Working the Price Book Data.....Part 1

It's time to make some sense of all this data.
Here are the 6 weeks of grocery store prices....


Ground Beef...2.28/3.69  3.79/3.99   2.79/2.99   2.49/3.89  3.49/2.99  2.79/3.99
Chuck Roast....3.99/3.99  2.99/3.99     3.79/3.79   3.99/5.29  2.99/3.99  3.99/3.99
Hot Dogs....4.99/5.99  4.99/5.99    4.99/3.00   5.39/3.50  3.99/5.99  5.39/5.99
Pork....3.99/3.00  3.99/2.99   3.49/2.99   2.99/3.69  1.99/2.49  3.49/3.69
Bacon....2.98/3.50  3.99/3.50   3.99/3.00   2.98/4.00  3.50/3.49  3.99/3.50
Chicken Breast....2.99/3.09  2.99/3.49    2.99/3.99   1.89/3.29  2.99/3.19  .99/3.29
Chicken Whole.... .78/1.69  1.39/1.89    1.59/1.49   1.59/1.79  1.29/1.69  1.59/1.69
Salmon....10.00/7.99  0.00/7.99   9.99/7.99   6.99/7.99  6.99/7.99  11.16/7.99
Cheese....1.77/2.99  2.00/2.00    1.75/2.00   1.66/2.00  1.50/3.00  2.00/2.50
Butter.....3.00/3.50  3.49/3.98    2.50/2.50   3.00/3.00  3.49/3.50  3.00/3.50
Eggs....1.93/1.50  1.79/1.89     1.83/1.53   1.25/1.99  2.09/1.99  2.09/1.99
Carrots.... .90/1.00  .75/1.29    .90/1.69   .90/1.00  .75/.78  .99/1.00
Potatoes....1.48/2.50  2.99/2.99  1.50/2.00   .94/2.50  2.00/3.99  2.99/2.50
Celery.....1.69/2.59  1.99/1.89    2.99/1.50   1.49/1.50  1.99/2.50  1.99/2.59
Onion..... .49/.75  1.69/1.00  .59/1.69   1.69/.75  1.25/1.99  1.29/1.50
Salad Greens....2.50/1.95  2.50/1.85   2.50/1.85   1.99/1.85  2.50/1.85  2.50/2.50
Pasta..... .88/1.00  1.00/1.00   1.00/1.00   1.25/1.25  1.00/1.00  1.00/1.00
Spaghetti Sauce.... .88/1.00  1.33/1.25    1.50/2.00   1.66/1.50  1.00/1.25  1.00/1.25
Coffee....5.65 lb/5.12 lb  5.65 lb/4.16 lb   (4.00)5.65/4.85*   4.32/4.80  5.65/4.80  3.87/4.35
Soup Tomato...1.05/.75  1.05/1.00   .50/.69   .79/.69  1.05/.75  .79/1.00
Soup Cream....1.00/.75  1.29/1.39    .99/.75   .99/.75  .80/.99  .99/1.00
Flour.....2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19   2.00/2.19   2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19
Sugar.....2.69/2.69   2.69/2.69   2.50/2.69   2.69/2.69  2.50/2.69  2.89/2.50
Brown Sugar...1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69    1.89/1.69   1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69
Honey.....4.00 lb/3.45 lb  4.00 lb/3.45 lb    4.00 lb/3.32 lb   4.00 lb/4.00 lb  4.29 lb/3.32 lb  4.00 lb/3.43 lb
Deli Ham...5.99/7.99  4.99/5.99   4.99/7.99   3.99/5.99  4.99/7.99  4.99/4.99
Deli Provolone...7.99/8.99  4.99/8.99   5.99/8.99   5.99/7.99  5.99/5.99  5.99/7.99
Frozen Pizza...4.49/4.99  5.00/3.33   5.00/3.33   4.00/5.00  5.00/5.00  4.49/3.33
Ice Cream...3.00/3.00  2.50/3.00   3.50/3.00   2.50/3.33  3.75/3.00  2.50/3.00
Frozen Broccoli...1.88/1.50  2.19/2.00    2.09/1.25   2.15/1.59  1.33/1.25  1.33/1.50
Soda....4.99/4.00  4.00/4.00   3.66/3.25   4.00/3.00  4.99/3.67  3.50/4.00
Chips....3.00/3.00  3.00/2.50   2.15/2.15   1.88/2.15  3.50/2.00  2.15/2.15

That's a whole lot of numbers, isn't it?
Let's start breaking this down into manageable bits.

