Visiting DA BURGH--PART 1

Since our eldest child's job didn't allow for him to come home for Christmas, Hubs & I went out to visit him in Pittsburgh the weekend after the Holiday.
It is at times like this, having to drive from here to Pittsburgh that I am reminded just how damned WIDE Pennsylvania is!

So off we went on Saturday morning, heading west.

The weather was beautiful and sunny, albeit cold.
The scenery was mountainous and stark.

Winter time around these parts is not very lush and green, like where I grew up.  We had vast numbers of evergreens in coastal Southern Virginia so even in winter, the scenery had some green in it.
Not here.

You would think I went to an aquarium by this shot, right?
Actually it was the graphics on the side of an 18 wheeler trailer that we passed on the Interstate.
A Weis(PMITA)Markets truck to be specific.

Dang, I wish they sold lobsters THAT BIG! lolz

Oh goody here's our exit.......

Only 3 more hours to go!


A gratuitous shot of a farm.....

A car we passed......

Here's a close up of the license plate......

Hmmm.....that bug didn't have much "get up and go" actually.....

Did you know that Pennsylvania has some very strange town/place names?
Here's a sign for one....

I wonder if penguins would enjoy living in Waddle?  Being Pennsylvania, I should have asked if turkeys would enjoy living in Waddle. ;-)

And that sign is for blogger buddy RON.  I wonder if any of his Tiptons lived/settled here?

Then we stopped for lunch in Altoona.
I had never been to Altoona before.
It ain't much to write home about that's for sure.

But they did have a "Five Guys" which is more than I can say for where I live(though they do have one up in Scranton near where Hubs works).....

Mmmm, hot fresh French fries!  Thank goodness I remembered to bring my low salt ketchup!!

The secret to going to Five Guys, if you order French fries is this......
ALWAYS order a small.  A small comes in a good sized paper cup, filled with fries.
But then after they put your burger(s)and small fries in the paper bag they put your order in, they fill the bag with more fries.
We learned this the hard way, the first time we went to Five Guys down in West Ocean City MD.  Hubs ordered a large fries and we walked out of there with 10lbs. of sizzling hot fried potatoes, enough to feed a platoon. lolz

This time we split 1 small order of fries and there was more than enough!

This place even tells you who grew your fries.....well, before they were fries and just plain old tubers.....not very local so what's the point of this really?
Ok, it's a novelty.  Perhaps I'll ring up M&M Farms and let them know I enjoyed their spuds.....

I love the bathrooms at Five Guys.
These shots are for JUDY because I know she would love a bathroom in these colors.
The things I do for my friends......

After lunch we hit the Giant Eagle grocery store in Altoona before scooting back onto the Interstate.

Let me explain why we went to a grocery store.
Yah see, PA has some very strange and archaic liquor laws.
You can only buy hard liquor(vodka, gin, rum, etc.)and wines at a state controlled/run store.  The state gives out permits(much like bars that need a liquor license to sell alcohol)to people to operate a "State" store.  These people are usually cronies and family of well placed politicians or people who have made large campaign contributions to some local official.  It's a big racket.
You can also only buy beers and ciders and other "malt" beverages at places with liquor licenses(restaurants and bars)to consume on premise.  If you want to buy beers, etc. to drink at home you have to go to a beverage distributor and buy your beer by the CASE.  In PA, they don't sell beers, et all by the single bottle or 6 pack or 12 packs, just by the case.  It's another racket.

So some establishments have gotten around that "have to buy a full case" deal by getting themselves declared a café or deli.  They sell limited food items(like sandwiches or pizzas)and then are allowed to also sell beer, et al. by single bottles up to 128 fluid oz. total of beverages(that's about 2 6-packs or 12 standard sized bottles of beer)to be consumed off premise.
We have a "beer deli" locally that can sell less than cases because they also sell sandwiches(though I have NEVER seen anyone buy/eat a sandwich in the place).  Plus that Beer Deli also has highway robbery prices since they can, due to high demand and little to no competition.

Two local grocery stores here(Wegman's and Price Chopper)have opened up a café type restaurant in their establishments as well, so they are also allowed to sell up to 12 bottles of beer, et al. for off premises consumption.  Their prices are a bit better but the selection is not all it could be.

