One Last Bit of February Decluttering Porn & Short Fat Ken Dolls

Let's close out February on this Leap Day in style, shall we?
How do we do that?
Why with Decluttering Porn, that's how!

Micro Machines Star Wars Action Fleet vehicle set
Micro Machines Star Wars Playset
McDonald's Playset
Lord of the Rings Mt. Doom Figure set
Star Wars role playing card game
Set of Miniature Teddy Bears
GI Joe action figures Keychain set
Power Rangers Trans-Armour Cycle with figure
Micro Machines Star Wars Endor Playset
4 x Micro Machines Star Wars vehicle sets
Small Soldiers stuffed toy
Power Rangers Card game
2 x 101 Dalmatians pens
101 Dalmatians cookie cutters
Hot Wheels truck

Set of John Wayne Racing Champion Cars
Small Soldiers Chip Hazard Room Defender figure
Star Wars Ep.1 Anakin's Pod Racer
2 x Micro Machines Star Trek Vehicles sets
Power Rangers mini Megazord figure
Power Rangers Zeo Ranger figure
2 x 101 Dalmatians mini pillows
2 x 101 Dalmatians water globe toys
Set of Dilbert magnets
2 Throw Blankets
12 Political Beanies

Star Wars Micro Machines Endor playset
Beast Wars Micro Machines playset
Numi blooming tea set
Pink & Yellow Power Ranger Dolls Set
20 Posters
4 Johnny Lightning cars
Drew Carey Doll
Small Soldiers Archer figure
Power Rangers playing cards
3 hand dyed Beanie Babies
Set of Power Ranger cupcake papers
Hot Wheels set of Reggie Jackson cars

81 more items outta here!!

Yes, turns out this was NOT the brilliant idea I thought it was years ago.
The Drew Carey Doll has not become a much sought after object of desire.....

...unless I want to take the doll out of the box and sell him as a "Short Fat Ken in Suit".  Which is what this guy does....he's hit on a formula to unload a buttload of these dolls.  Check out  one of his auctions HERE.

And speaking of Drew Carey, has anybody seen him lately?  I dare say he's looking mightily hot....

He's single, funny, rich, a Libertarian, is a close personal friend of Craig Ferguson and he gives money to libraries. 
Damn.....some days it's too bad I'm married! ;-)

I'm sure Drew would be thrilled to know he was included in a blog post about porn.....

But I do love his tv work.
And the various openings to each of the 8 Seasons of his tv series.....

Sluggy

Week #4 Low Spend & Declutter Challenge....I'm Done!

I have officially finished CARLA'S FEBRUARY DOUBLE CHALLENGE MONTH.....yay!  Here are my results with photos for Week 4.

First the Mini-Challenge....which was to put yourself FIRST!  Do something for yourself for a change.
And I did but with mixed results.
I spent a whole $1.99 on myself and rented a movie I had been wanting to see.
The movie?...."The Help".  I also want to read the book but will do that through the local library.

While I didn't feel guilty for spending the money and taking the time to watch it twice in one sitting(lol), I do, in a way, regret watching it.
Loved the movie, loved the fine acting.
But it made me ball like a baby!
Seriously.
Boo.
Hoo.

Even now I think about the story and I start getting weepy.
I am trying for the life of me to figure out WHY it affected me so.
I am not someone who cries at movies.....
Weird.

Onward to the Low Spending Part--
Feb. 22....spent $26.25 taking #2 Son out to Red Robin.  His meal was free! ;-) Went to Rite-Aid but no actual money was spent.
Feb. 23....no spending
Feb. 24....Went to Rite-Aid but no actual money was spent. Hubs & I got take-out, spent $19.50.
Feb. 25....$13.61 spent on groceries.
Feb. 26.... no spending
Feb. 27....$3.98 spent on groceries and I filled my car with gas-$48.01.  ouch....*sigh*
Feb. 28....$4.90 spent to mail our federal taxes.
I'm adding in Feb. 29 and I am staying home and don't plan on spending anything that day either.

No frivolous or unconscious spending this week....food, gas, taxes.  While the eating out is not a NEED, we can afford this little bit and budget for it, so the week is all good. 8-)

Onward to the Decluttering Part--

This final week was the DREADED CHALLENGE.
At my house, that is the garage.
We don't park cars in the garage.
I use it for storage.  With a large food & toiletries stockpile and selling toys now and again(which also means I need storage for shipping boxes), I have a lot of crap in my garage.  Add in storing certain household goods out there, a christmas tree, Hubs tools and workbench, window air conditioners, extra paint and flooring and anything else the kids & Hubs throw out there, my garage is quite a beast to tame.

Here are the pics I took BEFORE and then AFTER spending an hour or two out there 5 of the last 7 days.

