th and this is the extent of the organizing I have done for 2010. I have done some decluttering but organizing?.....this be it.
I'll put more organizing and decluttering on my list after I get the taxes finished.
If you've been putting D & O(that's organizing and decluttering) off, you probably have a BIG job ahead of you.
Take my advice.....start small. Find some area that is small or break a larger area it down into zones to work on instead of trying to tackle a whole room. Breaking it down into small jobs gives you more of a sense of accomplishment as you can complete something. When you have a success behind you, you will feel more positive about moving on to another zone to clean.
How about you? What have you done in the way of decluttering this year?
Let us know in the comments section.
Sluggy
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
N is for Nivea(Gift Card Rebate)at Rite-Aid next Week
This coming week, Feb.7-13, will be a great time to do the Rite-aid Nivea Single Check Rebate(SCR).
It is SCR #$56....Buy $15 worth of Nivea(Body,Lip,Body Wash or For Men Products)and receive a $5 Rite-Aid Gift Card.
The Nivea Body Wash will be on sale for $2.99(reg. price of $5.99-$6.99). There are $2/1 Qs from the 1/3 RP insert, which would make each bottle $.99 after Q.
So you can buy 6 bottles...6x$2.99=$17.94, use 6 $2/1 Qs....$17.94-$12, and spend $5.94 OOP & receive a $5 Gift Card.
Getting a $5 GC means you are basically you are 'paying' $.94 for the 6 bottles of body wash.
Or better yet turn this into a Moneymaker......
Buy 7 Bottles of the Body Wash for $20.93, use 7 $2/1 Qs AND a $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q.
$20.93-$14.00-$5.00=$1.93 OOP
Spend $1.93, get 7 bottles of Body Wash and a $5 Gift Card.
If you want to wait a couple of days and chance all the Nivea Body Wash being sold out, Rite-Aid may release new Wellness IPQs, which could make this deal even better.
They have a current $2 off any Skin Care item over $2 Wellness IPQ which expires 2/6, Saturday. This won't help bring your OOP down next week, but they may release a new Wellness IPQ that does help(chances are they might re-release this $2 Skin Care Q, since this is the 2nd time we've seen it already in the Wellness program).
There is also a ManuQ $5/2 Nivea Lotion and the Lotion will be $5.99(down from $7.99-$8.99), so you could pair this Q with the sale to do the Nivea SCR fairly inexpensively.
Also there are some Nivea Men's Products on clearance over by the men's shaving section in some stores. Depending on the prices and if the reports of new Nivea Qs in Sunday's inserts are accurate(including a $1/1 Nivea Men's Product Q), you might want to consider using those clearanced products for SCR #56 as well.
Sluggy
KA-BOOM!
Well I was coasting toward the end of January having spent $277.20 on my food/toiletries budget(before rebates that is). Not too bad but not too great.
And then Friday daughter needed Gas-X(on doctor's orders)so I spent $23.75 at Wags on $30 worth and some Jello for #2 son as he was having dental surgery that morning, and he'd be needing that very soon.
I did get a $10RR so I didn't feel too badly about spending that $23.75 in the end.
Then I hit the grocery store(Weis) Friday evening and found a great sale on Ground Beef for $1 a lb! I walked out of there with $20 less in my pocket and enough cow to fill a shelf in the freezer.
And then on Saturday I hit various Rite-Aids to get some more deals and finish out some other deals to the tune of $6.89 OOP but a profit of $1.61 AFTER SCRs + credit toward some Gift Card rebates too.
Then I hit CVS to spend some ECBs, use my Free Stacy's Q and do the Chips/Soda/Etc deal. I found 1 pack of Ivory soap so got that for free before the $1/1 Q expired on Sunday. I did the Chips/Soda deal but this store started next week's sales on Saturday so my ECBs didn't print, as the Lay's didn't ring up the right price...I bought 1 more bag and the cashier printed the ECBs manually.