So our son had let us know that the grocery chain out by him, Giant Eagle, also has café/beer selling locations(but not all of them have this), so we stopped at the one in Altoona to see if they had the "good stuff".
And good stuff a plenty was to be had, yessiree!

Too bad I couldn't buy the whole case of this! lol

 The delicious view from my chair in the café......the mix and match your own 6 pack section.

And they had 3 bottles of this delicious elixir on the shelves, so guess who scarfed those up?
Yours truly!
The beer distributors in our part of PA don't carry this stuff yet so I need to stock up when I find it!!

Then it was back on the road south and westward......

One of my favorite weird PA place names......

 I always start hearing the song "Morning Glow" from PIPPIN in my head when I see that name.....



We finally arrived on the outskirts of  Da 'Burgh to our hotel an hour before dark.
Of course our Mapquest-ed directions told us to drive PAST the light where we should have turned onto the road to our hotel, but hey! what do you want from free directions, right? 8-(

This motel was up a windy ass road(you didn't think you'd EVER get to the top)and overlooked the interstate, so convenient for getting about town.
The motel though was 3 stories tall, built into the side of the hill.
We had asked for the "handicapped accessible" room and according to the confirmation I got, that's the room we were suppose to get.
So our room was on the 2nd floor, which meant we had to go down 2 flights of stairs from the lobby(which was on the 3rd floor technical)or 1 flight from the outside side entrance door and there were NO ramps.  Thank goodness I wasn't still in a wheelchair or anything!

Here is me bitching about the supposed motel handicapped accessible feature on our way out to dinner......




We called son when we got in to the motel(before going out to dinner)and Hubs wanted to make a dry run to find his apartment before it got dark, since we both HATE trying to find a place we've never been to in the dark.
We were suppose to go to the apartment when he got off work at 11pm and do the Christmas gift exchanging that night with son and his girlfriend.

So we took off for son's neighborhood which was a few exits further down the Interstate.
Found the apartment building and then decided to find somewhere for dinner nearby.
There was a Giant Eagle grocery store just off the Interstate where his neighborhood was located so we popped in to see if they had the café set-up and carried any alcohol.
They did so I got another 2 4-packs of that Hard Root Beer I like so much.
Then we hit the beverage distributor store in the same shopping center and hit the jackpot.....

A case of my Precious..........

Time for dinner now so we ate at this unassuming little joint......

 

Now you know this sounded like a piece of home to me......Southern Hospitality.......

I love the "Sunday After Church Special"....say "Hallelujiah" to your waiter and get 10% off your meal.  lolz

 

A piece of fried chicken, 2 catfish filets, coleslaw, a corn muffin(bread) and a big cup of fresh collards!
slurp slurp....
The corn bread/muffin thing was too sweet but otherwise it hit. the. spot.
Funny thing was that the place didn't have single PORK product.....no bbq, no pork ribs, no fried pork chops, no country ham.
How can it be Southern Hospitality without PIG?!?!
Southern Muslims maybe......lol

After being stuffed to the gills we headed back to the motel(oy! the stairs!)to relax and wait for 11pm to arrive.
Drove back to son's apartment to get the evening's festivities started.

 The son inspecting a gift.....

His girlfriend opening her gift from us, a new Vera Bradley purse....I think she likes it! 8-)

A friend of Hubs who is a beer connoisseur gave him a bottle of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA to gift to #1 Son.  I had a taste....that's mighty strong stuff!!

Another gift....a book about beer.  I'm shocked! lol

Son also got about a case of assorted microbrews we had picked up on our travels in August.
Remember Matt, the bottles of Southern Tier Crème Brulee are for your girlfriend, not you.....lol

And to top off the evening, I got to meet my new grandbaby......

Her name is Lilly.

I now have TWO grandbabies.....a cat and a dog.
I feel so fulfilled. 8-))

We slinked back to the motel around 2am and fell into bed, dog tired....or should that be cat tired?
Do cats even sleep....does anyone know? ;-)
What a long day it was......and such a long update too!

Day Two coming up soon.

Sluggy


 

Why I Bought The Groceries I Did Last Week

I know this post will seem very tedious to some so feel free to move on along to a more thrilling blog.
I want to talk about my meal planning and grocery spending today if you don't mind.

I spent $98.58 on groceries last week. 
When I grocery shop I always go with a list.  The list will include----

1--items needed this week to prepare the meals I have planned.
2--any loss leaders or specials I want from the store's flyer to use this week or to put back for later.
3--special requests from family member for certain items.

What I also pick up during my trips, besides what I am planning on....

1--Unadvertised deals and specials that we like/will eat and I can put back for later use.
2--Instant markdown goods-either products that are going out of "sell by date" soon or items they just have too many of on the shelves, so the store reduces them.
3--Whim items.  You know.....those things you didn't know you wanted until you saw them. lol  I very rarely do this, but it happens.

Most of my groceries are a mix of  what we need this week, loss leaders/specials, unadvertised deals, instant markdowns and family requests.
I will often buy loss leaders/specials this week and then incorporate them into my meal plan for the following week(if I don't use them the week I bought them and change up my menu plan instead).

I try to have things we use frequently in stock at the house.  I buy those at rock bottom prices in the sales cycle so some weeks I buy 2 loaves of bread when we don't need it, because it's on BOGO sale that week and since the bread keeps, it helps me not to buy it the week I actually need it for full price.

Here is the long boring list of the specifics I bought last week....

Local Grocer
2 loaves Bread(bogo-$4.29)
2 pkg. pot pie noodles(bogo-$2.23)
2 bottles dressing(bogo-$2.39)
2.09 lb. ground beef(2.49 lb)
1 pt. grape tomatoes($2)
1 head iceberg lettuce($1.29)
1 1/2 gal. milk($1.96)
4 1lb. bags shredded cheese(bogo-$5.69)

Weis Markets
1/2 gal. wh. grape juice($2.19)-Hubs request
1 case H20($2.50)-son's request
2 pkg. 1 lb. deli meat($6)
2 pkg. 1lb. ground chicken($6)
1 pkg. breaded chicken cutlets($3)
1 pkg. turkey breast lunchmeat($2.99)
1 pkg. 1.5 lbs. hot Italian sausage($2.71)
3.03 lbs. ground beef($2.99 lb)
1 lb. Jack Cheese block($4.99)`
2 pkg. tortillas($3)
6 onion rolls(50%off bakery $1.69)
4 bakery buns($1.49 50%off)
1 lb. fruitcake($2.99)
2 pkg. collard greens(50%off $2.69)
1 head cauliflower($2.50)
1 pkg. portabella mushrooms($5.99)
1 head red cabbage($2.22)
1 pkg. spinach/arugula salad mix(50%off $1.74)
1 premade salad w/chicken(50%off $1.99)

Rite-Aid
2 Finish dishwasher tabs
1 12 rolls pkg. toilet tissue
2 pkg. choc. covered cherries
2 pkg. gum tins w/gum(presents for next year)
$1.02 spent OOP

What was used last week for meals/snacks......

About 1.5 lbs. of the 5+lbs. of ground beef
1/2 pkg. of grape tomatoes
1/4 of head of iceberg lettuce
1/2 1 pkg. of shred mozzarella cheese*
1/2 1 pkg. of shred cheddar cheese*
1 bottle white grape juice
1 pkg. turkey breast lunchmeat
1/2 lb. Jack cheese block*
1 pkg. tortillas(5 of the 8 in pkg.)*
3 of 6 onion rolls
4 bakery buns
1/2 of the fruitcake
1 pkg. portabella mushrooms*
3/4 pkg. spinach/arugula salad mix
1 premade salad w/chicken

*Though these items were used, we have leftover of those entrees to eat this week.  Some of these "leftovers" were planned so purposefully made to use next week.


And here is what I bought at good/sale price last week, but to use this coming week......

3 lbs. of ground beef and ground chicken(1/2 of each)
1/2 pkg. grape tomatoes
1/2 head iceberg lettuce
1 qt. of the milk
1 pkg. deli meat
2 pkg. collard greens
1 head cauliflower
1 head red cabbage

And here is what was bought to use in the coming weeks(plus I will base the following week's meal plan on these items and leftovers from this week's meal plan, and what is on special THIS week that I can get for a reduced price).....

2 loaves Bread
2 pkg. pot pie noodles
2 bottles dressing
the rest of the ground beef(it's been made into a meatloaf + 3 burger patties and frozen)
1 pkg. ground chicken(chicken was mixed with ground beef to make meatloaf/patties)
1 qt. milk
3 pkg. shredded cheese
1 pkg. 1lb. deli meat
1 pkg. breaded chicken cutlets
1.5 lbs. hot Italian sausage
1/2 block Jack cheese
1 pkg. tortillas
3 onion rolls
2 Finish dishwasher tabs
1 12 rolls pkg. toilet tissue
2 pkg. choc. covered cherries
2 pkg. gum tins w/gum(presents for next year)

So you see, though I spent $98+ last week, which might seem high for just 1 week's worth of food, I am always planning/buying for 3 time frames; this week, the next week and a future week.
If I were to only buy items to consume the week I am buying them in, we wouldn't have as many choices for meals(if I was strictly only shopping the loss leaders/sale items), or I'd have to be buying foods that were not on sale/rock bottom price, so I'd be spending a lot more to pay for these same items.

Shopping the sales, combined with what you have on hand(from previous week's deal shopping)plus being flexible with your menu can save you money at the store.

As for how couponing works into winning this grocery store game you play each week.....

You will notice that I used very few coupons these trips.
5 coupons(and 3 of those were at Rite-Aid)....tortillas, juice, TP, 2 x dishwasher tabs
I did avail myself of 9 Instant Savings and/or 50% Markdown Discount coupons stuck to products at Weis Markets however.....2 x bakery items, 4 x fresh produce, 1 x deli meat, 1 x sausage, 1 x fruitcake.

Since I have stopped buying many processed foods over the last few years, I find I use very few coupons as a result.  Practically the only items I use coupons on anymore are toiletries/HBA/paper goods/cleaning products.  Though I will use a coupon on food if it is something I need and there is a coupon out for it.  I don't buy foods just because a coupon makes it free or almost free.

Buying in bulk at restaurant supply stores, buying at discount or grocery surplus stores or buying markdown/instant savings sticker items and/or buying at rock bottom price at the grocery stores, as well as eating locally and seasonally(when that means paying less for items)are the ways I save in the food category anymore without having to give up flavor and variety and buy cheaper "not as nutritious" foods.

Sure I could spend less and buy a cheaper mix of foods(or a healthier mix for that matter too)but we don't need to scrimp more than we do on food and we want to enjoy eating so I tweek and make the versions a bit better in the health category and everybody is happy.....the Hubs and son and my wallet.  ;-)

So what is your food shopping strategy?

Sluggy






 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "We Have Heat Again & We Survived the COLDpocalyse!" Edition.....

 

The new compressor arrived courtesy of Our Installer Guy last Monday, just in time for the Polar Vortex CoLdpocalypse Event of last week.

First we got hot weather(well, HOT for January)and all the snow melted, then the winds picked up and the temps dropped to 0 degrees or more(or would that be less?), not accounting for the wind chill and then we got 50 degrees on Saturday.
Can we just go back to our regularly scheduled average of 20 degrees cold and 5 feet of snow for the year total Winter now?!?

 

 

On to the Meal Planning.

Here is what was planned last week--

 Sunday--Lamb Chops(have), leftover Roasted Cauliflower, leftover Corn Casserole
Monday--Leftover Pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw
Tuesday--Leftover Beef Stew, Biscuits
Wednesday--Mushroom(have) Parmesan, Green Salad, Pasta(have)
Thursday--Clam(have) Chowder, Cod(have), Sugar Snap Peas(have)
Friday--Pork Enchiladas(using leftover pulled pork), Green Beans(have)
Saturday--Pork Chops(have), Red Apple Kraut, Stuffing(have)

 And here is what actually happened--

 

Sunday--Lamb Chops(have), leftover Roasted Cauliflower, leftover Corn Casserole
Monday--Leftover Pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw
Tuesday--Leftover Beef Stew, Biscuits
Wednesday--Pork Enchiladas(using leftover pulled pork), Green Beans(have)
Thursday--Hamburger, Salad
Friday--Fend For Yourself Night
Saturday--Mushroom(have) Parmesan, Green Salad, Pasta(have)

Moved some meals around during the week, Hubs didn't eat one night so Fish got bumped to next week and I just had a fresh burger and salad and we finished some leftovers but not all.
I also made a big pan of Bread Pudding for desserts.
  

As for the food spending last week....
There was 2 trips to the grocery store & 1 trip to Rite-Aid and I spent a grand total of $98.58(including my Rite-Aid trip of $1.02 OOP)on $203.55 worth of groceries/toiletries at 3 different stores.  I am going to strive for another $300 or less grocery month for January and I have $127.89 left in the food budget for this month(or $64 for each of the net 2 weeks).

Leftovers going into this week--Pulled Pork(1 portion), Beef Stew(3-4 helpings), 1.5 Enchiladas(1-2 helpings), 4 Mushroom Parms(2-4 helpings), 2 portions of Spaghetti w/Sauce, Bread Pudding(2-3 helpings).

Here is this week's meal plan---

Sunday--Pork Chops(have), Red Apple Kraut(have, Stuffing(have)
Monday--Meatloaf(have), Garlic Mashed Taters(have), Collard Greens(have)
Tuesday--Leftover Pork, Enchiladas, Beef Stew(diner's choice)
Wednesday--local Italian food meal out *
Thursday--Clam/Corn Chowder(have), Cod(have), Roasted Cauliflower(have)
Friday--Leftovers Night
Saturday--?  More Leftovers if we have them

* Hubs & I are going out to local Italian place.  I have a free entrée for your birthday card and a gift certificate for a free pizza we won at the Church auction, so I'll get my b-day meal and Hubs will get a pizza and the leftovers will come home with us.  Cost out of pocket.....a tip and drinks on the Eating out Budget.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......nothing at all.  I bought everything I need for these meals last week or I have it at the house already.

I will go to 1 local grocer later this week to pick up--OJ, strawberries, Ramen noodles(at #2 Son's request) and a Turkey Breast on sale for .99¢ lb.

The turkey will be cooked/served either on Saturday(depending on whether the leftovers are gone or not)or Sunday of next week.  Leftover turkey will be used for lunch sandwiches for me the following week. 8-)


 What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

The Great Summer Road Trip of 2013......Day Six

 

Continuing on with this saga......

On Sunday morning we rolled out of Mattoon Illinois and headed South toward our destination for that day, a small town outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Not far into the day's drive, we spotted these strange white lookout towers in a field.....

I think it was a corn field.
Anybody know what that is all about?

Then we passed through this little town....

I snapped the photo too late to get the other sign to the right of the town sign that claims to be the birthplace of this guy......

 

 

Oh goody! Another water tower.....

Hey!  That's a lot with old oil drilling/pumping equipment in Newton Illinois.....

 

And outside of town there were oil derricks pumping away in the corn fields.....

 

We passed from Illinois, into Indiana, crossing the Wabash River.....

 

And while at the Tourist Information Center I saw this.......

Oh crap!
Is there any state around here not infected with "Lincoln-itis"?!

Back in the car and shortly we crossed the Ohio River.....

And then we were in Kentucky....

 .....where we stopped for lunch at a place called Grandy's in the town of Owensboro.





After a quick fast food-y lunch we hit the road again, going through Bowling Green, where I got another photo for my Water Tower Collection, only I still had the camera on movie mode from our lunch stop so you get to hear me swear on this quick clip.....




Here's the lame still photo I did end up getting......

After Bowling Green another water tower for my collection in Franklin KY.....

Then we passed by Kentucky Downs.....

 

And no, we didn't stop and bet on any horse races.

We hit the open road for a bit once we crossed the border into Tennessee.....

 

Just so you know, we were here in Tennessee to visit my first friend in life, Marsha.
Our parents lived next door to each other when we were just babies so I consider her my first friend.

Here we are many years ago at my 2nd Birthday party.....

Marsha is in the middle with the "deer in the headlights" look and I am the hambone on the right mugging for the camera....

