Scenes From A Thanksgiving Day

When you see this flag flying at my house, you KNOW what day it is!

Here's the "crowd"  here at Chez Sluggy on Turkey Day.
My son had to work all day so it was just Hubs and I and the Brother in-law and the Nephew....

Notice the empty living room(except for the boxes of merchandise currently for sale on eBay)and the lack of curtains on the winders.

Thanksgiving dinner this year was served and "et" a folding camping table, with the kitchen chairs used for seating.
Hey, I know how to throw a high class shindig.  ;-)

The menu this year......
*Smoked Turkey
*Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
*Green Bean Casserole
*Mashed Rutabagas
*Glazed Roasted Carrots
*Roasted Potatoes and Onions
*Crescent Rolls
*Cranberry Glop
*Au Jus and/or Gravy-pick your poison
*Pumpkin Pie (whipped cream optional)
*Mincemeat Pie
*White Zinfandel(Californian)

My plate before I dug in.
Ooops!  Forgot the cranberry "glop".

The badass huge Silverplated Stuffing Spoon(this is the handle with a turkey on the end).
I guess you are suppose to use this to dig the stuffing out of the bird if you "present" the turkey on a platter at the table.  We cut that sucker up before it gets to the table so I just plop this spoon in the bowl of stuffing.
And I use to threaten the kids when they were little, that I'd whop them with this spoon if they misbehaved at the table.  This thing is huge and heavy and you could leave a mark if you whacked someone in the head with this! lol

 

The brother in-law and nephew.

An awkward first "selfie".  Good lord!  I look like I'd been sucking on a lemon before I snapped this.
The pursed lips remind me of my daughter's first photo in the hospital....notice the resemblance in the lips? lolz

Next time, maybe I'll brush my hair before company comes over.
Or maybe not.....

So how was your Thanksgiving?

Sluggy


 

Last of the Rite-Aid Bacchanal

 Went back last night to finish spending down some +Up Rewards on both my card and brother in-law's card.....

 *Not pictures is an 8 roll pack of Paper Towels in each photo.*

I found another online Q for $1/1 Ghirardelli so I got another 2 bags free after the purchase generated the bonus 2 x $1 +Ups for each bag.
Pay $6, use $2 in Qs, Get $4 in +Ups back and I paid with +Ups so free. 8-)

My out of pocket cash outlays for these transactions was .34¢(.05 tax)and .53¢(.03 tax).

I've got $40.98 in +Ups combined from both cards left.

This week at Rite-Aid I only plan on buying a couple of Axe gift sets(which will spend down $5.98 for 2), unless something else pops up that is an irresistible deal.  8-)
I am hoping for better weekly deals next week to finish spending/rolling these +Ups.

After the grocery shopping orgy that November turned out to be,(yes, I just finished running the numbers for the food budget spending for November and it ain't pretty!), I'll be scaling back food spending in December.....but this won't include Rite-Aid shopping if I can get what I want/need there for almost free.

How are the deals at the drug store you frequent?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Orgy

The last 2 days have been just a flurry of activity for me at Rite-Aid.
Utilizing both my Wellness card and the Brother in-law's and a mountain of +Up Rewards,  here is everything I've picked up.....*not pictured here, is a 12 pack of Quilted Northern TP*.....

OOP..... .20¢
$7 in new +Ups generated.

OOP..... .18¢
$1 in new +Ups generated.

OOP..... .69¢
$10.99 in new +Ups generated.

OOP..... .98¢
$4.00 in new +Ups generated.

I also got rainchecks for Planters 3 pack of Nuts(EVERYONE was out of those around here!), Rice Chex cereal and a couple other things I can't remember right now.

I used $48.50 in +Ups and got $22.99 in more +Ups.
I spent $2.05 Out of Pocket.
Regular retail is $133.82 on all this(including the invisible TP pack).

If you haven't been to Rite-Aid yet, go print out this coupon HERE. Like Nivea on FB and get 2 prints of the $3/2 Coupon.  Take it by tonight to Rite-Aid to get 2 free bottles of Nivea Shaving Gel/Cream(see it in the photo above).  It's on sale for $1.50 a bottle so FREE after coupons!
You just have to have a Wellness card to get that sale price but there is no limit on how many you can get.  And the stores here had plenty still on the shelves as of early this morning.  But if they are out, get a RAIN CHECK for it and hope it comes back into stock before the coupon expires(or have them staple the coupon to your rain check so you can use it even if it expires before they get the Nivea back on the shelves).

And if your Rite-Aid is out of all the freebie items, GET RAIN CHECKS!  I'm going to also get rain checks for the Brawny towels and Northern TP for that $5.37 price.  You can use your rain checks months after you get them(heck, my store let's me use rain checks a year later!).  Get your rain checks and then wait for a good coupon to show up to stack with the rain check price for some cheap paper products.

Ok, I am off to go clean and go through more stuff to sell/donate.
And then to check the Rite-Aid ad for next week since I have so many +Ups to roll in the coming 2 weeks still.


Sluggy

Mega Mart.....

And oldie but a goodie......

