June Donation #1......Starting off the Month Late Again

June is halfway over and I am just getting my 'donation act' together for this month.
Ugh.
Life happens.....need I say more?lol

Here is what is leaving my house this week.....

1 AnnaLee Rabbit Doll(vintage/used)
1 Set of Mad Magazine miniature cars
1 set of 6 Boxes of Star Trek Trading Cards
12 packages of Power Rangers Jewelry
2 bottles of Star Trek Bubble Bath
1 Weebo Toy from Flubber-the Movie
1 box of McDonald's play food....plastic chicken nuggets anyone?lol
1 Boyd's Bears Bearstone Resin Figure
1 cassette tape of Toy Story music
1 Polly Pocket doll set
1 David Winter's Cottages book(used)

And this stuff....

1 Nightmare Before Christmas Cookie Jar
1 Snowman Stocking Hanger
1 Collectible Matchbox NY Mets Truck
1 Santa Ornament
1 Set of Lighthouse Shower Curtain Hooks
7 pairs of men's Jeans(used)
2 women's short sets(used)
2 women's swimsuits(used)
2 women's polo shirts(used)
1 women's l/s shirt(nwt)
2 pair of women's shorts(nwt)
1 womens' t-shirt(nwt)

Total Items for this Donation....45

April Total....96
May Total....72
June Total....45
Yearly Total to Date....213 Items.

Yearly Food Bank Donation Total....78

Yearly Total for all Donations so far.....291

In other news......I think all my eBay listings expired this past week so I need to decide if I take off from selling there for the summer & close my store since it's slow time or if I ramp the listings back up and keep the store open.  I hate to just put the store on vacation settings for 2 months and still have to pay that monthly fee.
Anybody out there have an eBay store?  How do you handle summers in regards to eBay??


Sluggy

Cleaning Digital House

Ok...I admit it.
I am a digital hoarder!
What can I say?

I have a hard time sending old emails to the virtual recycle bin.  The current Inbox count is over 1400 emails...no wonder I lose stuff!lol  And that's not counting all the emails in my various folders.

Speaking of emails, I am signed up to way too many website/company email alerts.

Last year, when I began the Year of Living Extreme Couponing, I subscribed to every big and alot of not-so-big Couponing/Deal Blogs.  Now I don't chase some many deals, but I am still getting all those email alerts and my inbox is like Grand Central Station during rush hour!
And you know what?.....most of those Deal Websites spew out the same deals over and over and over again, so I am hearing about a particular *HOT* deal something like 30 times a day.

Seriously, who needs that?

I have found that I rarely check on the Deal Blogs anymore.  Since I don't have a national chain grocery store here I find very few cover the stores I need information on. 

Over the past year I have found that I tend to gravitate to 'frugal' blogs....you know, the small personal blogs of people sharing their real life struggles with money(or the lack thereof), family and life in general.  That's the key.....they may talk about the Deals too but it's the SHARING of themselves that interests me more.
And having a sense of humor is a BIG Plus!!lol

My computer's Favorites list has also grown too cumbersome.
I scroll down it forever to find a web page I want to view.  I just went and clicked on a few and some of the blogs aren't even around anymore.

Plus I really need to backup some files on a flash drive since my machine is by techno-geek standards a 'dinosaur' and due for a complete meltdown any month now....ugh!
I also really need to export my blog content to a flash drive as well.



It's all become Digital Clutter in my life.

And as in the words of that great philosopher Popeye the Sailor Man,  I've gotten to the "it's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!" stage.

So this afternoon is all about cleaning my digital house and getting it organized and ship shape.  Something tells me this might be a 2 day job though.lol

So...do you subscribe to any "Deal Blogs"?  How many do you find is enough to get the information you need?  And which ones do you prefer?

And which blogs are in your favorites?  Share some of your favs and I'll share some of mine next time too.

Sluggy

JUNE Food Stamp Challenge....Days Fourteen & Fifteen=Half Way!

This post is part of the June Food Stamp Challenge located HERE.

Monday was Day 14 of the June Food Stamp Challenge.
Monday was also the day 2 of the mouths I feed left home--one will be back in a week, one is gone for the summer.
So I am down to 3 people in the home this week.
And the rate at which the food gets eaten up here will slow waaaay down.

Or will it?

Though I only have 3 people to feed this week, yesterday was the last day of school for #2 son.
That means my food bill will increase because a couple of the neighborhood kids hang out here during summer recess.