You'll notice that with some items, the prices changed every week or so, and with other items, they stayed the same for most of the last 6 weeks.

Let's look at those items that didn't vary much in price first.

These would be the FLOUR, both REGULAR CANE SUGAR and BROWN SUGAR.

Flour.....2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19   2.00/2.19   2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19
Sugar.....2.69/2.69   2.69/2.69   2.50/2.69   2.69/2.69  2.50/2.69  2.89/2.50
Brown Sugar...1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69    1.89/1.69   1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69


The flour went on sale at only Store #1, during Week 3.  It didn't go on sale at Store #2 during this cycle.

The cane sugar went on sale 2 weeks(Week 3 & 5)but only at Store #1.  The cane sugar went on sale at Store #2 during Week 6.

The brown sugar stayed the same price at both store for all 6 Weeks.  But you will notice that it is always .20¢ cheaper at Store #2.

So what conclusions can we draw from this information?
1-These items rarely go on sale so they are items you want to buy ahead when you do find them on sale, but only according to your needs.  If you only use 1 bag of flour every 3 months, don't go wild and buy 10 bags.  Baking goods tend to go on sale around the "big" Holidays--Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.  Easter is coming up so think about buying enough flour/sugar/yeast/baking soda and powders to get you to Thanksgiving, IF you have the storage space and IF you find it for a low price.
2- The flour has very low price volatility so you need not worry about finding the rock bottom price in the cycle as much.  If you use flour often(do a lot of baking, bread making), it might be wiser to figure how much you use and check out a resource where you might get it cheaper in bulk--like a warehouse store, a bulk food store or a restaurant supply store.  If you just use flour in regular "home" cooking(for sauces and the stray thickening agent), it might be just as good to buy it at the grocery store, catch the buy price and do a little stocking up on it.
3-On the cane sugar, if the data were to continue as it has, you would see a price drop at Store #1 during a week or two and then a price drop at Store #2 in the following week or so.  During a 6 week cycle,this means you would have more than 1 chance to pick this item up at lowest price.
4-The brown sugar also has very low price volatility and is always priced lower at Store #2, therefore I should always buy this item at Store #2 for a lower price.   Since I  know this price is lower at Store #2, I can now go to other grocery outlets and price out their brown sugar.  I would try Aldi and Sav-A-Lot(which have lower price points)and the Restaurant Outlet(I'd have to buy larger bags but it would be lower priced per lb.), If I find it cheaper than $1.69 2lb. bag, you know that's your buy price.
5-Now look again at the cane sugar price in Week 6.  Do you see that Store #1 has INCREASED it's price on the item?  The reg. price was $2.69 and now it's $2.89.  I will be interested to see if Store #2 increases it's reg. price this week, as stores in my tiny town tend to mirror each others prices.


In conclusion, I know my buy price on flour is $2.00 or less, on cane sugar is $2.50(or less if I can get a name brand with a coupon for lower), and on brown sugar $1.69(or less)but ONLY at Store #2(unless I see it for less at Store #1).

Now let's look at Cheese--
Cheese....1.77/2.99  2.00/2.00    1.75/2.00   1.66/2.00  1.50/3.00  2.00/2.50
The lowest price was $1.50(Store #1), the highest price was $3.00(Store #2).  That's a $1.49 difference for 8 oz. of cheese!  You will notice that Store #1 always had the lowest(or the same)price as Store #2.
The lowest price in the cycle was during our Week #5, so I should look to pick up 6 week's worth of cheese in about 4 weeks from now and/or when it goes down to $1.50 a bag again.  And unless Store #2 has a big loss leader with cheese in the next 4 weeks, I'll find the cheese buy price at Store #1.