Then I was naughty....imagine that SonyAnn!lol.....I saw that my card showed I still was $8 from getting the $10 ECBs for the Chips/Soda deal so when I went by another CVS and bought 3 more bags of Stacy's chips to test my theory. Since the ECBs were printed manually at store #1, so my card still showed I was $8 away from getting $10 ECBs, I could get $10 more ECBs by buying $8 more of chips/soda items instead of the whole $20 worth. 3 bags of Stacy's was $9. I used $9 in ECBs and the $10 ECBs printed.....bonus ECBs....lolol So altogether, I ended up buying $29, spending $.98OOP put on a gift card, and gettting $20 in ECBs back.
I know it was wicked.....but who am I to stop CVS from giving me more ECBs?lol
So another $40 or so tacked onto the January budget spending for all of Friday's/Saturday's spending wasn't so bad, considering all I got for that.
And then Sunday happened.
If you felt the ground shake and tilt on Sunday, that would have been the after affect of me blowing up the budget on Sunday.
To.
Smither
Eens.
We hit the Bread Outlet first.....hadn't been there in a bit and needed bread.
There went $6 for 3 loaves and 3 boxes of doughnuts for DH's evening snack.
A good deal.
Then we went to Big Lots to use that 20% off coupon. I bought.....
14 1/2 gallons of juice
2 boxes of popcorn
2 corned beef hash
2 sloppy joe sauce
1 parsley
1 hot sauce
1 pudding for dental surgery boy
1 apricot jam for making my pork chops glaze
2 boxes of oatmeal pies
1 bag of rubber bands(DH's purchase)
$90+ worth of food had we bought it at the cheapest grocery store here on sale using coupons, spent $41.02 with Big Lots prices and the 20% off Q.
After Big Lots I just sort of lost my mind temporarily.
Yah see....it was the last day of January and all those lovely lovely coupons were.....were.....EXPIRING!
I felt like a possessed woman released from a prison who hadn't been in a store for a year, compelled to use those coupons......and spend, spend, SPEND!!!
We were off to Walmart since DH needed something there. While I waiting on him, I picked up....
2 Beech-Nut baby foods for .08¢ each.
2 packs of Ivory Soap for .07¢ each.
4 Finish dishwasher tabs for $1.37 each.
2 cans of Sauerkraut for .42¢ each.
5 Duck packing tape for .67¢ each.
Then it was off to Price Chopper.
PC decided to gift us with TWO CATALINA DEALS this week!
Around here it's mostly famine but on a rare occasion we do get FEAST.
There is a Spend $30(reg. shelf price)/Get $10 OYNO Deals.
One for Unilever stuff.
Another one for Kraft stuff.
AND there are TWO Doublers in the Store ad!
DH and I went to PC to reconnoiter and gather the reg. shelf prices on items in those Catalina Deals.
I ran 1 transaction too, got my 1st $10 OYNO Cat and I've been rolling it once a day. Once the extra Qs I ordered come in the mail, I'll step up the pace the rest of the week. After the initial outlay to get the $10 Cat, I've been averaging about $3 OOP a transaction. I've been picking up some items we need/want and the rest are flea market goods for the spring.....basically I pay for the couple of items we want/need with the OOP and the flea market stuff is free so everything I sell will be gravy. ;-)
Sunday night I hit Rite-Aid to do this week's deals....spending about $8 OOP and I'll get $9.99 back in SCRs and I have credit toward the Healthy Heart SCR and the Nivea Products SCR Gift Cards.
I finished off Sunday by hitting Weis markets to get 5 free Marcal Small Steps items, 2 tubs of Heluva Good Dip & 2 boxes of Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage for daughter for $1 ea.....and a big containers of ricotta cheese to make Monday night's Stuffed Shells dinner per my Meal Plan. $6.62 OOP with a savings of 72% according to my receipt from Weis.
So, this is just my way of explaining what I've been doing and why I haven't finished totaling up my January receipts yet. I'm still pulling receipts out of bags as I put things away in between runs of Price Chopper and Rite-Aid this week.
I'll get them finished off and the books closed on January, hopefully tomorrow.
Sluggy
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