From the middle of the end of the garage driveway BEFORE.....

And AFTER......after putting things away, putting things back where they belong and moving the tubs of toys into the living room...ugh.....

The left side of the garage from the driveway BEFORE......

And AFTER.....not much moved but straightened....

The rightside of the Stockpile BEFORE.....

And AFTER rotating some, putting bags away, organizing some.....

The right side of the garage near the door into the house BEFORE.....

And AFTER, not quite showing the same spot....the boxes are empties for shipping stuff and the tubs are our recycling storage set-up.  I did get rid of enough toys to empty 2 plastic tubs, which I can now freecycle.....

The other side of the Stockpile, standing at the back of the garage looking out BEFORE.....

And AFTER.....a little can straightening and a lot of shipping supplies straightening....

Standing in the same spot, shooting to the right instead of the left BEFORE.....

And AFTER......shipping stuff is organized and shelving taken apart but still deciding what to do with it....

 By the door into the house  BEFORE....

And AFTER-2 different shots because I didn't stand in the same spot for this After shot.....bags of food put away, boxes relocated or emptied, etc.....

Hubs workbench area is still a disaster but it's not MY disaster so I didn't show it. lol
I still have work to do out there but the garage is much improved and easier to find stuff.

I am glad for participating in this Challenge mostly because it got me moving on some things I've been putting off or ignoring.  Having to be accountable helped me just DO IT!
Now it's on to MARCH and to decide what to undertake going forward.

So how was your February?
Did you get some task started or completed that you've been putting off or dreading?

Sluggy

Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway Box......Enter Now!

  The BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY 2012 Edition is OPEN!

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY is Ready!

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.

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  A Reach Toothbrush
2.  A package of 2 AA Batteries.
3.  A 2 bar package of Olay Soap
4.  A handcrafted  Madri Gras Ty HALO Beanie Baby

Yes, this is my handiwork.  Hand dyed holding a mask and wearing his own Mardi Gras beads.


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

Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I post another set of items for the Giveaway--which is usually about a week.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.  Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.  When I post again about this BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY entries on this Post will be CLOSED and you must post on the New Giveaway Post to enter.  I hope this isn't too confusing. ;-)  There will be a link on the top of the side bar to the current Giveaway 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.

There are 2 ways to get extra entries....

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 your 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.

Again, you can enter on this post until I put another Giveaway Post up and then you need to enter on the NEWER Post.

Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan February Week 4+ & March Week 1

I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's-1970's or earlier.

This week I give you another kitchen of 1945.....

 Even though it's post-war there is still heavy linear design influence from the Art Deco styling of the 1930's.  The color scheme is very period, but in a pastel palette played against pops of black detailing.  There is a coordinating breakfast nook or morning room past the sliding glass door on the left.
The big deal here is the massive "picture window" located over the sink.  This feature became the standard into the 1950's and beyond for most any suburban tract home kitchen.  Moms across North America could now watch their precious kids playing in the back yard while still taking care of kitchen drudgery like hand washing dishes.

This nifty feature sort of distracted homemakers from complaining about not having an automatic dishwasher that was touted heavily in those "kitchen of the future" ads during the 1920-1930's.  We know the technology was developed so why the gap in production once the war was over?  I am sure if men stayed home in the traditional homemaker role of that era, automatic dishwashers would have been standard in every kitchen! ;-)

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Toasted Chicken with Veggies, Stuffing(boxed)

MONDAY--Quiche, Tossed Salad

TUESDAY--Pork Chop with Maple Glaze, Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

WEDNESDAY--Red Robin Free Meal for #2's birthday

THURSDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Hash and Pancakes)

FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out for Hubs/I, #2 Son was out with friends
SATURDAY--homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Most everything as planned but on different days.  Instead of leftovers night I took the leftover roast chicken and veggies, added a bit more veggies to it and made a large pot pie.  Hubs finished it up on Sunday for lunch.

The weekly food spending was $51.51. Most of that was buying whole roaster chickens at .88¢ lb.  Approx. $20 of stuff at Big Lots, some apples and onions and a gallon of milk and that's about it.

Almost 4 Weeks in and I've spent $207.26 of my $300 February food budget.  $92.74 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.  I've got 3 days left in the month so I doubt at this point if I'll exceed my budget for February.  Yay me! ;-)

Going into February Week 4+/March Week 1 have NO leftovers!  Imagine that?lol

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Hubs/#2 Son had Burger King, I had a big salad with nuts and fruit

MONDAY--Ravioli, Salad

TUESDAY--Pecan Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower/Carrot blend

WEDNESDAY--Meatloaf, Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes

THURSDAY--Fish, Rice, Teriyaki Veggie Melange

FRIDAY--homemade Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY--Leftovers

This menu gives us 5 new meals, 1 eating out and 1 night of leftovers.  The fish meal moved from last week's menu since it wasn't cooked/served.  Meatloaf is Hubs request and Pecan Chicken is #2 Son's request.