Now let's look at Deli Ham-- 
Deli Ham...5.99/7.99  4.99/5.99   4.99/7.99   3.99/5.99  4.99/7.99  4.99/4.99
The first thing I noticed was Store #2......the reg. price was $7.99 and they brought the price down every other week $2-$3.
At Store #1, if the pattern holds, the price of Deli Ham this week should be $5.99.  I had Daughter check and it IS $5.99 this week. lol  But there is a different Deli Ham there this week that is $4.99. ;-)
At any rate, the Deli Ham is always less at Store #1, so I'll look to buy it there and at the $3.99 price, which I anticipate should be back in 2-3 weeks.

Now let's look at Ground Beef--
Ground Beef...2.28/3.69  3.79/3.99   2.79/2.99   2.49/3.89  3.49/2.99  2.79/3.99 
Meats are generally the most volatile prices in the grocery store.  They use meat as a loss leader to get you into the store and hope you buy lots of other things at not so great prices.

You will notice that every week, except for 1(Week 5), Store #1 was less expensive than Store #2.  There was a $1.71 spread in price on this item from the highest to the lowest price!

If you had bought 1 lb. of ground beef each week at these 2 Stores, you would have spent $17.63 at Store #1 and $21.54 at Store #2.  That's a difference of $3.91 just buying it every week at 1 store rather than the other.  Not even buying ahead, you would have saved money buying on demand at Store #1.

Now if you have bought 6 week's worth of ground beef(6lbs.)ahead at the lowest price in the cycle(Week #1 at Store #1), and freezing 5lbs. of it for the coming weeks, you would have spent $13.68....that's an additional savings of $3.95 over $17.63.

So take your pick.....
Spend $21.54, $17.63 or $13.68 and get the same exact items in the same exact amounts.

You saved money buying at the less expensive price weekly and you saved the most buying at the lowest price ahead.
Savings $3.95 may not seem like much, but that's just 1 item on your shopping list.  Mulitply saving $1 here or $.20¢ there for every item on your shopping list and it adds up quickly!

More later.....

Sluggy

Meal Planning Feb. Week 4 & Food Spending Feb. Week 3

Here's our family kitchen circa 1973.  The sink is on the back wall in the photo and the dishwasher is where you see it.  The fridge is behind where my mother is standing just out of frame on the right side.  Next to the fridge was a butcher block counter where we kept the toaster.  This had shallow doors and storage under it and on the other side of it running along the wall was the stove top(with storage doors above it(and next to that was a set of wall ovens, one on top of the other.  The only prep space was that small 2 ft. long butcher block top and the counter on the left in the photo.  We lived in that house about 7 years and my mother spent a lot of time in that dinky little kitchen, churning out delicious meals.

And here is what actually got served last week......

Sunday--Hot Dogs, Grilled Asparagus

Monday--Ham and Bean Soup, Green Bean Casserole, homemade Bread

Tuesday--Halushki + leftovers-- Ham Soup/GB Casserole, Bread

Wednesday--Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Cauliflower

Thursday--Ravioli, Sausage Sauce, Creamed Spinach, Garlic Bread

Friday--Leftovers

Saturday--Chinese take-out in lieu of Date Night

I served everything planned, though not on the night it was going to be served.  I didn't eat on Wednesday and I had just a half a slice of garlic bread on Thursday, as the toothache was bad those nights.

The food spending last week?

I spent $86.53 in 3 stores: $59.16 at the local Shursave affiliate, $6.80 at Weis and $20.57 at Ollies(the outlet store).  Reg. retail on what I bought was approx. $151. I splurged $6 on Cannoli for Vday, bought on sale chopped clams for a dinner this week, 4 bags of frozen veggies, a bag of salad greens and a small pack of ground beef for lunch fixings.  We will be out of bread this coming week, so the BOGO sale on Arnold's worked for me, and 3 cartons of OJ were had, since it was on sale.  Using Qs, I got a very inexpensive bottle of pancake syrup, 2 containers of Smart Balance w/Olive Oil, and then assorted GM products like whack rolls, flour tortillas, beans and sacks of flour.  The GM items also got me a $5 Cat to use this week at the Shursave market.   I used the $10 Cat from 2 weeks back at Weis and bought 2 bags of fresh spinach, a 4 pack of bagels, 1 dzn eggs, a bag of clementines and Hubs wandered off and added an overpriced bag of tortilla chips to my $2.31, making it a whopping $6.80.  I tried to tell him to wait ONE DAY and put it back and he could buy TWO bags on sale on Sunday for what he paid for 1 bag Saturday, since next weeks ads came out and they are on sale then.  It's not like he ATE the chips on Saturday anyway, so why not wait 1 day and buy it on sale?  He gave me that sad puppy dog look, like I had just kicked him for asking him to wait 1 day so I didn't push the issue. 

But honestly......why do I feel like the bad guy here?

I had a 15% discount card that expired Sunday for Ollie's for we went in the see if there was anything food we needed for a good price.  For $20.57 we ended up with....
2 Spanish Olive Oil
2 Parmesan Cheese cannisters
2 large bottles of Paprika
2 Dijon Mustard
1 Yellow Mustard
1 Pack of Applesauce cups
2 boxes of Cheez-Its
1 Fudge making Kit
We paid half the reg. retail including the added 15% off.

I've spent $279.61 and I am left at this point with $120.39  in my food budget for 9 more days.

As for leftovers rolling into this week--we have soup, one helping of ravioli and sausage, 2 pieces of chicken parm(from Sunday night) and some of the homemade bread left.

***********************

Here is what is getting served this week.....

Sunday-Chicken Parmesan al fresco, Spinach Salad, Lemon Cake

Monday--Pizza, Clementines

Tuesday--Pulled Pork on rolls, Coleslaw

Wednesday--Stuffed Shells, Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday--Kielbasa, Beans, Coleslaw

Friday--Clam Chowder, Fish fillets, Coleslaw

Saturday--Leftovers

I will also be preparing random veggies dishes this week and paying for some veggie and fruit for Daughter's juicing.  More on that when I report in next week. ;-)

Needed at the store to serve the meals I am making this week?  Rolls for the pork, Cabbage for all that Coleslaw, Romaine lettuce.  I have all the proteins already in the freezer(or canned-the clams).  I might buy some clam juice to boost the clamminess of the chowder or see if I can get some fish heads at the fish counter at the grocery store to make some fish stock.

I'm figuring $30 to complete this menu and the random veggie dishes.

What's on your menu for the week?  

Any good deals at the grocers this week?
Did you have any food waste this week?

Sluggy

You Never Know What You Are Going to Find

I've been trying to make inroads on one of my goals for February today.
Specifically the one about scanning and digitizing an old scrapbook of photos into my computer.

The book is massive(or seems so)and it encompasses the years from 1973-1984.
I've gotten about up to 1980 so far in the scanning and I've downloaded 138 photos and have begun to crop and digitize them.

What's also hindering my progress is that those 1970's years have many negative memories for me.  My family life was a mess during those years, so I am reliving some unpleasant stuff.  But in the long run, this is good for me psychologically as I am facing feelings I've never worked through.

Making the work go even slowly is the fact that my mother has mislabeled many of the photos during the 1973-1978 years.....mislabeled not once but twice!  Years are written and scratched through and written again and some scratched through again!  It's a mess.
I know why this happened and it's quite understandable why once you know all the facts, but that's a post for another time.  I mention it to just explain why this thing on my To-Do List seems to be slogging on and on and on.

I do want to show you all a funny photo I found today.
My parents made a trip in 1973 to the Kentucky Derby with some of my father's business partners and their wives.   They stayed at only the best hotels, ate out at the grand restaurants and generally partied bigtime like 40 year old married couples did back in the day.  There were reception parties in the hotel suites and the alcohol flowed freely.
I remember when my mother got her photos developed upon her return home, she showed me the shots she had taken and when she got to this one, I just said, "WTH?!"

My mother said she had gone to someone's suite for a reception the night before the Derby and had struck up a conversation with the tall black man on the left in the photo and then had taken this picture before she left.
Mom had no clue who either of these gentlemen where and we still don't know the name of the guy wearing his wife's Derby Bonnet.  Evidently someone had told my mother that the tall man was a famous basketball player and that is why she took the picture.
Even knowing his name, she still really didn't know who he was.  But she made sure she wrote down in the scrapbook his name for posterity.

You might know him better from this photo taken quite a few years later and the nickname "A Train".....

Yes, my mother went partying with #53 Artis Gilmore in 1973 when he was in the ABA and a member of the Kentucky Colonels team.

The thought of it just makes me want to giggle......

Go check out Artis' website HERE.

Sluggy

6th Week of Price Book Data Added

Just adding in the last week of Data for the Price Book.
I'll be back to this list during the upcoming week to talk about how to use all this information to spend less money on food.
Stay tuned!


Ground Beef...2.28/3.69  3.79/3.99   2.79/2.99   2.49/3.89  3.49/2.99  2.79/3.99
Chuck Roast....3.99/3.99  2.99/3.99     3.79/3.79   3.99/5.29  2.99/3.99  3.99/3.99
Hot Dogs....4.99/5.99  4.99/5.99    4.99/3.00   5.39/3.50  3.99/5.99  5.39/5.99
Pork....3.99/3.00  3.99/2.99   3.49/2.99   2.99/3.69  1.99/2.49  3.49/3.69
Bacon....2.98/3.50  3.99/3.50   3.99/3.00   2.98/4.00  3.50/3.49  3.99/3.50
Chicken Breast....2.99/3.09  2.99/3.49    2.99/3.99   1.89/3.29  2.99/3.19  .99/3.29
Chicken Whole.... .78/1.69  1.39/1.89    1.59/1.49   1.59/1.79  1.29/1.69  1.59/1.69
Salmon....10.00/7.99  0.00/7.99   9.99/7.99   6.99/7.99  6.99/7.99  11.16/7.99
Cheese....1.77/2.99  2.00/2.00    1.75/2.00   1.66/2.00  1.50/3.00  2.00/2.50
Butter.....3.00/3.50  3.49/3.98    2.50/2.50   3.00/3.00  3.49/3.50  3.00/3.50
Eggs....1.93/1.50  1.79/1.89     1.83/1.53   1.25/1.99  2.09/1.99  2.09/1.99
Carrots.... .90/1.00  .75/1.29    .90/1.69   .90/1.00  .75/.78  .99/1.00
Potatoes....1.48/2.50  2.99/2.99  1.50/2.00   .94/2.50  2.00/3.99  2.99/2.50
Celery.....1.69/2.59  1.99/1.89    2.99/1.50   1.49/1.50  1.99/2.50  1.99/2.59
Onion..... .49/.75  1.69/1.00  .59/1.69   1.69/.75  1.25/1.99  1.29/1.50
Salad Greens....2.50/1.95  2.50/1.85   2.50/1.85   1.99/1.85  2.50/1.85  2.50/2.50
Pasta..... .88/1.00  1.00/1.00   1.00/1.00   1.25/1.25  1.00/1.00  1.00/1.00
Spaghetti Sauce.... .88/1.00  1.33/1.25    1.50/2.00   1.66/1.50  1.00/1.25  1.00/1.25
Coffee....5.65 lb/5.12 lb  5.65 lb/4.16 lb   (4.00)5.65/4.85*   4.32/4.80  5.65/4.80  3.87/4.35
Soup Tomato...1.05/.75  1.05/1.00   .50/.69   .79/.69  1.05/.75  .79/1.00
Soup Cream....1.00/.75  1.29/1.39    .99/.75   .99/.75  .80/.99  .99/1.00
Flour.....2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19   2.00/2.19   2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19
Sugar.....2.69/2.69   2.69/2.69   2.50/2.69   2.69/2.69  2.50/2.69  2.89/2.50
Brown Sugar...1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69    1.89/1.69   1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69
Honey.....4.00 lb/3.45 lb  4.00 lb/3.45 lb    4.00 lb/3.32 lb   4.00 lb/4.00 lb  4.29 lb/3.32 lb  4.00 lb/3.43 lb
Deli Ham...5.99/7.99  4.99/5.99   4.99/7.99   3.99/5.99  4.99/7.99  4.99/4.99
Deli Provolone...7.99/8.99  4.99/8.99   5.99/8.99   5.99/7.99  5.99/5.99  5.99/7.99
Frozen Pizza...4.49/4.99  5.00/3.33   5.00/3.33   4.00/5.00  5.00/5.00  4.49/3.33
Ice Cream...3.00/3.00  2.50/3.00   3.50/3.00   2.50/3.33  3.75/3.00  2.50/3.00
Frozen Broccoli...1.88/1.50  2.19/2.00    2.09/1.25   2.15/1.59  1.33/1.25  1.33/1.50
Soda....4.99/4.00  4.00/4.00   3.66/3.25   4.00/3.00  4.99/3.67  3.50/4.00
Chips....3.00/3.00  3.00/2.50   2.15/2.15   1.88/2.15  3.50/2.00  2.15/2.15



