And the Pillsbury Giveaway Winner Is.....

The fine folks, er....automated random number generating program at Random.Org helped me pick the winning entry for the Pillsbury Giveaway.


And the # picked was Comment No. 10....

Mimi said...

A good recipe almost always has sausage in it! mad2267 at gmail dot com

February 28, 2011 8:59 PM

 Congratulations to Mimi and her sausage!! ;-)


I'll be contacting her presently.   If for any reason she can't fulfill her duties as Contest Winner, her runner-up will take over the crown.

 Thanks to everyone who entered.  Stay tuned to this Bat Channel for more Giveaways!

Sluggy

"The Time has Come," the Walrus said, "To Talk of Many Things..."

First things first.....here's a Rite-Aid shop from Saturday evening.....

I burned about $12 in +Ups on those trash bags.  The rest of it was free at sale prices and Qs.  I put .61¢ on my gift card and didn't get any +Ups.


And I finally got up to Rite-Aid Sunday late afternoon.  The plan is to roll some +Ups into cash and get some freebies too.  Here is what I got....

1 x Thermacare on sale=$3.19  *My 20% wellness disc. lower than sale price
1 x Keri Lotion on sale=$6.99
1 x Desenex powder on sale=$6.99
1 x Snickers candy bar=$.70  *20% wellness discount applied
2 x Colgate Toothpaste on sale$2.99=$5.98
2 x Sardines on sale BOGO50%=$1.93
2 x Valentine's candy 90%off=$.20
SubTotal....$25.98

Coupons Used
1 x $3.99/1 Thermacare In-Ad Q=$3.99
1 x $1/1 Keri Lotion IPQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Colgate Toothpaste IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$6.99

$25.98-$6.99=$18.99+$.11 tax=$19.10
I used $19 +Up Rewards and put .10¢ on my Rtte-Aid gift card.
I received back $6.88 back in +Up Rewards(2 x $2 Colgate, 2 x $1 for each can of Sardines and $.88 for the Snickers bar).
I'll submit for 2 SCRs...$6 for each the Keri Lotion and the Desenex, so $12 in cash rebates.

I got $18.88 'back' in +Ups/Cash and spent $19 in +Ups.

So did this transaction again, minus one of the Valentine's candy using BIL's card....

$25.88-$6.99=$18.89+$.14 tax=$19.03
Used $19 +Ups again and put .03¢ on the gift card.

Now, I totally don't understand why my tax was .03¢ more when I bought .10¢ less of products here.lol



Altogether I managed to 'roll' $24 in +Up Rewards into $24 in cash rebates.  I only bought what we'd use or eat too.(Hubs loves sardines....bleck!)

Here are the numbers....
THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....3
Total Spent....$.74 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$100.08
SCR qualified for...$24.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$13.76
+Up Rewards spent...$38.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$137.75

TOTALS--March Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......3
Total Spent....$.74 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$100.08
SCR qualified for....$24.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for March SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 2/28.....$161.99
+Up Rewards spent....$38.00
+Up Rewards earned....$13.76
+Up Rewards left....$137.75  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


I still have a boatload of +Ups that expire on March 15th.  I'm considering spending them down & rolling them into SCRs by buying a couple of electronic thingys that are giving $20 SCRs this month.  That might be the solution to carrying these things from month to month.  It's getting tiring finding ways to roll so many.  I can spent 1/3 down,  roll 1/3 into rebates and keep 1/3 for rolling into more +Ups PLUS get a couple gifty type items for giving out later. 
What do y'all think?   Good idea or should I just buy a year's supply of toilet paper or something with them all?