We have a pool and a mom(me) who will feed whatever stray teen shows up.
While the JFSC doesn't allow me extra in my food budget, I will go through extra food rations for the remainder of this month.

If someone is living off of EBT alone, having extra hungry teens eating through your kitchen cabinets and fridge could mean running out of food before the month is out. You want to be welcoming to your kids friends but it could be very stressful to your budget to have them around.

You could try to stretch the food budget by buying cheaper foods. This might work as teens love all that processed junkie food, but it would also mean pouring empty unhealthy calories into their growing bodies(which is bad) plus your family's food choices would also suffer as you'd either have to buy less of the healthy food or buy lesser quality of foods for your own use as well to stay on budget.

I am NOT buying soda but the teens require a teeny bit of sugary beverages along with the water I make them drink, so I'll make them homemade lemonade(at least they will get real citrus fruit along with the sugar in the deal).  As a cheaper alternative to soda we'll break out the Kool-aid on occasion...the packet ones where you add your own sugar as that is less costly than the premade canister stuff(and more eco-friendly since you only have a small paper packet to compost and not a big plastic container to recycle). 
For snacks I'll do some crudites(raw veggies)and dip, homemade hummus and crackers, sliced apples and peanut butter, and homemade pizza(offering some veggie options to go under the pepperoni slices), and make stir-frys with frozen veggies and the ramen noodles they always eat.  Once the garden starts producing tomatoes(crossing fingers!), I'll offer BLTs and Fried Zuchinni slices.

How would you handle this dilemna?
And please share any low cost/healthy-ish foods I can offer the gang of teens this summer.  (Nothing with margarine or artificial sweeteners however.)  I'd love to hear any ideas!


Back to our Eating for the last 2 days.....

Monday was leftover Turkey with Dehydrated Mashed Potatoes, homemade gravy using the leftover pan drippings from when I roasted the Turkey last week, and peas to round out the meal. Cost of food...turkey-free, potatoes-free, peas-.30¢, gravy-.10¢ for the flour/butter/spices=.40¢

Tuesday was Beef Enchiladas with Corn.  I added the leftover chili from last week to the beef filling and made my homemade Enchilada Sauce. 

Cost of food here(not bought during June)that was used includes sauce ingredients-.80¢, corn-.30¢, tortillas-.60¢=$1.70

Since I did no grocery shopping the last 2 days, my only 'spending' was for the food used that was bought before June.


We are halfway through June and our food budget is looking good!   Sticking to the budget on the back end of the month will be vital to staying on task.

 'Spending' for Day Fourteen and Fifteen...$2.10

Spent to Date....$142.76
June Food Budget Left....$267.96
Days of Challenge Left....15


Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....June 14th TUESDAY Edition Incorporating Leftovers

**This post is part of the June Food Stamp Challenge located over HERE.**

Planning your meals ahead but using the sale ads and incorporating any leftovers from the previous week's meals is a great way to save money and avoid food waste.  These are the main ideas I keep in mind when planning our menu.  While I won't be shopping much this week I do have alot of leftovers to use up.

Last Week's Menu Postmortem...

Most of the meals were served but not on the days I had planned.  That's ok in my book!
The chicken thighs didn't happen as we had a celebratory dinner out for #1 son since he will be away from home on his actual birthday.

Here's what I will be serving our family of 3 this Week.....our household presently consists of 2 adults and 1 teen at home this week. No children under 14.

MONDAY--Turkey(leftover)*, Mashed Potatoes, homemade Gravy, Peas
TUESDAY--Beef Enchiladas(using leftover chili)*, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Pulled Pork(leftover)*, Coleslaw, Broccoli
THURSDAY--Dinner Out using Gift Certificate
FRIDAY--Something Turkey(leftover)*, Veggies to be announced later
SATURDAY--Homemade Clam Chowder(using leftover corn)*, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Brussel Sprouts
SUNDAY--Leftovers

Here are the cost breakdowns...

Turkey Dinner--Turkey* free, Mashed Potatoes* free, homemade Gravy .10, Peas .30=$.40


Enchiladas--Beef $1.69, Sauce .79, Cheese $2.00, Tortillas $1.00, Rice .60, Sour Cream .50, Salad* free, Dressing .75=$7.33  This will make a double batch and I'll freeze half for another meal.