Sluggy

What A Week!

This definitely will NOT go down in the books as my Best Week.

On Sunday I noticed a dull throbbing in my mouth.  As the week has gone on the pain has increased to the point that I put in a call to my dentist.   I thought that my crown had become loose and needed to be reglued or whater they do to secure one of those down.

After rooting around in my maw and taking a couple of x-rays, the dentist decided that one of the nerves(roots)was having issues and I needed a root canal in that tooth under the crown.
I had thought that both of my crowned teeth HAD already had root canals done to them(by my previous dentist), but evidently this tooth hadn't have one performed on it.
The current dentist didn't find any abscesses under the crown yet but that doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt like a sonofagun!
So they set me up with an appointment at a "root canal" specialist's office.  I guess my new dentist doesn't DO root canals.
The thing is the earliest the RCS can see me is Feb. 27th.
Right now the pain is about a 5 and it gets a little worse every day.  I am already having to take a Percocet to get to sleep at night and my little bottle of Oragel is close at hand during the day.  I have a fairly high tolerance for pain but I don't think I'm going to make it to the 27th without biting someone's head off.....

So if I disappear for awhile I am just trying to spare all y'all from my crankiness caused by my tooth issues.

We also have the saga of the "trip check" going on for the past few weeks.
#2 Son's marching band is taking an overnight trip in the Spring.  Hubs and I partially funded his Disney World Band trip 2 years ago and we told him that if wanted to do anymore band trips in high school, he was going to have to come up with the money for those.
So he's been saving his money from his job and had the cash for the check that was due the middle of January.
I wrote the check and gave it to him to turn in back in Jan.
Let's just say that #2 Son has been having memory issues.  When the hormones kicked in, his memory kicked out.  He forgets EVERYTHING now!
Do I have to tell y'all that he forgot to turn in his check? lol

Jan. 31st rolls around and I ask him if he turned it in.......not only did he not turn it in, but he's lost it!
Says he turned his room upside down looking for it and still no check has surfaced.
So I wrote another check February 1 for him to turn in.

2 days later he comes home and I ask if he turned in check #2.
He informs me that he lost check #2 in the band room somewhere.  He took it in to hand in but forgot and left it in the room.
Smoke starts blowing out my ears, I do my impersonation of the Father fixing the furnace from "The Christmas Story" and #2 Son escapes upstairs.
Moments later #2 Son comes back downstairs and has found check #1.....in his room, right next to his desk.
The room he swore to me he had scoured already to find check #1 days before.

So to update you.....check #1 is found and check #2 is MIA.
I tell him to put check #1 in his instrument case so that next time he has practice he will SEE the check and turn it in.  And he is to search the band room and find check #2 that week.
Hahahaha.....Mortals plan and God laughs.

