Lest We Forget

Never forget that many that have gone before you have given of themselves to keep you free.
Many have given their all doing their duty.
And many who didn't have their all taken from them, were changed irreparably nonetheless.


Take a moment today, on this Veteran's Day to remember the great cost at which your freedom was won and is protected to this day.

Thank the veterans in your family tree, both living and dead.

Here, we'll be celebrating men like.....

Robert Foster, Ensign Army, Revolutionary War

Joseph James Hamilton, Private Army Reserve Corp., C.S.A., died as a POW

Raymond Maxwell Harper,  Private Army, World War II

Frank Bowman, Sgt. Army Corp of Engineers, World War II

Steve Arcure, Private Army Air Corp, World War II

and Anthony Arcure, Navy, Vietnam War (no photo)

Except for the last name above, our veterans are all gone now.

War is terrible.  Ask anyone who has had to fight.
We should not enter lightly into wars of an offensive nature.
A strong defense is however a different matter.

While we don't have troops fighting in Iraq any longer we need to bring the troops home from Afghanistan as well.

Show some appreciation to those veterans in your life who are still with us.
And donate to the WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT to help our Military Heroes who need a hand transitioning back to civilian life.
They gave themselves to keep you safe.
What can you do to keep them well.

Sluggy

Food Spending Limit Until Thanksgiving...Can I Do It?

If you come here often, you know I operate on a Food Budget of $400 per month.  That amount includes pet foods and all toiletries and paper products too.
Well, most months that is what I strive for but we seem to have spent more than $400 on food in 4 out of the last 10 months. 8-(

For our family(size,habits, etc.)and income I think $400 is a good amount.  It's not so low that the only foods we can afford are highly processed and/or nutritionally questionable....though we do buy some processed and questionable foods on occasion.  I know others spend less on food but given the prices in my area and the dearth of competition between stores which keeps prices lower, this is about as far down in the budget I care to go on this expense.
Of course, should something in our lives change(job loss/income disruption/kids moving out//DEFLATION of prices...hahaha, had to throw that one in for a laugh since prices NEVER go down!), I would be re-evaluating the budget in a heartbeat.

As for November's Food Budget.....
I have just completed buying groceries at the local Shursave grocery to earn a food certificate for free food at their store in the next 12 days before Thanksgiving.
DID I JUST SAY THERE ARE ONLY 12 DAYS LEFT BEFORE THANKSGIVING???
Anyway, I have spent so far in November on groceries a total of $202.54 of my $400.  Along with the weekly items I needed to make the meals served, I have picked up loss leaders and meat & frozen veggie deals along the way this month to use on down the road.  And I earned $20 in free food certs for buying things now(or last week)that I would have bought anyway at the end of the month.  I have also been picking up Thanksgiving meal items as they have gone on sale.  I got a turkey earlier this week so I am set for most of what I need to throw the Thanksgiving meal together.
The only items left to buy are Celery, a small bag of Potatoes, a couple of Rutabagas and Parsnips.


I have between $35 and $40 in free food catalinas, certificates and gift cards to use.
I have $20 to spend at the Shursave Grocer and between $15 and $20 at Weis(PMITA)Markets.
(I have a $5 Weis Cat to use by 11/15, and 2 gift cards--1 is for $5 but I can't remember if the other one is also for $5 or $10.)
8-)

I am going to try to use these chits to cover our food expenses up to and including those 4 Thanksgiving meal items.  $35-$40 should cover anything I need to buy until the 22nd.
All meals the next 11 days will be from foods I already have here or we can use one of the pizza coupons I won at the Church Auction last month if we feel like eating take-out during that time frame.

I'm all excited now to see what kind of meals I come up with so I only use that $35 in chits and don't have to buy any food until after Thanksgiving.

Do you think I can do it?
Do you have enough food laid back that you could do this?

Sluggy

Thoughts in The Random Fashion

** First off, here are the fundraiser gift baskets from last week(or was it the week before that one?) after I finished arranging/decorating them....

The Band Competition was last Sunday so the baskets are gone!  I hope they raised some $$$s.

Our Band did well at that Competition.
Tonight is the 1st Play-off Game for the Football team......can you hear me saying "Oh Goody!"?lol
So the Band has to march and play tonight.  The Band is hoping the team loses so that this is the last Football game they have to attend.  Nights are just too bone chillingly cold here to be outside performing with a metal instrument up to your face.  I have visions of getting a call that my son's tongue is stuck to his flute.

 I'll keep my fingers crossed.....

** Saturday is the State Championships in Hershey.  They did so well this season that they got pushed into the Open Bracket section.  They went from 30th to 9th place in our state's region since the last tournament.
Go them!!
Not sure about how that affects the Band(probably makes their odds of winning anything worse)but #2 Son is bemoaning that now they don't get to stop at Friendly's for lunch on the way down, like they have done since forever.  He will just have to eat nasty "made at home" food on the bus instead.
#2 Son is not amused.....