Pork--Pulled Pork* free, Sauce .50, Rolls .50, Coleslaw $1.25, Broccoli .83=$3.08


Dinner Out--Free with Gift Certificate


Turkey Meal--Turkey* free, Veggies to be announced later=$? but since the meat is free(leftovers) the cost will be low for the other ingredients

Chowder and Sandwiches w/Veggie--Clams $2.00, Corn* free, Bacon .50, Milk $1.59, Onions .25, Celery .25, Potatoes .50/ Bread .50, Cheese $1.63, Brussel Sprouts .83=$8.05


SUNDAY--Leftovers

Adding up what has already been spent and what I need to spend for this week's menu, I can serve this menu of 6 meals to a family of 3 adults/teens for a total of $20.86(figuring $2 max for the carbs/veggies to round out the unspecified turkey meal on Friday).  This cost also gives me a second Enchilada meal for another week.

Leftover nights have no cost as they were already figured in when the meal was served the first time. If you divide the meals' cost by 6 nights, you get an average cost per night of $3.48. That's $1.16 per person per night. And this is mostly a cooking from scratch menu. The only 'processed foods' are the salad dressing and the rolls/bread.
The items marked with the asteriks are free as they are leftovers and the cost was already paid.
Looking over this menu I've got leftovers going every night of the week that I am cooking!lolol

How am I being frugal with this menu?
*The Turkey meals are using the leftover roasted turkey from last week.  Between snacking on turkey last weekend(sandwiches)and the 2 meals this week, we should polish off all the turkey.*The Beef Enchiladas...No leftover Sloppy Joes this week but I have leftover Chili I can add to the filling to spice it up.
*The Pulled Pork is leftover boneless ribs I cooked when we grilled out the Friday before last.  I made them in case we ran out of food that night with the extra mouths here to feed.  Since we didn't need them, I'll make them into bbq this week.  By using sauce I can revive them even though they are a bit dry, being this old.  No one will know the difference....lol
*I also had leftover ears of roasted corn from that cookout.  I cut the kernels off the cobs and froze it.  That corn will be a nice addition to my clam chowder.

LAST WEEK'S FOOD SPENDING

I spent $37.76 at the store last week on groceries.
I 'spent' $8.60 in food items already in my pantry/freezer for a Food Stamp Challenge weekly total of $46.36. 
My total FSC spending for June is at $140.66.
I have an allotment of $410.72 to spend in June on food due to my participation in the June Food Stamp Challenge.
I have $270.06 remaining.

The only NEEDS for this week's menu are rolls, bread, cabbage, carrots, fruit and milk. Since I can't get the baked goods at the bakery outlet(they don't take EBT) I'll have to find a sale on bread/rolls at the reg. grocery store which will make those items cost me more.  I'm hoping to keep this list under $20 in price.
I don't see much in the stores this week that I want to stock-up on so I should be able to keep the food spending low this week.

FOOD WASTE REPORT

We had a waste casualty this week.  A bowl of something brown(most likely in the meat family)got pushed to the back and forgotten.  It was more mold than meat when found so we lost a tad more than 1 cup of food last week.
Food Waste sucks.....

Check out Organizing Junkie to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

Sluggy

Is it Tuesday Already? What I've Been Up To....

Ok....so it's Tuesday already!
I think I lost a day somewhere between Friday and now.
The weekend was  nuts with teens going here and teens going there and teens packing to leave for summer jobs, and school ending and on & on & on.
DH got the fencing up late Saturday around the garden beds much to the consternation of the resident rabbit.

Sunday DH and I had a date of sorts.  There is something around these parts called a "Chinese Auction"(not a very PC name for it however).  It also goes by the names Tricky Tray, or Basket Auction or Penny Social depending on the types of prizes.  It's gambling.  Not Bingo, Bunco or Poker but it's still a game of chance.....and some people find it highly addictive anyway.

The good thing about these auctions is that these are held as fundraisers for local non-profit organizations.  The group will get members and/or local businesses to donate prizes.  The prizes can be new items, they can be used items, or they can be a whole basket of prizes depending on the set-up.  The prizes can also be food or services as well(these are the kind I like).
 
Basically you buy sheets of little tickets with numbers on them.  Each sheet has 25 tickets or so plus a larger ticket that you hold onto.  All of the tickets have the same number on them and that number is unique from every other sheet of numbers.
The prizes are set out where the auction is being held, with bags or coffee cans next to each prize.  If you see a prize you want to win, you take as many of your tickets as you want & put them into the corresponding bag or can for that prize.  After about 2 hrs. of folks putting tickets in the cans/bags, the folks running the auction draw a numbered ticket out of the can/bag and whoever is holding that number wins the prize!
DH & I go to this particular Auction every year when they hold it in June.  All monies raised go to support a local fire company.

DH use to never win anything when we went but I guess my know-how or dumb luck has finally rubbed off on him.
Here is what we hauled home this year.....

Oops....forgot this item in the shot....

DH won 5 times and I won 12 times.  Well actually, we have a dispute on the ratio of mine/his winnings since one of the things I won for him but he says if I hadn't put tickets in for that item, he would have won it himself anyway.....so it's him 6/me 11 or him 5/me 12 wins. lolol

Sometimes it gets nuts at these auctions with all the people crammed in and the yelling and jostling about.  More often than naught I find myself winning something I don't even remember putting a ticket in for....like that Getty 2001 Fire Engine. Doh!

DH won a dress shirt(in his size) and a set of thermal underwear in #1 son's size which he'll be needing this winter back at school near Lake Erie.   DH also won a nice set of suede leather work gloves, some candles, a set of earphones and a jar of a locally-made specialty called Hot Sauce(it's more like Skyline Chili Sauce).
I always focus on the restaurant and services prizes....those are all those envelopes over on the left in the photo.  This year I won some free pizzas, a custom printed t-shirt, credit at a book store(for DH), $30 in hair services so I can get my hair cut, a sports shop gift card(for #2 son), gift cards to 3 other restaurants, free bowling passes & tickets for a Childrens Museum.  I've won gas station gift cards, theatre tickets, tickets to a concert, horseback riding and on and on in the past.  You just never know what goodies they will have each year.
When you add up the value of all we win, we always win at least double what we spend on the tickets.  We budget for the spending on this event every year so it's a planned expense(in case we don't win anything).  It usually costs us the equivalent of a nice restaurant meal.  We always make out like bandits in the prize dept. and the group raises cash for their cause, plus we have a good time! 

Monday rolled around and it was finally time for 2 of the teens to leave for their summer job training.  I don't know if I was happier to see them leave or they were happier to leave.lol
Of course, neither of them called me when they got there safely!!  We had to call them  & got through 11 hours after they left here!  The excuse why they didn't call?......they had no minutes left on their phones.  Right.....they were too busy using those minutes up with their friends and that's why we couldn't get through and our calls went to voice mail....if they would have been here I would have STRANGLED them!!!   (And no, they don't talk and drive.  They took turns driving so they could each blab on their phones in the passenger seat when not driving.)

The Good News is....I am down to 1 teen for the next week. 8-))
The Bad News is....Of course there is #2 son's buddy down the street who practically lives here during the summer and that kid's step brother from TX who spends a large chunk of the summer here too, so really, I still have 3 teens to deal with. 8-((

In 1 week #2 son will be going to attend camp for 2 weeks and daughter will be coming home from training for 2 weeks, until her employment time starts up.  I have a chart on the fridge to keep straight which teens are here which weeks for the summer to keep from overtaxing my brain.  I check the chart each morning to figure out which teen(s) are home and oversleeping before I start hollering names.

I spent most of Monday doing all the dirty laundry & dishes they left for me and forming a plan of attack for cleaning up things here.  I need to find my Summer Groove, ya know?

I also need to get some photos of the garden beds.  It rained bucket loads here on Sunday and lots of stuff shot up.  The weeds seem to have grown at twice the rate of the plants I WANT to grow however.
Ugh.

I still don't have a meal plan for this week.  The last 5 weeks having #1 son home put a big dent into my freezer stockpile.  I am considering eating it down so I can fit everything into the freezer compartment on the refrigerator and defrosting the freezer in the garage.  It's due and now that the turkey is out of there I might be able to empty it fully.
Speaking of turkey.....can I talk turkey with you now?lol, I need to figure out some way to serve the leftover turkey meat.  I am NOT a big fan of leftover turkey.....call me weird if you must!  It has a smell I don't like.  I guess I can hold my nose to eat it.  I have an old recipe called "Chicken & Stuffing Casserole".  DH likes it(heck, he likes everything!lol)so maybe I'll make a Turkey variations with the leftovers.  Or I could do a Turkey a la King.    Or Turkey and Dumplings.....oh, I'll come up with something.
Anyone have any suggestions besides Tetrazzini?(not a fan of that one).....

Sluggy