 So if you were starting from 0 +Ups, here is what I would buy this week at Rite-Aid....
First buy 4 cans of sardines for $3.86 OOP.  You'll receive $4 in +Ups back.
Then buy 2 tubes of Colgate Toothpaste....the on sale for $2.99 size.  Use 2 $1/1 ManuQs.  Add in a small filler item(90% Vday candy or something that's about .10¢).  Use your $4 in +Ups to pay.  Some stores will adjust down your +Ups, so you "could" possibly not add a filler item to your $3.98 total and they will adjust your $4 in +Ups down so no OOP.  You'll receive $4 back in +Ups for the 2 toothpastes.
Then see if any of the SCR items available this week in the SCR Directory are things you can use.  Most of them will end up costing .99 after the SCR.  You could save your $4 in +Ups for next week's sale or roll them via a SCR item into cash back.  IE-Get the Comtrex at $4.99 this week.  Spend your $4+Ups plus $.99&tax(or $0 OOP if you have a Q for it) and submit your receipt info. for the $4 SCR on the Comtrex.  By doing this, you spent $4.85+tax OOP and you will get back $4 of it via SCR, so you will be OOP .85+tax and you will have 2 cans of sardines, 2 tubes of toothpaste and a box of Comtrex.
5 items for .85¢ OOP.



When I got back out to my car at Rite-Aid Sunday late afternoon, it was coated in ICE!  I had a nice slide back home.....
The ice storm kept going and going for hours.  We lost power a few times before I decided maybe I should shut down the computer for the duration. 
Yes, I am quick witted like that sometimes.
Before I went to bed the Snunder(Snunder=Snow+Thunder) and Lightning began.


I woke up to this......

Bright sunshine and about 5 inches of snow with an inch of ICE under it.
Who ordered this!!??!!




And the dogs were feeling squirrely.

The beagle with the back problems has decided that jumping up and sleeping in "Daddy's chair" is something she needs to be doing.  So little "Miss Jealousy" chihuahua decides she needs to be in the chair too so she can bark at the beagle.  Doesn't it look like the beagle is pleading with me to "get her off of my chair Mom, puhleeeez!" 


I broke down on Saturday and bought a Netflix membership.  Ok, so it's free the first month.  I love movies but I don't buy them, nor do I go to the movies since I consider both of those huge wastes of my money.   And we don't have any rental places close enough that would entice me to get in a car/go rent a movie/watch movie/get back in a car/return movie before the time limit expired or I owed more money for keeping it.  Plus our library's collection of free rental dvds is miniscule and is mostly made up of Disney drek and kiddie films.  I've seen enough kiddie films to last me a lifetime thankyouverymuch!lol

I can deal with paying $9.99 a month to see all the movies/shows I want without leaving my sofa.
At least until it gets to the point where I have seen everything I want to see or I don't utilize it enough to make it cost effective or everything left to see has to be ordered on dvds they mail me and can't be seen instantly.
This 'lifestyle inflation' will be re-evaluated every month.

I still have no Meal Plan done for the week yet and no clue what I am serving for dinner tonight....it's 4:45pm by the way....
I felt it was more important to watch a film about the history and evolution of Skateboarding with my 15 yr. old instead.
Yah see?....Netflix has already become a suckhole......

So what's up in your corner of the world today?

Sluggy

Decluttering and Donating

If you are into decluttering be sure and check out my bloggy friend Mark's blog HERE.  Most Fridays he posts his weekly decluttering booty....er, or should I say bounty?  Anyway, HERE is a recent example of what he's sent packing.  Be sure and go check out his efforts and cheer him on!
Gotta love a man who fights the urge to hoard his kid's outgrown clothing.....

Well I DID get a donation for Sallie's together for February!
Here it is.....

 One big trash bag full of assorted used clothes......

And another bundle of mostly clothes and some odds and ends.
Among the odds and ends is an MP3 player my Daughter had to have one Xmas, that's been sitting in my desk for a couple of years now.  Everyone has Windows 7 here now so we can't upload anything to it.  I hate technology......well, the fact that things go obsolete so quickly!
Ugh....
The rest of it mainly is a load of my sweaters.  5 of them I never even took the tags off of, let alone wear them.  They were my size, the right colors and styles that don't make me look like a troll(a rare thing!lol)AND they were a "deal".  So I bought them.
Let's not get into the fact that I don't WEAR Sweaters....ever!
Nope.
I live in PA on the top of a mountain.
Even so, I wear a winter coat maybe 3 days out of the year....if that many.(We won't get into the fact that I have a winter coat hanging in the downstairs Coat Closet that I have never worn.  It's been around since Clinton was in office, or since my Daughter was an infant....)

I go outside barefoot....in the winter......in snow even.
I am a walking 24/7 Hot Flash....not just since menopause but ALWAYS.
Why the hell am I buying sweaters?!?!LOLOL

So after keeping them safe and snug in my cedar chest for the last oh.....7 years or so!....I have let them go, hopefully to a new owner who will actually WEAR them.

We got our donation together in February and Hubs actually dropped it off on Friday, March 4th.  I am still going to call it a Feb. donation.
Monday morning, we begin gathering the March donation.

So what clutter have you sent packing outta your life lately?

Sluggy

Enter this Cheerios Giveaway but HURRY....ends Friday Midnight!!

Gosh, I've been so distracted I forgot to mention my friend's Giveaway.
Hurry on over ASAP cecause it ends Friday(that's today!!) at Midnight!
It's over HERE on I'm So Pretty I Fart Fairy Dust.

And check out her blog while you are there entering the Giveaway.
Cindy has a wicked sense of humor and she gets some good Shopping Trips in at places like Rite-Aid, Target and GiantPA.
She just got a bigass shed that would be 'da bomb' for a stockpile!
Color me jealous......

Sluggy

This isn't Work?...The Heck You Say!

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately.  I have a good reason for it.  Let me explain....

As it's well known to all you who read me here, I'm a  mom.  I live the life of your typical average mom.
I clean(when nagged), I cook, I do laundry, I yell at my kids(when provoked).  I generally tend to
the upkeep of my home and my family.  I am the Domestic Major Domo of Chez Sluggy.  
Hubs brings the income and I keep it from becoming the outgo any possible way I can!  And I am always on the lookout for a way to generate more income.

In my quest to bring in $ to the household I have been trying out various online opportunities.
I'm not talking suverys and 'click on the emails' kind of stuff, though if you keep at that and do enough of it, you can make what they use to refer to as "pin" money doing those sorts of activities.

I'm after more interesting offers that compensate better.  More in the realm of Mystery Shopping, but without having to leave my house.

In that mindset, I joined a Focus Group Company about a year ago.
I had a love/hate relationship with them for the better part of a year.  They would sent me surveys to
fill out to see if I qualified for a group/study.  Mostly I'd spend a good five minutes or so progressing through said surveys only to get the screen that said, "I'm sorry.  You don't fit the profile we are
looking for at this time." or "I'm sorry but this study has already reached the number of participants  with your profile."  And I would instantaneously jump on these surveys and still get shut out because  they were filled.
Argh!

But after dilligently and patiently filling out survey after survey, things began to shake loose for me.

I got chosen for an online chat group sponsored by a regional utility company.  That paid 3 figures for 3 hours of chat.

Then I just missed out on a mock jury next sponsored by a local attorney firm.  I think the client settled the lawsuit or something so it was called off.

I tried next for a focus group community project.  And I wasn't picked at first, again because of my 'profile'.  But a week later someone dropped out and they called me to take their spot.  It helps to chat it up with the Recruiter and win them over.  The guy remembered me, liked me and gave me the call and I grabbed the opportunity!

This panel has been ongoing over the last 6 weeks... a longterm committment in the focus group world.
It started out being very bizarre but over time the tasks have been very engaging and interesting.  Compensation started out in the mid 3 figures but there have been incentives for meeting deadlines and competitions amongst the participants along the way.  After winning 1st prize in the last competition, I'm up to the high 3 figures in compensation. 8-)

I just completed the last task for this panel moments ago.
I don't know....maybe I take these studies too seriously.  I've slept little in the past 2 days as I've mulled over the original concept I had to come up with for this task.  I've spent way too much time refining this idea and putting it down on paper.  Maybe the bonus money has driven me to stress out and put more into this than anybody should/would?
Probably.....

With the deadlines and work expected from me, my Type A Personality Traits have taken over.
Why am I knocking myself out?
Anything I come up with they can take and use and I get nothing more....so I am making their job easier for what will amount to small change.

This has become a Job.
And a job=hard work.  Work and all the negative things that come with it...stress & not enough pay.
For all the hours I've put in they sure aren't paying me enough.
I'm glad I am done with this one.

But as a short term, now and again hobby type thing, you can't beat this type of work with a stick.
Getting paid to tell them what I think.
Talking=$.
It's a Dream Job really for someone without a job other than as a Domestic Major Domo.

Sluggy