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

Our Date Day.....

Hubs and I had a Date yesterday for lunch.  We had a nice quiet dining experience at our favorite Asian Restaurant without any teens and their texting appendage.
Seriously!....what is with these kids?  They can't turn off the cell phones long enough to eat or have a face to face conversation with you!
Ok, I won't go off on that particular rant today.lol

A nice frugal(lunch prices not dinner prices!lol), tasty meal and we talked over "stuff".  Stuff would be, where we are with the financial aid letters for Daughter, #1 son's current stressors at school, #2 son's Marching Band trip to Florida, Graduation festivities coming up for Daughter, when #1 son is done with this semester, the assorted days that assorted teens need to be hauled to or picked up from summer camp(2 are working there, 1 is attending training sessions), etc. etc. etc.  We want to squeeze in a little vacation time into the summer(probably alone or with just #2 son tagging along)but it looks like it will be tricky to accomplish this year.  I so hate to take kids out of school for vacation but we might just have to this year.
And we still have to work in the garden stuff, marching band camp and home projects while the weather is warm.  At this point, it's a bit overwhelming to think about it all and I just find I want to go back to bed and draw the covers over my head.
Bleh.

Anyway, after talking over things until I felt exhausted, we took a ride down to the other end of our teeny tiny town and hit the Rite-Aid.  Yes, Hubs knows the way to my heart.lol

I got my Dixie plate and Motrin PM rainchecks while I was there.
I had a $20 Winter Reward to spend so I burned through that baby today as well.....

3 x 12-pack Pepsi products $6.99 after +Ups
4 x Johnson's Baby 'Poo raincheck made them .99¢
2 x Desitin Rash Cream raincheck made them .99¢
1 x Gain Dish Soap free after coupon w/.12¢ overage.
2 x Doritos chips $2 each after +Ups
4 x R-A facial tissue raincheck made them free.
1 x Folger's Instant Coffee $5.99 after Wellness discount.
1 x Salonpas Pain Patch $2 overage after coupon
2 x NoNonsense 3 pack Socks $1.24 each after coupons
5 x Revlon Nail Files$1.69 overage after +Ups

My pre-coupon SubTotal was $43.60.

I used $22 in Coupons.
$43.60-$22.00=$21.60

I used my $20 Winter Reward & $1 +Up Reward and put the .60¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card(which now has $53.57 after the camera return and my OOP for Wednesday's transaction).
I received $8 in +Up Rewards back($4 for the Revlon tools, $3 on the Pepsi products, $1 wyb 2 Doritos).  I qualified for SCR #20(Revlon Tools) for $1 as well.


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.60 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$96.05
SCR qualified for...$1.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$8.00
+Up Rewards spent....$21.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$101.76

TOTALS--March Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......9
Total Spent....$3.01 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$470.59
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 3/16.....$114.76
+Up Rewards spent....$194.00
+Up Rewards earned....$46.76
+Up Rewards left....$101.76  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


I can't believe that this is the last week for March sales at Rite-Aid!  The AdPerk/VV coupons expire March 26th and the last day for March SCRs is March 29th so be sure to buy what you need by the 29th and watch those videos and use those coupons expiring in March by Saturday the 26th!


Sluggy

Rite-Aid on Wednesday....Doing the Skin Care Deal

I popped into Rite-Aid on Wednesday to do the Skin Care +Up Rewards Deal.....

4 x Clean and Clear products 20% off wellness discount $4.63=$18.52
3 x Dixie Plates on sale $1.97=$5.91
1 x Salonpas Patch on sale=$1.00
2 x R-A Whole Cashews $.79 clearance or glitch?=$1.58*this deal is dead, so don't try it.
SubTotal....$27.01

Coupons Used
1 x $1 Purchase AdPerk/VV IPQ=$1.00
4 x $2/1 Clean and Clear product IPA HERE=$8.00
4 x $2/1 Clean and Clear product In-Ad Q=$8.00
1 x $5/3 Dixie Plates AdPerk/VV IPQ=$5.00
1 x $3/1 Salonpas IPQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$25.00

$27.01-$25.00=$2.01 + .26¢ tax=$2.27 OOP
I used $2 in +Up Rewards and put the .27¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $5 in +Up Rewards back(for buying $15 or more in Clean and Clear Products), so I am 'up' $3 on this transaction.
I am still befuddled on how the tax is added and for what items it is added.  If it's based on the $2 in +Ups after Qs I used it should have been .12¢.  If it's based on all the taxable items I bought it should have been .35¢.  ???

