Bluegrass Banjo

Let's get in touch with our inner hillbilly today.
This is for you Linda.

 

Sluggy

Just For Laughs

One of the fine moments of an underrated film.....
 

Sluggy

VITALCHEK-Scam Artists Who can Kiss My Ass

If you do genealogy I sure hope you NEVER have to obtain documentation/vital records from a large city!
You will, without a doubt be driven crazy by it.

My father was born in NYC.  I sent away through VITALCHEK online for his birth certificate back in February.
Paid a whopping $38.30 for it.
And then I sat and waited.....and waited.....then waited some more.

The Vitalchek website showed no information(the status of my request)for a month.
I got busy with other things and just refound, last week, my receipt for the order I made.....3 full months since the request.
I have heard not one peep nor gotten anything in the mail in all this time from either Vitalchek or NYC.

So I went back to the Vitalchek  website and there is a message that they can't show any information on my purchase/request after 45 days(for MY privacy...yah, riiight!)and I have to call them for information.
So I call and basically they tell me I have to call the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene directly now to inquire on the status of the request.
They further said they show that the request was received on Feb. 27th by the NYC H&MH and there is no evidence that anything was ever mailed out.

Oh goody!

So  I call the number the gal gives me and it's not the Dept. of H&MH but a 311 information line for NYC govt....like parking rules today, when is the next garbage pick-up....that sort of thing.
So I hang on the line what seemed like an hour before I got a live person....a live person who spoke too fast and with a heavy accent.
I couldn't make out anything they said except they will transfer me to the Dept. of H&MH.
And I sat on hold some more.....

FINALLY got someone at the actual agency I needed to contact. 
After taking every piece of information from me short of when my last bowel movement was, she tells me that the order was CANCELLED....cancelled back on Feb. 27th!!!
Well, THANKS for not letting me know that for 3 months!
Damn government.....

She says all birth certificate requests have to be done in person or via snail mail with a physical application.  Since my father is dead I also need a certified copy of his death certificate with the application.
So now I have to go to Virginia and pay $12 to get that. (Yah, I can snail mail andapplication but that will be another 4 weeks or more and I've already waited 3 months for this stuff!)

Then I can send it all into NYC and wait the devil knows how long!

Oh, and the $30 I paid NYC for the birth cert. and shipping?
They still have it.
The gal at the Dept. of H&MH said I could expect a refund in the mail in 6-8 weeks from when the application was cancelled.
After a long pause on my end, while I waited for her to realize the lunacy of what she just told me, I reminded her that my application was cancelled Feb. 27th and it was now May 28th, so the 6-8 week time frame had long passed.
She then, put in a request for my refund so we shall see how long(or if EVER)it takes to actually see my money again.

And somebody needs to tell VITALCHEK-who can now officially KMFA!-that they shouldn't allow consumers to request birth certificates online to certain places without other documentation first.....and in some states can't EVER request a cert. online.
They are scamming people out of a fee of $8.30 to do NOTHING!!!

JERKS....

More on this saga is and when it develops.
Off to take my lunch time blood pressure pill....

Sluggy


 

Meal Plan and Grocery Spending

I haven't been keeping up on the showing y'all the Meal Plans here.
Just too much to do some days, keeping track of dr. appts. and phone calls and cooking from scratch, cleaning and all that other junk.
Something has to give......

But I'm being all good and stuff this week.
I have still been recording my grocery receipts every week and so far in May, through the 24th, I have spent a grand total of $421.49 on food, with a reg. retail value of $699.21.

On my grocery list for this week?
Well it ain't much.

A quantity of "ICE" drinks at WeisPMITAMarkets
A few bags of Texas Toast Croutons on sale $1 ea.
A lb. of low sodium turkey deli meat.
A tomato or two for sandwiches.
And maybe some ice cream and milk for #2 Son.
That's it!

Trying to get through the last week of the month on $40 and keep the food spending well under $500.

I can't tell you what we ate last week except for Meatball Subs(turkey/beef balls and homemade sauce for me) on Wednesday, Honey Garlic Shrimp with coconut Rice on Thursday, a Roasted chicken on Friday and Chicken and Broccoli with leftover Honey Garlic sauce and coconut rice on Saturday.
The rest of the week was 'this and that' I put together from around the pantry/freezer mostly, trying to get back into my eating routine after the trip to Graduation last week when I went off the plan a bit.

This week I'm going into the week WITH a plan for a change.....lol

Sunday--Cookout...burgers, dogs, homemade potato salad and baked beans and new pickles(all low sodium except for the nitrite-free bacon in the beans)
Monday--Bob Evans cooked us dinner(used a coupon for a BOGO deal)...I had potato crusted flounder.
Tuesday--Chicken & Dumplings-using leftover roasted chicken-not sure how much of this I can let myself have yet
Wednesday--Catfish fry, leftover baked beans, carrots and potato salad
Thursday--leftover Garlic Chicken w/Broccoli and coconut rice
Friday--Ravioli in Sauce w/leftover meatballs, green salad
Saturday--Whatever is still leftover

The only cooking I need to do the rest of the week is make the Chicken & Dumplings, fry the fish, make spaghetti sauce and boil the ravioli.
Did I just say "only"?.....because this sounds like a lot as I look at that sentence.  ;-)

We are due for some really warm weather the end of the week(can you say 89??)so all meals are subject to change, needless to say.... lol

So that's where the food money stands now and what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy.
What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy
 

Memorial Day 2013

Busy day here today.
We did our Memorial Day cook-out yesterday.  Today was all about working on projects both big and small around the house.

First I finished cleaning off the sofa and chair in the den and putting everything into the bookcase.....
Look!  I can even close the doors on some shelves......

 

Ignore that man behind the curtain that pile of crap still sitting on the ceramic garden seat next to the bookcase....

Then it was off to run errands....like furniture window shopping.....

Running to the beer distributor to stock Hubs up on liquid refreshments for the beginning of summer, to the garden nursery for plants and finishing the trip off with a late lunch at Bob Evans with a BOGO entrée coupon.....go me! ;-)

Then home to prepare the garden beds and do a little more yard maintenance and voila! We are ready to plant.....

Now it's time to chillax with drinks......

And a crabby summer snack gotten for half-price at the bakery.....go me again!

Tomorrow if the weather holds up I'll make a trip to a local cemetery and give some thanks & rememberance to the veterans I find there.


So what are you up to today?

Sluggy