 

Sluggy

Rite-Aid at BF is my BFF

Dear Rite-Aid,
I truly "heart" you.  You were so kind to me and my wallet today.
I hope we never break up.
I do wonder why you didn't choose to do the "Gift of Savings" Deal this year.
After all, everyone loves it/you so!
Thanks for the goodies you gave me today.
Signed your BFF,
Sluggy

 

 

 

2 x Monster Drinks=$3.00
2 x Ghirardelli Chocolates=$6.00 **
4 x Nivea Shave Gel=$6.00
2 x RA brand nuts=$2.00
1 x Philips Ear buds=$7.99
1 x Conair Hairbrush=$1.99
2 x Reach Dental Floss/tape=$5.98
3 x Yardley Soap=$3.00
3 x Carmex Lip stuff=$3.00
3 x Purex detergent(Buy 1 Get 2 Free)=$6.49 ***
1 x Brawny paper towels(8 pk.)=$5.37 *not pictured*
2 x Home Improvement Gift Cards=$100.00  *not pictured*

Subtotal......$150.82

Coupons Used
2 x $2/1 Ghirardelli Chocolate IPQs=$4.00
2 x $3/2 Nivea product IPQs=$6.00
1 x $1/1 Conair AdPerks Q=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Reach dental floss IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Carmex item IPQ=$1.00
1 x .30/1 Carmex item IPQ=$.30
1 x $1.50/2 Purex items IPQ=$1.50
1 x $1/2 Purex Load2Card Q=$1.00
1 x .50/1 Purex Load2Card Q=$.50
1 x $1/1 Brawny or Northern product AdPerks Q=$1.00
Coupon Total......$18.30

$150.82-$18.30=$132.52

I used my $27.99 in +Up Rewards I had.....

$132.52-$27.99=$104.53

Then I used up an old gift card with $1.50 on it.....

$104.53-$1.50=$103.03 Total

For my purposes I am taking off the $100 I spent on the gift cards.
I bought those because I got a bonus +Ups.
Those cards will be used throughout the year when we need to buy things for maintenance and repair on the house.
Think of this as just taking money that will be spent in the future and converting it into another form of money that isn't so liquid. 8-)

And those house expenses don't come out of the food/toiletries budget, but rather the home repair budget.

I did this converting into gift cards I can use at Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace hardware/etc. in 2012 as well, whenever Rite-Aid offered a "perk" with their purchase.  I just converted liquid cash that would be spent on home repair/maintenance supplies into gift cards and get free credit at Rite-Aid to get various toiletries/HBA/food for my trouble.
It's a win/win!
And we used all the gift cards I purchased in 2012 on repair supplies and bamboo flooring(and then some)this year.

So my out of pocket total for toiletries/HBA/food this trip was $3.03 cash.

I received back $47.98 in +Up Rewards......

(2 x $10 HI gift cards, $3 Carmex, $3 Yardley, $2 Monster drinks, 1 x $2 Ghirardelli, 2 x $1 Ghirardelli bonus, 2 x $1 R-A nuts, 2 x $2 Reach, $1.99 Conair, $7.99 Philips).

**The Ghirardelli gave a bonus +Ups....$2 when you buy 2 but then a $1 +Ups for each bag.
So if you use the $2/1 Qs on them, you pay $2 for 2(after $4 in Qs) and get back $4 in +Ups, making it a $2 Moneymaker.
Go print those Qs now HERE.

***The Purex is .50¢ more a bottle at my town's store but I didn't want to go all the way downtown in W-B to get it for the lower price.
While the Purex didn't give any +Up Rewards for it's purchase it was super cheap.  Pay for 1 bottle get 2 free is good in and of itself.  But add in the following Qs.....
- 1 x $1.50/2 IPQ I had in my hand.
- 1 x $1/2 Load2Card Q that came off the bill.
- 1 x .50/1 Load2Card Q that also came off the bill.
-In addition, I have 1 $1/2 Purex digital Qs in my SavingStar account, one of which I should get credit for.

After my $3 in Qs that came off at purchase and the $1 off I'll get later,  these 3 bottles of Purex "cost" me in the end $2.49 total, or .83¢ a piece.


Then I went back in and got some deals on the Brother in-laws card......

Much of the same stuff as before, except for the gift tape($1.50 for 2 and I got $1.50 in +Ups back), the cereal($1.79 a box and I had a $1 AdPerks Q for it, so paid .79¢ and I got $1 in +Ups back so better than free), the R-A brand pain relievers were .67¢ each(reg. $2.99 each) and I got 2 12 rolls packs of Quilted Northern TP**not pictured**(it was $5.37 a pack and I had $1/1 IPQs, plus a $1/1 Brawny/Northern AdPerks Q for 1 of them, making them $3.87 per pack).
I also got 2 x $50 Home Improvement Gift Cards(which I don't count as coming out of the food/toiletries budget)and got $20 in bonus +Ups back.

I paid OOP(after removing the $100 for the gift cards) $.37.
This was after all Qs, $17.99 in +Up Rewards redeemed and $5.45 from my last old gift card I had.
And .18¢ of that .37¢ was tax.  8-)))

I received back $36.50 in +Up Rewards for this lot on that card(2 x $10 gift cards, 2 x $1 Ghirardelli, 1 x $2 Ghirardelli, $2 Monster, $3 Carmex, $3 Yardley, $1 Cereal, 2 x $1 R-A nuts, $1.50 Tape).

I am now debating whether to go up to KMart and get some leg lamp ornaments.
It's cold out but I am bored here at home.

Did you go out recently to take advantage of any sales?
Was it as exciting as my finds??lol

Tell me what you got.....

Sluggy