I need to stop in on Saturday for a raincheck since I missed the Motrim PM Deal as the shelves were cleared here.
***A reminder--The $10 and $20 Winter Rewards expire a week from this coming Sunday, March 27th.
So you need to start planning on how to spend them with this coming week's ad or a week from Sunday on the following week's ad.  I'm probably going to burn them on toilet tissue or something I need.
What's looking good to y'all?

THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.27 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$50.10
SCR qualified for...$00.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$5.00
+Up Rewards spent....$2.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$114.76

TOTALS--March Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......8
Total Spent....$2.41 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$374.54
SCR qualified for....$44.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for March SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 3/14.....$111.76
+Up Rewards spent....$173.00
+Up Rewards earned....$38.76
+Up Rewards left....$114.76  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Frugality Quote of the Day....

"He who does not economize will have to agonize."  -Confucius

Modern Day Translation.....
"If you spend it all today, you will have nothing left for tomorrow, causing you great suffering." -Sluggy

Yeah....Confucius says it much better.lol

So what am I going to do today to save money?  Mostly, I am staying home and not going anywhere, so I won't be tempted to spend money and I won't have to put gas in the car.  I might even sew something, which means less money spent on buying clothes since I have everything already to finish this garmet.  And I'll be turning off the heat for a couple of days since we are suppose to get into the 60's here!

Sluggy

Are Your Eyes Smiling Today?.....

Well mine are!

Yes, I am one of like a bazillion people on this Planet who can claim Irish ancestry.  In fact, my paternal grandfather did a pretty intense Family Genealogy over the course of many years back in the 60's. 
He gave me a copy of it when I was 15.  That was a fairly stupid thing to do, because what 15 yr. old really cares about family history....seriously!  And what 15 yr. old has the wear-with-all to hang onto something like that(what with moving around and other upheavals in their life until they are a stable adult of 30)until they are old enough to want/appreciate it.  
Man, I sure wish I had that research now. 
Granddad even made the connection that "we" are descended from the Great Brian Boru!  Of course half of the people with Irish ancestry(and for real, anyone with the surname of O'Brian or O'Brien in their families' past)can claim him as an ancestor.

So get out your green "fill in the item" today and wear it.  Since my eyes are green(goes with the red hair I use to have when I was a kid)I'll be foregoing any other green clothing or jewelry today.

In honor of the day, I am posting one of Denis Leary's recipes from his book entitled, "Why We Suck".  If you have read/heard the man, you are well aware of Mr. Leary's thoughts on Irish Cuisine.....it doesn't exist. 
Growing up Irish American Catholic in Massachusetts along with 3 siblings and 17 cousins nearby, there wasn't much if any 'eating out' when he was a kid back in the 60's....his mom cooked most anything he ever put in his mouth until he left home.  Denis says his mom Nora, was a pretty typical Irish cook(having immigrated from Killarney, Ireland).  In honor of all things Irish, here is traditional Irish recipe he says his mom cooked for them.....

Cabbage Potato Chuck Roast

14 sticks of butter
Pinch of salt
Cabbage
Seven Hundred Potatoes
2 Pounds Chuck Roast Beef

Place Chuck Roast, Potatoes and Cabbage into a very large pot of already boiling water.  Boil for 5 hours.  Turn heat down to a simmer.  Drop in 14 sticks of Butter and pinch of Salt.  Let boil for one more hour.  Then another 15 minutes.  Then a couple more minutes.  Make sure all germs and taste have been boiled out.
Serve.

Éirinn go brách!

o' Sluggy