Items needed to buy for this menu are... salad greens.  I've got everything else here already in the freezer or the pantry.
We'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far this week are salmon for $5.99lb., and tilapia for $3.49lb.(and I have Qs for the tilapia, so $1 less per lb.)

Those bagged salad kits are on sale for $1.99 this week, so I'll be eating those a lot for lunch and serving them with 2 dinners.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Hijinx......Lotions and Satellites

When last we left out intrepid Rite-Aid shopper she had completed 5 transactions last Sunday and had finished off the $20 +UP Reward Deal on her card.

The last transaction done on the BIL's card tracked $11 in qualifying items and brought him to $84 toward the WR +UP Deal.
That transaction by my accounting should have brought his card to $87 toward the Deal, as there were $14 in qualifying items, according to the Buy & Save pamphlet.
So BIL's card stood at $84 in tracking, not $87 and I couldn't figure out why.

The Neutragena still hadn't updated....from buying the wrong 2 bottles, to returning them and then rebuying the 2 right bottles to get the monthly $10 +UP for buying $25 worth.  I think the cashier didn't actually rering the 2 correct bottles when I did the return and rebuy, so the system didn't recognize the correct bottles, I either had to call CS and explain all this or buy another bottle that cost at least $7 to get me over the $25 threshold.  I still had to make at least $13 in purchases anyway and I had +UPs to burn so I pondered just buying another $7 worth of Neutragena in that $13 I had to spend.

Then I did this transaction on Wednesday on his card....

4 x Hormel Compleats at $1.99=$7.96
1 x GE Lightbulb raincheck from last week using In-Ad Q$3=$.99
1 x Colgate Toothbrush on sale=$2.49
1 x Vaseline Lotion new one on sale=$2.97
SubTotal....$14.41

Coupons Used
2 x BOGO IPQ Compleats=$3.98
1 x $1/2 Compleats Load2card eQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 GE Lightbulb ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Vaseline Lotion ManuQ(AllYou mag)=$1.00
Coupon Total....$6.98

$14.41-$6.98=$7.43
I used $7 in +UPs and put the .43¢ on my gift card.
I received $3.50 in +UPs back($1.50 Colgate,$2 Vaseline).

*And I KNOW those Compleat things are nasty....but Hubs likes some of them to take for lunch at work.*

BIL's card showed $6 more in tracking(the lightbulb, the lotion, the toothbrush)toward the $20+UP Reward, for a total of $90, but my figures said it should be at $93.

I had now bought 3 bottle of Vaseline Lotion(limit 2 $2+UPs per card), 1 on my card and 2 on BIL's card.  I had bought 1 of each variety...Aloe, Coca Butter and Original and the Coca Butter had not tracked for the Reward on Sunday.  So went over and checked the shelf where it was kept and solved the mystery.....the Coca Butter variety had NO Buy&Save shelf tag, so it didn't qualify.  Weird 2 of the varieties counted and 1 didn't?
So I returned the Coca Butter and rebought another Aloe.
Nothing OOP and now the tracking is showing correctly at $93.

And then we come to Friday's Fun......*Sluggy rolls her eyes*.....

Still needing to buy $7 worth of stuff to get to $100, I bought this.....

 It came to $7.19 with my 20% discount.  I used +UPs to pay & put the .19¢ leftover on my gift card.  This purchase "should" have triggered both my $10 +UP Reward WYB $25 Skincare that was tracking at $18 pre-purchase AND my $20 +UP Reward WYB $100 in qualifying purchases that was tracking at $93.

But as my cashier(the manager)was completing the transaction, the Satellite went offline.
The Satellite that communicates with Headquarters and tells the register computer to print the +UPs on your receipt.  The other customer at the 2nd register was in process at the same time and lost their +UPs as well.
Plus the +UPs I used to pay were now "dead" and couldn't be returned to me to use again.
UGH!

So we waiting a few minutes for the system to get back online and tried a return and re-buy, the manager giving me cash for my now dead +UPs I had used to pay.
And my receipt printed out the message "Thank you for your purchases.  You have received your $20+UP for Winter Rewards."  They system thinks it printed my rewards out already and I got nothing.
**Face plant**

The manager went into the office and got on the phone with CS right then and they are sending the $30 in +UPs due my BIL's card.  She said they aren't allowed to just give me cash or a gift card this time, because $30 is too high a value. 

I'm finished with the Winter Rewards and have $35 in +UPs and have $30 more coming, for a total of $65+UPs to spend.

I have $15 +UPs expiring on 3/11, so I may take next week off from Rite-Aid.
We both deserve a break from each other.....

Sluggy