So a few days later I ask #2 Son if he turned in check #1.
He says yes but he didn't find check #2 in the band room yet.
Then on Wednesday of this week I went online to check one of our bank accounts.....the one on which I wrote these 2 checks.
Are you way ahead of me here or what? lol

I pull up the current statement and lookie here!!  Check #2....the missing check has been cashed!
Check #1 he actually turned it?.....no sign of it being cashed yet.

I checked the check image and apparently someone found check #2 in the band room and gave it to whoever is in charge of holding the trip money and they deposited it....it's either that or #2 Son is confused and turned in check #2 and not check #1.
So I am waiting for the check #2 Son says he handed in to clear the account too so I can garnish some more of his wages to cover that one too.

Honestly, this kid is a great example of why we shouldn't put anything dangerous(access to large sums of money, fast cars, voting, military service, access to alcohol)into people's hands who's frontal lobes are NOT fully formed yet! 
He's a good kid and I love him dearly but he still needs firm direction and boundaries.

We had a talk with him about college the other week.  He needs to start doing some inner searching and then looking around at schools but he is so just not "there" yet.   Sometimes I think he's just not at the maturity level yet to deal with important decisions.  He's still so caught up in the superficial.....the teen stuff that doesn't matter.   I just don't see him going off to college after his Senior year, next year. 
We've let him know that some people just aren't ready to make big life decisions at 18 or 19 and it's ok to not go right to collge right away.   Sometimes working for a living helps them see things in a different light, ya know? 
He's got big dreams but we don't see him doing what he needs to do(or as much as he could be doing)to make those dreams a reality.  The road he wants to travel down is a hard one for his field.  He doesn't have the thick skin he is going to need to keep pushing at this goal to be successful.  I know first hand how it is but of course I'm his mom and I'm an idiot and anything I tell him just passes through from one ear, out the other one.   I can't keep pulling and dragging him, he needs to start pushing himself down the road to success.  Otherwise it becomes all about MY ambition instead of his.
Maybe he'll do some "growing" this Summer.  I hope so.

I did have a energy spurt on Tuesday though.  I dirtied up a bunch of dishes in the kitchen cooking up a storm.

I made the best ham and bean soup ever.
Leftover ham slices, onions and garlic....

diced veggies.....

Chicken stock, Northern beans and it's soup!

I whipped up a big mess of Green Bean Casserole....

that's before it cooked. Too busy eating to take an AFTER photo. lol

Then it was 4 loaves of French bread.....just the dough photo.....

 Really, the AFTER photo was much more appetizing. ;-)

And there was a big pot of Halushki as well.

After my dental appt. I made a pot of "Italian Sunday gravy"(aka spaghetti sauce) and plopped in some sausage from the freezer for flavor before I took a pill and hit the bed.
Hubs took care of simmering some ravioli and making garlic bread(with my homemade bread)for Valentine's Day.  I ate a small piece of bread and had a chaser of Oragel for dinner.
I did splurge on 4 Cannolis for us at $1.50 a piece, for the Love Day.  Yes, love turns me into a wanton spenderthrift.....

And I did find a science experiment in the fridge this week.  I think it began as some leftover bechamel sauce....but from the looks of it on Wednesday, that would be an educated guess only. 8-(

All that cooking about did me in though and I've gotten very little else done this week besides a trip to Rite-Aid and a trip to the grocery store, a trip to credit union, a trip to school to bring the ever forgetfull #2 Son his instrument for a pep rally and 2 trips to the PO.  Geez....I did do more than I though this week!

And the topper of the week was that Daughter got into the Nursing Program at school but has decided not to pursue that degree here.  She has decided to move to Louisiana and go to school there, hoping she gets into their Nursing Program.  While having a bird in the hand(the acceptance here)is something to consider carefully she is not happy living here.  While I am excited for her and what this change may bring I have concerns with her moving so far away from home.  I know I have to let her go and make her own decisions but the mom in me is having a hard time accepting her choices.

It's just been a hard week for me in more than one way.  Excuse me while I hold a little pity party for myself. ;-)

Sluggy