School Photos or A Comb, My Kingdom for a Comb!

All you parents out there.....
You all know how annoying those school photos can be, right?

It's a production line of kids on Picture Day so the photographers are more concerned with getting all those photos snapped within the never long enough time frame they are given and not how the kids actually look in the photos.
It's quantity over quality, right?

The kids often look uncomfortable....because they ARE!lol
They are forced to pose unnaturally and the smiles are so fake and forced.
Blogging Buddy Mark did a piece on this very same subject yesterday over HERE.

And then the schools here started those Spring photos too.
You know, the set your kid brings home without you even knowing they took more that year!  The school/photography company figure if we give the kids a big fat envelope of photos with their sweet cherubic faces on them, the parents will not be able to resist keeping them and sending us a big fat check in return.
No thanks I say....one set of awkward poses and forced smiles is enough for my checkbook per year.

And I won't even get into the whole lame photography monopoly between the photo businesses and the school boards.

Since Daughter was a senior this year(which is a whole other way to drain your bank account with overpriced graduation photos, announcements and tchotchkes), we only had the one kid left doing the School Photo schtick.
So I filled out the order form for the smallest package they would allow and went up to the blood bank to sell some plasma so I could afford to write a check to send to school to pay for the pictures.lol

A couple of weeks go by and #2 son brings home his Freshman Year school photos.....the photos that we will keep to remember this special time in his life and cherish said photos forever.

And here is what we got for our money.....about 12 copies of this in various sizes......

Was there no adult there with a comb?....or enough sense to tell him to move his hair out of his eyes?
He is a teenager for gosh sakes....his brain is NOT always engaged!

This school feels comfortable reaching into my home and telling me what I can and can't do with my kid yet they can't tell him to get the hair out of his face for a photo?  Ooooh, that would be stepping on his rights.  We may damage his self-esteem!  And we can't have THAT!!
Puhleez......

Sluggy

Decluttering P*rn...the Big Purge of 2011 Begins

Here is the first load of stuff I am letting go of in the Big Purge and Clean-Out of 2011.
Most of this stuff is new merchandise(a few vintage/used/valuable things too but mostly new)I bought to sell on eBay but for some reason or other it just didn't happen.
If anyone sees something they can't live without, give me a holler and maybe we can do some bartering. ;-)

Spock and "Q" Star Trek action figures anyone? I think I have the whole set of 5 or 6 figures in this series but I just haven't located the others yet....maybe they've beamed themselves up somewhere else?

An old kid's book from when my kids were tiny, a bunch of new/unused stuff like Power Rangers folders(Go Go Power Rangers.....Go Go do your math and spelling!) and a couple of Star Wars Posters and Books....

 Elvis has left the building.......sorry, but I couldn't resist saying that.......

More merchandise--a Power Rangers Megazord 3-D wall plaque(scary enough to give any kid nightmares), an Austin Powers adult novelty/gag gift toy(*ahem* don't ask!), a set of collectible Lord of the Rings playing cards, 2 black bear Christmas ornies and a SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas ornie(because obviously nothing says celebrating the birth of Jesus like black bears and cartoon sponge people), a vintage English tinware decorative bowl, a Ty brand Monkey plush, a Power Ranger Galaxy Megazord figure & a Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss novelty clock(complete with Thing 1 AND Thing 2 no less!).

3 pairs of shoes(2 used/1 pair is new in the box from Christmas-they didn't fit Daughter), a Boyd's bears tapestry wall hanging, 2 Disney store Tiny Kingdom figures, an eyeglass case, a set of Power Ranger cupcake liners, a Lionel brand porcelain Santa Christmas ornie, a change purse, a gold lame evening bag, a vintage beaded/pailletted  evening bag.....

a Hot Wheels Home Improvement Action Set, a Beetleborgs action toy, a set of Scooby-Doo themed hot wheels cars, a miniature Hallmark tractor ornie, 8 sets of Toy Story stickers, 12 Small Soldiers window clings, a Johnny Lightning eBay car, a Precious Moments beanie, a Gargoyles set of stickers and a novelty "Wisconsin Mosquito Trap" bought at a tourist place in Wisconsin on my way home from Minnesota many years ago.....

Assorted used video tapes my kids have outgrown like Veggie Tales, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Herbie the Love Bug and The Muppets to name a few....

Lastly 2 large garbage bags full of clothes that no longer fit, that my Daughter cleaned out of her drawers.
This was the nice stuff we could send to Sallies.  She filled an additional bag of  'raggy' clothing we'll cut up for rags and such.

After #2 son gets back from his Marching Band trip, I'll be supervising the clean out of his clothes.  I can't wait to get to that, but we'll have to shovel a path from his door to the closet first! ;-)

All this is headed to Salvation Army by the end of this week unless someone gives a shout out that they want something in this batch.

1 load down, more to come.......

Sluggy

Weis Catalina Results from Last Week or How to Destroy Your Food Budget in One Week!

So I did the Purina Catalina Deal 4 times and the Nestle Catalina Deal 4 times last week at Weis Markets, rolling the $8 Nestle Cats and the $10 Purina Cats one into the next.

Grand Total of what I got....

17 lb. Dog Chows....7
Cans of Mighty Dog...60
Cans of Alpo....19
Busy Bone.....1
Taster's Choice instant coffee...4
Coffee-Mate powder....1
Juicy Juice.....4
Nesquick.....12
Nestle Syrup...8

Cost OOP...$123.31 and an $8 Catalina left to use
Reg. Retail Value....$270.75

Not great but a 54.45% savings rate.
A full year's worth of dog food(when supplemented with the fresh veggies/meat I give them also) and a supply of coffee and chocolate milk mix to get the family through the summer or longer.

Add in the non Catalina items I bought last week at Weis Markets and the Restaurant Supply purchases and I've nearly spent my whole month's food budget for May already.
And the month is only one third over.
Geez....

Here's hoping I get some rebate checks in soon to put toward the food budget. 8-)

So how is your food budget going this month?

Sluggy

Shopping and Errand Day Last Week

I did 2 more transactions on Friday of last week at Rite-Aid.

Friday was my big shopping/errands day.  I hit the bank and 6 stores.....driving a looped(or was it LOOPY?LOL)route and hitting each store I wanted to go to along the way.  We did the bank in town, the Rite-Aid downtown, the CVS on the western part of town, then to the Restaurant Supply store further west, to the CVS in the next town over, to the Weis Market in that town, down the block to that town's Rite-Aid, then home.
I know y'all were just dying to each all that details, are you not? ;-)

So here is the 1st Rite-Aid I hit and what I hauled home.....

I found 2 of the cheap, non-battery powered Gillette razors that were on sale for $9.99.  With the 20% Wellness discount these were less than the sale price, at $8.79.  After using the $4/1 ManuQ from the paper and receiving the $5 +Ups for each one, you got them for free + overage.
I got the Oral-B toothbrushes on sale for $2.99 that gave the $2 Ups.  Using the $1.50/1 ManuQ from the paper made these better than free as well.
I didn't find any ProFoot items with Qs inside the package so I could'nt do that deal and I still had +Ups to use up before Saturday.  Not knowing if the other Rite-Aid, I was going to hit later in the day, would have anything this late in the week, I went ahead and bought chips to put away until the Graduation Party next month.  The assorted chips were on sale for $2.50 a bag, so $10 total.  I had IPQs that got you free 2liters of soda WYB a bag of Lay's Kettle Cooked or Sun Chips so the sodas above were free.
I spent $19 +Ups and got $14 +Ups back and paid .16¢ OOP on my free gift card.


Then I hit up CVS for free Ivory soap....

Of course they only had 1 package of the soap on sale for .99¢....sigh.
I got a raincheck to use the remaining 3 coupons I had at a later time, then I succumbed to dirt cheap Easter clearanced malted robin's eggs......
Spent $.99 OOP, saved $3.49 and got a $1 ECB for my winter spending reward(all those Finish dishwasher tabs I bought back in Jan.).


Then it was off to the Restaurant Supply Store.....

I got a 5lb log of Cooper sharp cheese(I "heart" cooper sharp!), a gallon of the best-est blue cheese dressing EVER! and a package of pretzel rolls.  These seem to be IN right now and I see them everywhere now so I picked them up on the spur of the moment.  Not exactly frugal but what the hell.....

I spent $37.80 at the RS store.  Regular retail value was $70.36, for a 46.28% savings rate.

The black boxes in that photo?  Oh, those are from the purchase I made 2 stops later, after going into another CVS looking for .99¢ Ivory soap bars(which they were also out of, rats!).
Then it was off to Weis Markets to run the Purina dog food Catalina Deal again and I received another $10 Catalina Q.
I also picked up those 3 boxes of hamburger patties at Weis.  Each box was 2 lbs. of patties and marked down to $3.99 each from $7.99 each, so $2 a lb. for hamburgers.  These are also for the Graduation party.

Then around the corner from there to this town's Rite-Aid......

I found a ProFoot product with the $1.50/1 Q inside the package and another ProFoot product with a $1/1 PeelieQ on the front.  These paired with the $1/1 IPQ I had printed out.  I had no shame standing in the store and taking a pair of scissors to the package, hacking it up to get that ManQ out to use on my purchase.  I don't care  anymore if anyone stares....lolol

      (My handiwork)

So I did the ProFoot deal(3 for $15, used $3.50 in Qs, got a $2 +Ups back and submit for the ProFoot SCR for $10), for a .50¢ overage.......WINNING! 8-)

I also found some cheap Revlon Tools and a Dove Men's Deo to do those deals on BIL's card.
I spent $17.88 in +Ups and received $13 +Ups back($2 ProFoot, $3 Dove, 2 x $4 Revlon), plus I qualified for a $10 ProFoot SCR(#2).  I put the remaining .87¢ on my free gift card.


Then it was home to put it all away.


THESE TRIPS--Just the Rite-Aid stuff
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$1.03 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$86.94
SCR qualified for...$10.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$27.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$36.88
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$53.64 And I have $41.89 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......8
Total Spent....$5.61 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$366.65
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/4.....$63.52
+Up Rewards spent....$54.88
+Up Rewards earned....$57.52
+Up Rewards left....$53.64  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


Sluggy

Size Matters on Mother's Day

My Daughter has to "one-up" everyone else.
It's a trait that has served her well at times but other times it has been her downfall.
I just wonder where she gets this from?  
*sluggy whistles absentmindedly while looking at the ceiling*

Anyway here is what greeted me when I finally trudged down the stairs Sunday morning......please excuse the bed hair and "not quite awake" stare on my face.....

And inside was this.....

Yes, Daughter believes that a ridiculously large novelty Mother's Day Card is the way to show that she loves me more than her brothers love me.
Either that or she is trying to butter me up so I don't yank her college $$$ anytime in the next 3 months & throw her ass out in the street now that she's 18, no matter how tempting the thought of that is.
Sending $15K to a school or having my kitchen redone.....hmmmm......it's a hard call some days! ;-)

#1 son sent me a card(a funny card as expected)and actually called ME on Sunday and talked to ME for a record breaking 20 minutes!  This was a huge sacrifice on his part as we both are NOT "telephone magpies" kind of people.

#2 son hid in his room most of the day, thereby avoiding having to interact with me.  I did call him out at one point and told him that today was Mother's Day.  He grunted something(it might have been Happy Mother's Day but my super sonic hearing wasn't turned on for the day, so I can't be sure)and then he disappeared back into his cave room. 

Hubs fixed me breakfast, gave me a card and flowers and went for take-out Chinese for dinner. 

Even more exciting, he also helped me work on decluttering the living/dining room without being asked to or complaining that it was cutting into his sports watching. 
Yes, the man knows the way to my heart. ;-)
I was truly the Queen for the Day here in the Upper Polka Belt of PA on Sunday!

This morning it was back to cleaning up dog shit in the kitchen.....

Sluggy