Going Outside for A Change

It's a nice day today weatherwise.
It's going to be in the 60's.
Not as cold as yesterday so we will be outside this afternoon working on outdoor projects like the lawn, the garden, tree trimming, etc.

I've got yellow eye beans on boiling, almost ready to go into the crockpot for baked beans.
I can't have the canned baked beans(too much sodium!)so I have to make my own.  I will sneak in a little nitrite-free bacon, though not all the salt added to the canned brands.
We'll be grilling out today as well.

#2 son did some yard cleanup for me yesterday before he went to work at the restaurant and Hubs turned over the soil in the garden bed out back and the flower bed in front.
We are a couple weeks late in getting the garden refreshed this year.  Last weekend we were at Graduation and the week before it was freezing(good thing we didn't try to get an early jump on planting!).

Here's what I found when I went outside a few days ago to the garden bed.....

Those are 4 "volunteer" Collard plants.  I had Hubs turn the soil around them and not plow them under or pull them up.  Perhaps I'll have volunteer Morning Glories as well since I plant them over in that corner and they usually reseed from the pervious year's vines if I don't pull them out.

And the Rhododendron is in full bloom too....

Unfortunately I fear my lemon magnolia tree we planted 3 years ago out front is dead.  It just couldn't take the wacky weather last year and gave up.  sigh
I guess I have to move back down South if I ever want a true Magnolia tree in my yard again.....

I'm off to weed wack the yard....oh goody! ;-)
Are you working in your yard/garden today?

Sluggy

It Has Begun.....

With Favorite Daughter moving 1300 miles away from home and Oldest Son graduating from college and now officially out of the house, it has begun.
What you ask?
Why the Great House Fix-Up and Purge of 2013!
After years of neglect and deferred spending on our home, we are in Spend Mode.

I knew there was a reason I had been socking away all that cash in my yearly Savings Challenges!
But be advised that we will be spending with an eye toward frugality....how could I not?! 8-)

The game plan of Project Living Space is to--

A-Take care of many maintenance issues on the house, both inside and outside.
B-Upgrade and/or change out broken and "just doesn't work for us" furniture, appliances and features of our home.
C-Further purging and decluttering in preparation for selling and moving.  The timeline for this to occur is 3 to 5 years down the road.
It's the perfect time to start whittling down on the big list of things to get done to get this house ready to sell when we retire.

We began on a small scale the weekend before last, when Hubs and I replaced my old, ugly, ginormous, broken computer desk and equally worn chair with this duo from Office Max....

Though this new desk is only 12 inches shorter in length, visually it's so much lighter than the clunky massive looking desk it is replacing.  The computer drawer has a good strong magnet closure so I can use the pull-out tray as a real drawer to hold stuff instead of for a keyboard.
I'm not crazy about the velour on the chair, as it will retain heat(yuck!)but it "went" with the desk color and it was on sale and it was comfortable.
The desk was on clearance too and better still as far as Hubs is concerned.....no tools were needed to put it together! 
I didn't marry him for his handyman skills.... ;-)

The desk is small enough not to be a dumping ground for papers/dishware/office supplies/mail/children's items they are too lazy to put away/etc.  It can hold the printer, my laptop, a lamp, a box of tissues, a mouse pad and mouse, and a coaster.
Any more room than that and I can't help myself and not collect/hoard stuff on it. ;-)

And since I had a ginormous hanging file drawer crammed with assorted office supplies/computer peripherals/etc. in it's predecessor, this is what I now have to deal with today.....

And this.....

(But not the Chihuahua...I have to deal with her all. the. time.)

I have a Barrister Bookcase(the ones with glass doors) next to my desk area.  Hubs and I cleaned it out the old books, appliance manuals and cookbooks and all the stuff from the old desk I still need will go in that bookcase.
This is what I'm working on today.

If I remember, I'll post a photo of the finished product.

Now I know the desk and chair do not match my family room/kitchen color scheme but some of that will also be changing in the coming months as we progress with the Great House Fix-Up & Purge of 2013.

Do you have any house/apartment projects to start soon?
Have you saved up the funds to pay cash for what you need to buy to accomplish your project?

Sluggy

A Frugal Splurge

Frugal and Splurge are two words you don't normally see used together but today I am gonna use 'em.

I mentioned having spent money on a designer purse earlier this week while out in western PA to see my son graduate.

I was good all weekend, except for the motel room, gas costs to go out there, food, alcohol and buying a celebratory dinner for 11 people.....and then my long latent impulsive demon kicked in.
It kicked in at breakfast on Sunday morning.

But I am blaming my son's girlfriend.
It's all her fault!

She just had to bring her designer purse to breakfast.
And I just happened to notice the awesome fabric it was made from......

It's no secret that my absolute favorite colors are any shade/tint of purple and most shades/tints of green.
Loved this fabric!!

She said it was a Vera Bradley purse.
Now anybody who knows me knows I am not a slave to labels, brands and designers.
I had no clue it was a designer bag and I really don't care that it is.
I just knew I wanted a purse made of the same fabric as this particular one.
But I am frugal at my core so I was going to settle for just admiring her purse.

And then she said those little words I love......I got it on sale at the Vera B. outlet in Grove City.
I only go and buy things there when they have an additional % off sale going.

She had me at additional % off sale.

Since the outlet mall is only about 4 miles past our exit onto I-80 I asked Hubs to make a detour to the Vera Bradley store.

Here is my booty....

And here is the receipt in it's own little envelope.  How hoity toity....

I'm not going to show you the actual receipt.
Let's just say it's just over 3 figures......

But man, did I get some deals for those 3 figures.

I got this one of course....

 

I liked it because it had handles and a strap, so I can choose how to carry it, depending on the situation.

Then I got this one because it's summery and bright.....and it was on clearance so less than $20....

It has an exterior pocket, an adjustable strap and a drawstring.

And then, because I couldn't make up my mind and only get two, I got this purse......

It's lime green and bright royal blue and suits my darker moods.

I made these purchases because I have no summer purse.  I wore mine out last year.  These fabric bags are more casual and that's how I roll, especially in the summer.  My other two purses are black and that doesn't cut it in the warm weather....unless I want to take up being a Goth.

I also didn't go into debt to buy these and I didn't dip into money reserved for bills and needs so I refuse to feel guilty about buying these bags.
I could sit here and justify this purchase until the end of time but I don't need to since I can clearly afford to spend the money.
If I was in debt though, I'd be kicking myself for dropping the cash.

I couldn't believe that Vera B. store.  More paisleys than I've ever seen in one place in my entire life!
Some of it was ugly but some was very nice and all of it had reg. retail prices I couldn't believe.
It's fabric people, not spun gold!
You could drop serious bucks in that place, even at outlet prices AND additional discounts during a sale.

Have you spent money lately in a moment of impulse on a want?
And do you feel guilty for doing it?

Sluggy

Karma is A Supreme Bitch

Though it gives me no satisfaction really, I am going to be all smug today and ramble on about local political stuff.  Even those of you not from around here probably have heard about some of this stuff.
Heck, so many in public office(as well as private,  prominent leaders)around here have been indicted and convicted I have lost count on the tally board of them all!



(And by the way, I LOVE this photo taken by Mark Moran, staff photographer for the Citizens Voice.)

And then there is this photo taken by a NBC News photographer outside the courthouse in 2011.  It takes justice to a whole other level.....

Let's talk about our notoriously infamous(that's kind of redundant, huh?)Teeny Tiny Town homeboy, EX-Judge Mark Ciavarella, who got whacked with a prison sentence.
I haven't posted about him since 2009 when his trial was pending.

He finally was convicted and got a 28 year prison sentence in 2011.  With good behavior he'll be out in 24 years at age 85.
sniff....sniff.....
Karma is a bitch Mark, ain't it?

All I can say is-It took those particular wheels of justice waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long to move forward and that they can't keep this clown in jail long enough for the kids who's lives he ruined!
Four THOUSAND juvenile convicts had to be overturned in the wake of his evil doings.
And he still to this day denies he did anything wrong....
I hope they give him a river front cell on da Nile because denial is where he lives in his head.

Video of the scumbag after the verdict HERE.
(The mother of a young man who committed suicide after being sent away by Ciavarella makes an appearance in this video and you can hear other parents of wronged kids off camera in the background.)

(And the guy who asked off camera if the ex-judge will still get his state pension....oh yes, the state of PA-home of the corrupt-was still going to let Ciavarella have the FULL state pension, which was estimated to top $4.3 million over the course of his life, way more than the $231K he paid into it.
Ciavarella did eventually get back his $231K in contributions but after legal fees and paying lawyers I would bet he doesn't have enough money left from that for a cup of coffee.

HERE are some reactions from when he was sentenced in 2011 from local residents who did not have loved ones involved in his verdicts.

If there is a hell I like to picture it as a dunk tank at a carnival.....the water is on fire like it was purported that Lake Erie was when it was so polluted.....and the tank is filled with sharks who haven't eaten in a week.  I  hope whoever attempts to dunk Ciavarella when he finally arrives at the Carnival from Hell has really good aim and only has to use one ball. ;-)

Here's some background on all this that I wrote about a few years ago HERE and HERE.

(Something worth mentioning....a follow-up to the story about the ex-NFL player, turned local coach, turned local politician I wrote about in the second post linked above....after the date of that post, he was arrested for taking kickbacks, tried and convicted,  fined and did 2 years in a state prison.)

This corruption circle just got wider and wider after those two posts I made in 2009.  In the end(not that the FBI isn't still here finding "things")the local dirty politics brought down an additional few school superintendents, some state congressmen (in first a money scheme and then a sex scandal) and then a highly placed State Senator who's surname rhymes with YELLOW(who received 16 months for conspiracy and tax fraud).
I could also mention a now ex-US Congressman who secured $9 Million in federal grants for his nephew in 2002 for a water-jet technology business he owned with his siblings.  The company never produced anything and filed for bankruptcy in 2006.  Then in 2010 same ex-US Congressman arranged a $400 MILLION federal loan from Obama's administration  for a solar panel manufacturing scheme for same nephew. (This same solar outfit received a $3 Million grant in 2008.)
We are still waiting for the other shoe to drop on this particular cesspool of corruption......

And don't get me started on the whole Jerry Sandusky/Penn State affair down the road from us.

And I could also mention a local US Congressman who was tried and acquitted of bribery and racketeering charges in 1996(acquitted because it was before the FBI got involved around here).  In 2007, after he retired from politics, he was charged with indecency.
Check it out HERE.  (He plead incompetent to stand trial on that charge.)

The earliest political scumbag from this area that I can recall is a former US Attorney General.  I only remember this one because his name was plastered on the business park where my Hub's office is located.  This bastion of ethics and morality was tried and convicted of bribery and racketeering charges......do we sense a theme here?

And the voters and taxpayers around here?
Clueless.
Or worse they just don't care.
Why is no one outraged?!
Why is no one boycotting and picketing and raising hell??

Heck, the voters here even keep electing these public figures to office even after they are arrested and indicted of crimes.  It's happened on more than one occasion.
A local School Superintendent recently indicted and then re-elected by the school board to his position comes to mind. (He was finally terminated but it took way too long.)

Now I know that there is corruption at all levels of government in every town, but really!.....does this place have MORE than it's share??
The local activity among the populous in this area is to watch them put up and within a few years take down local politicos names on public buildings, when their disgraceful actions are found out.  These megalomaniacs are all the same.....

This area seems to do one thing well--grow a bumper crop of convicted felons!

Sluggy


 

Never Open Medical Bills BEFORE Taking Your Blood Pressure Meds

Get the cheese out because this is going to be a bit of a whinefest.....

The bill finally arrived for my 4 day spa hospital stay at the beginning of April.
Wanna see it?

Yes, you read that correctly.......$25,688.83 for 3 days in the hospital.
O.
M.
G.

(They charged me for 4 full days even though it was 3 days.....the crooks!)

Fortunately, the amount we actually have to pay is $1,456.58, including a $150 co-pay for the Emergency room, a $1,200 co-insurance maximum per 1 person in the plan(was partially fulfilled before this bill/illness), and a deductible amount of $106.58.
Of course $1,456.58 isn't ALL we will have to pay on this illness/treatment.
This is just the First Bill.......

We pay $5,892.12 every YEAR for the honor of having this particular medical insurance policy plus $4,000 in family deductibles.

If you compile the costs of  ALL the insurance--Dental insurance, Vision insurance, Long Term Care insurance and Life insurance, we pay $9,907.56 for medical/life coverage a year.
And that's if no one gets sick and has to use any of this fine coverage!

Add in the $4,000 in deductibles for a grand total of $13,907.56 paid each year(before co-pays).

Wow!!!

I think I'll keep a running tab on my side bar for the rest of the year for our medical costs that we pay out of pocket in 2013.

On second thought, maybe I don't want to SEE the grand total we are paying out. 8-(

And I just remembered that this is a family plan HMO that doesn't increase per number of people in the family....the "family" can be 1 person or we can be the Duggars, we pay the same for however more people than just the person who's name the insurance is in.
The daughter can't use our $13K+ a year insurance plan in Louisiana, except for the prescription drug benefit and ER visits.
We have to buy her a separate policy which will cost us about another $70 a month, for another $420 in insurance costs(before co-pays)for 2013.
This raises our coverage costs at the moment to $14,327.56.

Don't get me wrong.....I appreciate that we have medical insurance!
But this third party payer system is insane!
Let's charge someone a smaller amount if they don't have insurance but if they do, well Nelly bar the door!, let's charge their insurance provider up the wazoo because we know they have deep, deep pockets.

And Obamacare?
Yah, I don't even want to see what 2014's rates will rise to!
Whatever happened to "you can keep the insurance you have now and your rates will not go up", and all that "free medical care"?
Oh I remember.....it's an illusion.  It's a lie.

It figures that as soon as I go into menopause someone figures out a scheme to give woman free birth control.
The one freebie Obama has given to the masses and I can't benefit from it......lol

The medical bills from this latest health adventure I am on are starting to come in fast & furiously.
I don't have much hope for socking any money away for my $20K Savings Challenge this month.
And that is a really sad state of affairs since May is a 3 paycheck month for us.
sigh


 So what is YOUR medical insurance and all insurances(except property insurances)costing you a year?
You might not want to add it all up.......

Sluggy