Swimming with the Loons

Hello from an undisclosed location!.....the photo & the post title should give you some hints. ;-)

I bet ya'll had thought I had fallen off the face of the Earth.
Nope.

I am alive and well somewhere near the location of the photo above.

I finally got internet access for awhile and thought I'd check in.

I still have seafood to eat and Rite-Aids to pillage but should be home and back online by Saturday.
So keep on keepin' on being frugal and I'll be seeing ya'll soon.

Sluggy

Picking Time #2....Some Variety Finally!

Go figure......as soon as we decide to hit the road on a vacation, our garden starts producing!
Ack...
Why didn't we think to tell it that we were leaving it weeks ago!!lol

We harvested our 1st whopper of a tomato about a week ago.
Here it is....

Purty, huh?
Now look at it again, with the object beside it to show the scale.....

And no, it is NOT suppose to be a cherry tomato.lol
It's an Early Girl or some such nonsense.

This BEHEMOTH added another 2 ounces to our production total.

Moving on-
Here are some goodies we picked yesterday....

4 yellow summer squash
3 tomatoes(around the size of the last one/off of the same set of plants)
1 Italian roasting pepper(or so the nursery guy called it)
1 small light green pepper(the stem broke off the plant and it was either take it now or let it rot)

All together this crop and the behemoth were 3lb. 7oz.

Since I'm leaving shortly, I'll cook up the squash today and throw everything else into the freezer and deal with it when I get back.
Some of the cauliflower needs picking soon as well as some green beans & pickling cukes.  I've got someone to pick things while I am away so nothing will go to waste.
No zucchini here....waiting on the female blooms still.

Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....15 lb. 5.4 oz.

What's new in your garden?


Sluggy

Shopping & Decluttering & Donating....Oh My!

We had a busy Tuesday here.
First off I had to go have blood drawn.  The nurse couldn't find my vein so I got stuck in both arms...ugh.

Then I finally hauled this off to the local Food Bank....

7 x Feminine Pads
4 x Kids Soap
14 x Cat Treats *Not pictured
1 x Cat Litter *Not pictured
12 x Hot Sauce
2 x Pasta Noodles
2 x Pasta Sauce
4 x Peanut Butter
10 x Canned Peas
2 x Canned Pasta
3 x Barbecue Sauce *Not pictured

Donation Total....61 Items
Plus I gave them a check for $100 per my JUNE FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE pledge.

Yearly Food Bank Donation Total....227 + $100
April....78
May....88
July....61

I didn't get a chance to lay it all out nice on the table this time before it went into the car but here is what Hubs hauled up to Salvation Army....

And more on the backseat....

ALL NEW ITEMS
9 Cube World Toys
3 packs Halloween Make-up
2 Lamps
1 Set of 4 Glass Goblets
2 Boyds Glass Xmas Ornaments
2 Boxes of Beanie Baby Cards
1 Book on Tape/Audio Book
2 Matted Art Prints
1 Homer Simpson Talking Cookie Jar
1 Small Soldiers Animated Bank

USED ITEMS
5 Halloween Costumes
Metal Folding Plant Shelf
Gettysburg Army Men Set
Baseball Glove
Dog Dish
10 Theater Books
Fisher Price Pirate Ship and Accessories
8 Stuffed Animals
10 Mark Twain Books

Total Items for this Donation....62

April Total....96
May Total....72
June Total....45
July Total....107
Yearly Total to Date....320 Items.


Yearly Total for all Donations(Salvation Army & Food Bank) so far.....547 items + $100


#2 son had a sleepover last night so I had to hit the grocery store for 'necessities' like chips, pepperoni for the pizzas I made them, milk, popcorn, to the tune of $12.20.  Add in the bag of healthy chips I wanted to try(I did have a coupon) and the bag of dog food for $1.99(again, with a coupon.lol)and the bill came to $16.42.

And a trip to Rite-Aid, probably the only one for this week's sales since we have packing and stuff to do before we leave for vacation.

2 x StayFree Pads on sale $3.00=$6.00
2 x Nivea Men's Body Wash on sale $1.99=$3.98
1 x Olay Total Effects Body Wash w/20% discount=$3.99
1 x Ivory Soap 4 pack w/20% discount=$2.63
1 x Colgate Total Toothpaste on sale $3 but 20% discount greater=$2.95
1 x Reach Dental Floss on sale=$.99
1 x Reach Toothbrush on sale $3.99 but 20% discount greater=$3.59
SubTotal....$24.13

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks(my only one! sniff)=$5.00
1 x BOGO StayFree ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 StayFree ManuQ(from some magazine I had)=$1.00
1 x $4/2 Nivea Body Wash IPQ=$4.00*
I x $4/1 Olay Total Effects ManuQ=$4.00
1 x Buy One OlayTF/Get One Ivory Product free ManuQ=$3.00**
1 x $1/1 Colgate Toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Reach Floss or Toothbrush IPQ=$1.00*
1 x $1/1 Reach Toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$23.00

$24.13-$23.00=$1.13 OOP put on free Rite-Aid Gift Card so ZERO out of pocket

I qualified for SCR#80 $2.99(Reach Toothbrush)=$2.99
The Reach Toothbrush, Colgate Paste and Reach Floss also qualify toward SCR #556, so I have $7.53 toward the $15 needed to earn a $5 Rite-Aid Gift Card.