Anyway, Marsha now lives in Tennessee with her DH Parker and we reconnected in 2013 via Facebook, which led to an offer "to come visit if you ever get by this way", so when we knew we were going to be in the general vicinity in August we made plans to come visit.
I don't think I had seen Marsha since my mother's funeral in 2000.

After arriving in Tennessee, we crossed the Cumberland River on a fairly rickety bridge.....

We made a wrong turn, somewhere after driving by Reba McEntire's old Tennessee estate.....

Of course, we weren't up in the air, so the view was more like this....

 

We did see a neat jet while we were somewhere circling Nashville lost on a back road.....

 

 

About 20 minutes after passing this jet TWICE, we got straightened out and found Marsha's house.

We had a yummy dinner she fixed us, then talked and drank and made up for lost time that night, and I didn't even think to take one photo or movie that evening.
Silly me.
But aren't you secretly glad I didn't? ;-)

I did think to haul out my computer to download this mess of photos and empty my camera and check emails.
While I had it out, I checked my Ancestry account and one thing let to another(as they will do)and we got to talking about ancestors and family stuff.  Marsha then pulled out a big manila envelope that her DH had with some research someone in his family had done on Parker's ancestors.  I pawed through it a bit and soon discovered that......are you ready for this?.....I am related to Marsha's husband!

Does this shit happen to anybody else besides me?!?! lolz

He has an interesting family tree as I've done a bit more research on it since August.

He is related to Earl Hamner, who wrote the book "Spencer's Mountain" which was made into a movie, that became the basis for the TV series "The Waltons".  Parker was aware of this family connection though I haven't been able to find the direct link yet, though his Hamners are from the same area as the Earl Hamner line.
But I have since found that Parker is related to Patrick Henry's wife(Dorothea Dandridge) and his 7 x Great Grandfather was the Uncle of Martha Dandridge Custis who later married George Washington.

So he is a 1st cousin 7x removed of the 1st First Lady of the USA.

Unfortunately I am not related to Parker through any of these lines.

I am related to him through Captain Samuel Snead and Alice Gallimore though I haven't done any work on his particulars of this ascent to verify the claim yet.
This happens to be the same line that Sonya Ann and I are related through.
So if you are reading this SA, my childhood friend's Hubs is related to us both.  8-))

The hours passed quickly with some more drinks and chatter and it was time to hit the bed all too quickly.

I did remember to take a shot or two with Marsha on her back porch before we left the next morning.....

Then we packed ourselves back into the car for what was going to be a very long day of driving with a couple of stops along the way.

We waved goodbye to Marsha.....

And we were off again!
Another day another adventure......

Sluggy

Christmas 2013 Budget/Spending Autopsy

Ok, so calling this an Autopsy is not very festive or cheerful.
So call it "The Post Where I Talk About What I Was Going to Spend for Christmas and What I Actually Spent for Christmas".
Whatever works for you.....

I budgeted $1650 for Christmas spending.  Except for what Hubs spends on gifts for me, this is our entire spending budget for Christmas.

$1650 in money we HAD already, so no putting Christmas spending on Credit Cards(no running a balance I mean)to pay off sometime in 2014, or 2015, or 2016.......

Here is where the funds were allocated at the start.....

Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $20.00
Gifts for immediate family(includes any cash gifts)  $600.00

Gifts for extended family & friends  $100.00
Secret Santa Gift   $35.00

Electricity for lights   $5.00

A Christmas eve meal and show or movie   $80.00
Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)   $800.00

Extra  $10 (the "just in case" cushion)

And here is where the money actually went.....


Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $37.05  Over by $17.05

Gifts for immediate family  $1041.07  Over

Gifts for extended family & friends  $105.00  Over by $5

Secret Santa Gift  $21.98  Under

Electricity for lights  $5  Even

A Christmas eve meal and show or movie  $76.15  Under
Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)  $878.52   Over by $78.52
TOTAL SPENT...$2164.77  Over by $514.77

Here are the Spending Details....

$37.05  *Shipping/Mailing Holiday Cards & Gifts----
We sent out 25 cards and 3 gifts.  I got free photos to enclose in the cards.  Stamps cost $11.00 and the cards I had already from previous Christmases.  1 package mailed to Daughter, 2 boxes sent to friends cost $26.05 in postage.
We saved some postage this year, because I gave my brother and his wife their gifts when we saw them in person at the family reunion.  But I still didn't budget enough for shipping costs this year.

$1041.07  *Gifts for family----
Last year I spent $698.82 on gifts for family.  In 2012, this included $300 in cash and $398.82 in gifts.  This year I didn't give out any cash(unless you call gift cards cash)so I combined last year's gifting & cash for purposes of comparison to what I spent this year on gifts.  
I way over spent on this category by $342.25 from what I budgeted for.

I usually cash in points on my credit card for gift cards and gifts, but I didn't this year except for 1 gift.    I did shop sales, both in store and online.  In years past I've been known to start buying for Christmas if I find a deal, at any point in the year.  This year, I bought some booze in August for #1 Son's & his GF's gifts and some clothes on clearance in September online for Hubs and both Sons.  # 2 son's big gift was on sale but not as cheap as I would have wanted to get it for. 
I do cheat and buy things the kids need rather than want(like clothing)on sale and wait until Christmas to give it to them, so it's considered part of their Christmas loot. ;-)
But I just overspent on gifts this year and I own that. 8-(  Not thrilled with myself but we won't go hungry or get our lights shut off because of it so I am not going to stew over this.
 

$105  *Gifts for extended family---

Locally we give something to the nephew(a gift card and a jarred candle this year)and a food/toiletries box to his father/brother in-law.  I get deals on the food and always put a bag of Dunkin Donuts coffee that I buy at the Holidays on sale in his box.  I give my sister in-law homemade pepper relish(using my time and skill over spending a lot of money to purchase something ready made)and my brother got bottles of wine purchased on vacation, types of wine he can't get(regional)or deals on brands I find.

 

$21.98  *Secret Santa Gift----
I had Hubs' name this year.  He wanted books and gave a list with specific titles.  A quick trip to Amazon and that was done and I kept on budget for this.


$5  *Electricity for Lights----
Same stuff hung outside the house, same lights on the tree inside.  Hubs got the lights and tree lights up late this year so they didn't get turned on much, so we didn't give PP&L Electric much of a Christmas present. lol


$76.15  *A Christmas eve meal and show or movie----
We had our immediate family(only 3 that were here for Christmas this year)and took brother in-law and the nephew for dinner as well.  We took #1 Son and his GF out when we went to Pittsburgh but that is included under Travel expenses.

$878.52  * Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)----Gas was about $111.36, Lodging was $285(including 2 breakfasts we ate at the motel) and Meals out were $275.08(including generous tips-Hey! it's Christmas!!). #1 Son paid for 1 meal out plus a snack out and he cooked us dinner one evening, so our meal costs could have been higher.  We had .68¢ miscellaneous spending(don't ask! lol)and then we spent $206.40 on liquor.
Oh, yes we did! :-O
If we had stayed stone cold sober for the whole trip, we would have come in under budget for this category.  But who wants to spend a whole four days in Pittsburgh sober?  ;-)

Last year my Christmas budget was $1000.00 and I spent $1020.48.
This year I budgeted $1650.00(due to a vacation during the Holidays)but we spent $2164.77, $514.77 more than my budget.
I will have to pull from available cash in the checking account in January to cover the overage.

 If Hubs and I hadn't bought so much booze on our trip out to Pittsburgh, we would only have been about $300 over for Christmas.  But then again, 90% of that money spent on drinks was not "drinks out" but buying in bulk at the stores to drink at #1 Son's or in our room and 90% of that 90% was brought home with us to consume over the coming months.

All totaled the only category I am not happy with myself about is the gift spending on the immediate family.  Last year I had vowed to bring that one down since two of the "kids" are now 21 or older.
Big.
Fat.
Fail.

Oh well......Christmas 2014 we try, try again and hope to do better.

If you kept track of your spending for Christmas, how did you do?
Did you spend more. less or right about what you planned on spending?
Did you have any money epiphanies(epiphany? epiphani?)when you look back at the Holiday plan?
Do you see anything you'll change about your spending for Christmas 2014?

Leave a comment and let us know how you did and what you learned about yourself & money this year!

Sluggy