I think Saturday marks the end of Marching Band Season.
#2 Son has already started with Pitt Orchestra rehearsals.  That's the band for the School's Musical Production which is staged right after Thanksgiving.
Then December they start rehearsals for the Jazz Band and the Concert Band, so 3-4 rehearsals each week continues until the end of December.
Oh, and add in his weekly private music lesson too.
And that doesn't begin to address the academics and studying for the SAT he's taking on December 1.
I can't wait for January!

** I haven't been on Ancestry or Find A Grave dotcom in over a week!  Weird, huh?
Cemetery walking Season is coming to a close as the temperatures drop and the snow starts to fall.
I just felt a need to lay off the dead people for awhile.  I'm sure the feeling was mutual on their end as well.   I'll be back at it sometime soon.


** If you look at my Blog Roll you may find new Blogs there in the coming days/weeks.  I have dropped a couple that have fallen off the face of the Internet and added a few, in my vain attempt to stay relevant and "hip".   You will find all kinds of folks on my Blog Roll because that's how my Blog Roll rolls.
If you have a blog you enjoy, feel free to drop me a note about it.  I am always excited to find a new morsel....

** I did go through my Christmas box this week......

The things I pick up over the year when I spy a great deal go into this box.  Sometime in November I pull it out(the box silly!)and dig through the goodies.  I make little piles of gifties for each person I buy for at the Holidays.  Here's some of it spread out over the bed.....

The Christmas/Gift box has changed over the years.  It use to be many boxes worth of stuff and eventually, when the kids were young and I had many more friends, family members, as well as teachers, professional contacts and others to gift, the Christmas Box was a whole darned closet!
That's when I came to my senses and put a stop to shopping on this level.  Now that I'm not buying toys, nor expensive electronics, the Christmas box is at a small manageable level.

Most of what I pick up for cheap/free gets used as Stocking Stuffers.  More and more of what I pick up is consumables or "needs" based because, really, how many useless tchotchkes does one human have to have?  The lot above consists of socks, combs, brushes, more socks, bath salts, incense, more socks, gum, candy, more socks, snacks, humorous pasta, and yes, more socks!

I take a grocery store bag for each person I gift and dump everything for that person in that bag and label it.
The few things I wrap for 'stand alone' gifts get bagged together and once I drag out the gifts bags, wrapping paper and Furoshiki cloths, I'll attend to them at that time.  For now, it all goes back into the Christmas box once it's all bagged.
I've pretty much got all the kids and Hubs stocking goodies completed.  A couple of gift cards to procure and I'm done with that.

The few presents I'll buy for under the tree won't require a trip to the mall, that's for sure!

** And I know it's the Christmas Season without looking at a calendar.
I just have to look into my mailbox.....

Why does it have to be that if you buy a few things online, you get on everyone's stupid catalog mailing list?
I had just about gotten the superfluous barrage of Holiday Catalogs down to a lone LL Bean one a couple of years ago.
And then I went and bought some unmentionables for me and for Hubs from Hanes and BAMM!.....we are back on the lists.
bleh.

I have a new Holiday Tradition I'll be instituting here at Don't Read This; It's Boring! this Christmas Season.
Look for my new Weekly Feature called "STUPID CRAP PEOPLE REALLY BUY" next week!
And feel free to send me your submissions.  While I feel there will be no end to the stupid crap I find to post about, my readers imput is always encouraged and looked forward to.  8-)

 

Sluggy

The Morning After Quarterbacking & Feeling Good About My Personal Choices

I've been reading around the internet since the election.  Yes, Sluggy isn't one of those, "I vote every 4 years and then forget about our political system until the next presidential election" type of people.  Sorry about that. ;-)
Anyway I was doing some, as they like to call it in the sports world, some post-game analysis.

I am the 1%
who voted for
peace,
balanced budgets,
to end crony capitalism
federal overhaul of tax system
federal marriage equality
federal end of drug war
and to LIVE FREE
I voted Gary Johnson for President.


While I knew Gov. Gary Johnson had a less than zero chance of winning the election, I still feel he made some inroads into the process.

 More of the open-minded folks in this country heard of us Libertarian "nut jobs" and our message and embraced it.  Just like many in this country are now embracing "preppers".....though i still think a few of those folks ARE nuts!lol
The Libertarian Party now has achieved ballot access in 30 states and the District of Columbia.  This means the next election cycle the party only has to work to get onto 10 state's ballots.

Just having ballot access is a big step forward for a 3rd party.  It means that less money has to be wasted on defending our candidate(s) in the frivolous lawsuits that the 2 major parties throw up in an effort to keep control of the political process in this country.

Just in PA alone, the state Lib. party had to spend NINE WEEKS throwing money, time and lawyers at a lawsuit brought by the state Republican party to keep a 3rd party candidate off the presidential ticket.
NINE WEEKS of courtroom intimidation and protesting legitimately collected petition signatures.
Hey, it's not like we went all old school Chicago style and hit the local cemeteries for votes!