I also earned +UPs in the amount of $8 for this transaction....2 x $1(Nivea), $1(Reach Tbrush), $3(Colgate), $2(J&J-StayFree).
Yes, each Nivea Body Wash triggered a separate +UP in the same transaction.

*Both the Nivea and the Reach IPQs beeped as the amount of the item was 1 cent below the coupon value. The cashier had to manually imput them into the register.
**The cashier insisted on marking the Ivory Soap Q for $3.00, even though I told her twice the soap only rang up $2.63 because of my Wellness discount.  Well you can't say I didn't try....lol

So $1.13 on gift card/oop and getting back $2.99 in rebates and $8 more in +UPs to spend.
It's a fine way to start the new SCR period for August.

MONTHLY TOTALS-AUGUST Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......1
Total Spent....$1.13--all put on free Gift Cards/Certificates 
Value of Items purchased....$37.21
SCR qualified for....$2.99 in cash and $0 in Gift Cards
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0
+Up Rewards earned=$8.00

Total 'Spent'...$1.13(on gift cards)
Total Cash I'm getting Back=$2.99
Total Gift Cards I'm getting=$0
+Up Rewards left to spend=$24.00(including the $9 that didn't print last week)

Today, Wednesday, is more packing, cleaning the car EGADS!, gardening and making lists for the trip, for the kids chores and last minute checklists, cooking, cleaning, laundry and then a dip in the pool & probably a nap since nobody got much sleep here last night...hmmm, I wonder if 3 teenage boys tromping around until 3am had anything to do with that.....ya think??lol

So what do you have up on deck today?

Sluggy

For Donna....As Promised!

A few weeks ago I won a blog contest over at Donna Freedman's blog, Surviving and Thriving.
Part of my win included a cute little alien critter that says various alien-like phrases when you whack him on the head.  I sort of like that whacking on the head thing, but I digress.

I had asked Donna to autograph the Alien before she sent him packing to PA.  I have a small collection of autographs, both photos and objects.  The signatures range from famous people to the even better type of people, those I consider my friends. ;-)
I promised Donna that if she signed old green butted Alien dude I would put her/him right next to my Bruce Willis.  It's only appropriate because Donna and Bruce are fellow Jerseyites and they are both "hot" babes.

Well my Alien dude arrived late last week-Thanks Donna!-but alas, without a signature as his alien form proved to be 'unsignable'.
But he arrived holding a card attesting to his unsignability, handwritten and autographed by Ms. Freedman.  That is good enough for me and my collection!

So without further ado........Donna meet Bruce....Bruce, Donna.....

May you dwell together happily for many years to come in my dining room hutch.

Be sure to check out Donna's frugality/personal finance blog.  She's one smart tough cookie!

Sluggy

Another 2010 BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY is OPEN! Box #3

This is the 3rd Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY for 2010!

It's time again for a Boring Giveaway.
I run a Boring Blog here so why not giveaway boring stuff, right?

Just to recap, I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.  The stuff can range from HBA, food, toys, collectibles, home decor or books.  Someday if enough people click on enough ads and this blog makes some cold hard cash, I may add a gift card, so get to clicking already!!lol

For all you Primping Princesses, here is what went into the Box today.....

1. 1 Dove Skin Vitalizer-it vibrates!lol
2. 2 Skin Vitalizer Pad Refills
3. N.Y.C. Cherry Lip Gloss

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways on THIS POST.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower---->


TIME TO ENTER.....

I entry per person on this POST.

When I post again about this BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY, entries on this Post will be CLOSED and you can post on the New Giveaway Post and enter again.  I hope this isn't too confusing. ;-)

Here are the ways to get UP TO 2 EXTRA entries PER POST.....

1. 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. If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra comment.
2.  Blog about this 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 do each of these 2 things once per post, so that's a total of up to 3 entries per person per post.
(*Sorry M & F...no daily entries this time because of the vacation.*)

Again, you can enter on this post until I put another Giveaway Post up and then you need to enter on the NEWER Post. 
FYI if you are new here....it generally takes 4 weeks to fill the box, so there will be 4 posts(give or take)about this Giveaway where you can enter to win up to 3 times.

Any questions?  Just email me at slugmama@yahoo.com

Oh yah, I pay for all the stuff in this giveaway and nobody(business or person) gives me stuff or pays me to hold them or promote their products.  I even pay the shipping just because I loves ya'll and....and.....that's how I roll!  ;-)

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy