My Pretty Filler Post

I neglected to post photos of my little tree when it bloomed earlier this Spring!
This was my Mother's Day present from Hubs a few years ago.

Here are some pretty piccies from a couple of months ago.......

Being from the South, I have a deep affinity for the Southern Magnolia tree or Magnolia Grandiflora.  My oldest brother had a massive tree that engulfed his front yard.  It has scads of massive mature blooms and made the air around his house so fragrant.  I can close my eyes and smell it now....

 Of course the reason he loved that tree was because it was so huge that it had a large canopy of leaves.  You could sit out there even during a light rainstorm and not get wet since the water never got through the layers of those large shiny leaves.  It was like a living umbrella.

The greenery also shaded most of his front yard so no grass would grow.  He detested mowing grass and yard/lawn maintenance in general. lol

 My magnolia tree is not a Southern traditional variety since they are not hardy enough to withstand the winters up in these parts.  It is one of the hybrids that have been developed that will thrive in Yankeeland, called a Magnolia "Elizabeth".  It is also referred to as a "Tulip Tree" or a Lemon Magnolia, as the blossoms are cup-shaped, like a tulip blossom, before they open fully and the blooms smell like lemons....and they are yellow too.

The blooms also come BEFORE the tree leafs out.  So it's unusual looking when it's bloomed fully with very few green leaves on the bare branches.  The full greenery comes only after the blossoms die off.

It's grown about 4 feet taller since we planted it and it looks like it is thriving finally.
I am going to hate to leave it behind when we move.....

I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow to get my posting up to speed again.  We were away for a couple of days so I have some catching up to do on Real Life and Cyber stuff as well.

Sluggy

My One and Only Trip to Rite-Aid This Week

I had no +Up Rewards expiring this week for a change.
But I did want to pick up some Axe Deodorant for #2 son so here is what I bought....

4 x Axe Deodorant on sale $4.44 but 20% wellness discount was less at $3.83=$15.32
2 x Fritos on sale $2=$4.00
1 x Sunmaid Raisins on sale $2=$2.00
1 x Bayer Advanced Aspirin on sale $3.99 but 20% wellness discount was less=$3.43
2 x Milky War king sized bars on sale .98¢=$1.96
SubTotal....$26.71

Coupons Used
1 x $1 any purchase AdPerk/VV IPQ=$1.00
2 x BOGO Axe products ManuQ=$8.88  **Cashier took off for the sale price, not the wellness discount price
1 x $1.50/1 Bayer Advanced Aspirin IPQ(forgot to take the $2/1 ManuQ...doh!)=$1.50
1 x $.50/2 any Mars candy bars IPQ=$.50
2 x $.25/1 any Milky Way candy bar AdPerks/VV IPQ=$.50
Coupon Total.....$12.38

$26.71-$12.38=$14.33 OOP

I used $14 in +Up Rewards to pay and put the .33¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $7.99 back in +Up Rewards(2 x $3 WYB 2 Axe, $1.99 Bayer Advanced) so basically the Axe, Bayer and candy bars were free and I "paid" for the Fritos and raisins with some +Ups.

Since between the discount price, Q and +Ups received back made my Bayer more than free I probably won't submit for the MIR that was in last Sunday's coupon inserts(along with the $2 Q I didn't bring to use).  The form states that the Manufacturer will take off the $2 value of the Q from your rebate submission price, so I'd only get $1.43 back, which after paying for the stamp nets me less than a buck.  I'll keep that Q and MIR form to use another time.

So what did everyone else buy at Rite-Aid this week?
I have $30 in +Ups expiring the end of this coming week so I'll be going back soon to spend those.
The Colgate and St. Joseph's aspirin are basically free this week after Q and/or +Ups so I'll probably get them(and donate the toothpaste to the food bank).


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.33 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$39.20
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$7.99
+Up Rewards spent.....$14.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$59.37  And I have $42.69 left on my gift card.


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

Number of Transactions......6
Total Spent....$1.98 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$238.40
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for June SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 6/8.....$65.38
+Up Rewards spent....$63.96
+Up Rewards earned....$72.33
+Up Rewards left....$59.37  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Decluttering P*rn....The June Edition

Who's up for some P*rn this morning?

The Decluttering kind of course!

Various Beanie type dolls
1 Pee Wee's Playhouse VHS tape
2 Books on Healing Foods
7 Bath Poofs
a buttload of Stickers
1 Refrigerator Magnet
1 Fisher-Price toy(vintage)
2 Silver plated Swan Candle and Flower Holders

Here's a close-up of those.  I picked them up at Sallie's years ago and thought when we entertained I could make use of them.....

Well we never entertain so out they go!

1 willow basket
1 bamboo box
3 women's jackets/coats
1 set of men's thermals

A pile of toys......

93 assorted Kid's Meal toys still in the packages.  It may not look like much in the photo but they fill a Hammermill  paper box.
Now I know you are sitting there thinking, "Gee, she is the meanest mommy in the world, not letting her kids open/play with their Happy Meal toys."
Or
"Gee, she let her kids eat waaaay too much fast food!"

Considering this is a pile of Kid Meal toys from 3 kids and it spans all the fast food they ate over a 15 year period, they really didn't eat chicken-like nugget food that often.
Ok, it's not ALL the kid meal toys they got growing up since they did open and play with more of these things than I would care to recall....especially after stepping on way too many of them as I ran the obstacle course of toys left on the floors of their rooms over the years.

And yes, I did withhold the toys as a rule when they ordered a Happy type Meal.  Since I didn't want them having me buy food they didn't really want to eat, just to get a toy, this policy kept them from asking for food when they weren't really hungry.  We weren't throwing out/wasting food or money.
(Let's not talk about all the kids' meals "I" bought to get teenie beanie babies or pokemon toys.....lol)

I'd keep the toys and we'd dole them out at a later date.....say, when they were bored, on long car trips, as prizes for birthday party games, or when they did something to deserve a 'reward'.  So over the years, a large number of these toys didn't get claimed.

Anyway, moving on.....

2 women's bathing suits
1 sweatshirt(new)
1 pair Joe Boxer shorts
7 skateboarding themed t-shirts

And finally.....

6 pieces of Cape Cod Cranberry Glass
Before these hit Salvation Army I'm going to try to sell them locally.
Either way, they will be gone by the end of this month.


So that's my 1st June decluttering booty.
Are you getting rid of junk this month too?
Tell us about your efforts to pare down and declutter!

Sluggy

They Don't Make Em Like They Use To

Some of y'all may still be scratching your heads today over something I posted and said yesterday.
In reference to a Tony Awards musical number from the show "Catch Me If You Can".
I said that the actor Norbert Leo Butz was channeling Jimmy Cagney in that song.

Here is the clip again.



Watch Norbert dancing in it again and then go HERE and watch this clip of James Cagney from the 1942 movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy".

Do you see what I saw or not?

I'm guessing there are scads of people out there(mostly younger than myself)who have never watched "old" movies(anything before color film)or have watched very few of them.
Many know Jimmy Cagney only from his very successful "gangster/hoodlum" films and don't know that he was a versatile actor who could play a wide range of characters.  Among his accomplishments, he was an excellent comedian, a singer and a very talented tap dancer.  He began his career in vaudeville and his first role was playing a woman.  Pretty good for a tough guy, huh? 

No real point to this post other than to ramble I guess. ;-)

I saw that the American Film Institute has Mr. Cagney on their Greatest Film Stars of All Time List at the #8 position for the Men.  This list came out in 1999.

Who do you feel should not be on that list or who did they leave off that is your favorite?

Sluggy

T-T-T-Tony Fun

Having been a thespian from an early age, I always try to catch the Tony Awards show each June.
Not so much anymore to catch glimpses of the work of people I had known in my younger days who went on to accolades and successful careers in the theatre but just because I enjoy watching people who have devoted their lives to legitimate theatre with little regard for being a 'star'.

Nowadays I enjoy watching the musical numbers, especially when there is a year which produces a bountiful, high quality crop of shows.
And this year did not disappoint!

I'm not sure what I thought of the Opening number.....what do you think?

This was the year of religion.
Yes, there was something for every persuasion.

From Catholic nuns.....

To Mormons.....

To Capitalists....
Harry Potter can sing and dance......who knew?!?!

This was one of the more fun numbers from a show based on a movie from 1994.....

And this number, while NOT from a Broadway show(it was a limited run NY Philharmonic engagement) was certainly a tv viewer favorite.
Once I got past Neil Patrick Harris' major note/pitch flub at the beginning it was good--not as good as the production a few years ago with Raul Esparza in the NPH role, but enjoyable.
See how many famous or semi-famous people you can pick out here....

Starting June 15th, this production of Company will be showing at select cities around the country too. You can find out where and when HERE


But my favorite has to be this number.  I became a big fan of Norbert Leo Butz a few years ago when he was in the Broadway adaptation of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".  Even though I hadn't heard/seen any of the Broadway remake of the Tom Hanks/Leo Dicaprio film "Catch Me If You Can", as soon as NLB opened his mouth I knew who it was playing the Tom Hanks role.

It's a rousingly hot production.
And tell me that Norbert is NOT channeling Jimmy Cagney in this number......

Sluggy