Isn't freedom and choice something American's believe in?  And the more choices we have makes our country better, right?
Apparently that is only true if you are a Dem or a Rep. anymore.

Gary Johnson garnered 1% of the popular vote in this year's election.  He had the highest vote total for a Libertarian Presidential candidate ever.  I will take the little victories.

I was reading an article online on the Missouri Libertarian Parties website by Cisse Spragins, you can view the whole item HERE if you wish.

The part that got my attention was this exceprt at the end.....
*********************************
" "I used to think that the number of votes cast for Libertarians was a measure of our discontent as a nation," said the party's chair, Dr. Cisse Spragins, "but I now realize it's a measure of our courage." "Discontent is high - congressional approval ratings are in the toilet, yet virtually everyone was re-elected. And yet while millions of alleged fiscal conservatives wasted their votes on Romney and millions of alleged anti-war, pro-civil liberties voters wasted their votes on Obama, over a million people were willing to step up and vote their conscience for Gary Johnson, and millions more cast Libertarian votes down ticket," Spragins said. "That gives me hope. I'm really proud of our candidates and our voters."

Voters who recognize that the two-party duopoly has jointly led the country to the brink of economic disaster and who are tired of never-ending foreign wars and a ballooning Big Brother police state will find common ground with the Libertarian Party. The LP is Americas third-largest political party and has been working for smaller government since 1971. The Missouri Libertarian Party has been a recognized party in the state, with continuous ballot access, since 1992. For further information visit www.lpmo.org or call 877-Vote-4-Us."
 **************************
I think that Ms. Spragins has something there, don't you?

Yes, a lot of people look at Libertarians(or any 3rd party really)as just a bunch of malcontents.

But the thing is, disapproval ratings for ALL politicians is high.  Look at any of the polls taken in this country.....when asked about approval ratings and how you think your 'fill in the name' politician is doing to make this country better/do their job/be accountable to their constituents.....a majority of the public will and continue to say that none of them are doing their job well and need to go.

But come election time, we continue to rehire them?!  If you look at all the races held on Election Day, a majority of incumbents, no matter the race, were re-elected!
So we thing they are doing a shitty job but we rehire them??  If it wasn't so insane, it would be funny, wouldn't it?

So if so many of "We the People" are not pleased with these representatives, why do we keep electing them over and over again?!?!

People need to stop believing the rhetoric and start looking at what our elected officials DO.
Track records people, track records.
Does your political party say one thing but vote another way?
Do your elected representatives have the best interest of you, your state, your country at the core of what they do or are they "in it" for their own glorification, power and bank accounts?

Listen, we ALL want only the best for ourselves and our families....can we at least agree upon that?
We all want to live in peace and have the right to enjoy our lives as we see fit as long as we don't infringe upon someone else's right to pursue their peaceful life.

And we all want our government to defend us and protect us from aggression both foreign and domestic.
There has got to be a better way to go about the fine details to make this all happen that doesn't oppress any one group in this country.
Yet, every election we let the people in charge divide us so they can conquer us.  We point fingers at each other and The Powers That Be keep their control over our rights and our wallets.
Does no one else see this but me?!?!
Some days I think I am all alone out here tilting at windmills.....

"I" am not the problem in this country.
I am NOT the malcontent, because I voted my conscience on a candidate who aligns with my principles.

Everyone in this country who voted for someone &/or a party whose principles they don't believe in because they were A-- too lazy to find out what that party ACTUALLY stands for and/or B--voted AGAINST someone instead of voting FOR someone, THOSE PEOPLE and all the people who came before them and have done the same exact thing, THEY are the people who will get what they deserve; a country that doesn't respect their rights or protect their freedoms.

In retrospect I feel only contentment about the choices I made for me, my family and my country this election season.  No "Wednesday Morning Buyer's Remorse" here! 
I hope you can look beyond the party rhetoric at what your party actually stands for and feel the same way.

If you can't, then maybe you need to look closer at whom you are entrusting you and your children's futures to.

Don't just Question Authority....Challenge Authority!
Take back your power.

Sluggy--one of the "other" 1%

Week 3 of the Boring Blog Box Giveaway.....Enter Now!

Time for another......

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY!

Here's how it works.....

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......we have a bit of a theme going on for this week....

1.  1 Glade Linen Scent Oil Candle Holder

2.  1 Pack of Linen Scent Oil Candle Refills
3.  1 Hershey's Chocolate scented Lip Balm

4.  1 Hershey's Kisses Notepad

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I close this post to entries.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email addy and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week in your comment I want to hear about the raging debate.  Not what party you voted for but how do you handle the Thanksgiving/Christmas(or whichever other Winter Holiday you celebrate) Debate about what to serve.  In my culture, the traditional main dish for Thanksgiving has been Turkey.  So the question becomes what do you serve for Christmas dinner?  Another turkey or something else?  2 big turkey dinners in consecutive months seems a bit much and stuck in a rut for some people, but if not turkey then what?  And tell me why you choose your Christmas protein(or substitute protein if you are vegetarian).

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

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 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.


Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy