Tuesday, May 6, 2014

This Week on the Dining Table


The "Well THAT Was Easy, Let's Eat Leftovers!" Edition.......

 
 
I saw this apron on vacation in World Market.  That's a fun store to poke around in so why don't they have any of them here?
Oh right.....where I live isn't fun....lol

Here is what was planned last week--

Sunday--Burger on fresh rolls w/tomato, Potato Salad
Monday--Meatloaf, Green Beans(freezer), Rutabaga
Tuesday--Salmon(freezer), Carrots, Coleslaw(make my own)
Wednesday--Lasagna, Salad
Thursday--Fajitas
Friday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sauted Cabbage, leftover Potato Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

And here is what got cooked last week---

Sunday--Burger on fresh rolls w/tomato, Potato Salad
Monday--Meatloaf, Green Beans(freezer)
Tuesday--Lasagna, Salad
Wednesday--Leftovers
Thursday--Salmon(freezer), Rutabaga, Coleslaw(make my own)
Friday--Fajitas(chicken in freezer)
Saturday--Leftovers

Meals got moved around to different days and the Pork Chops didn't happen so that gets moved to this week.
 
As for the food spending update.....I spent a total of $89.54 on $145.28 reg. retail on groceries last week at Weis(PMITA)Markets.  Saved 38% over regular retail in all. This was my first food spending for May.  April's food spending topped out at $470.57 if you are interested.   8-(
 
 
Going into the new week, here are the leftovers we have......3 servings of lasagna(and I even made a SMALL pan this time!), some meatloaf and some fajita fixings.
 
Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Leftovers
Monday--Bratwursts on rolls, baked beans, leftover potato salad
Tuesday--leftover Fajitas
Wednesday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sauted Cabbage, fried apples
Thursday--Leftover Lasagna, Green Beans
Friday--Tacos
Saturday--Leftovers or Fish
 
For snacks there are assorted baked goods(Danish, donuts, muffins, bagels)from #2 Son's job and fruit.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......since most of it's leftover foods from last week, not much.
I've got some long in the tooth apples to use up so I'll make fried apples to go with the pork.
I need some fresh fruit so I'll probably pick up a watermelon and strawberries(my favorites since nobody else around here eats much fruit).
If we finish up ALL the leftovers by Saturday I have battered fish and frozen veggies I can pull out of the freezer instead.

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

Sluggy

Monday, May 5, 2014

What's New at Chez Sluggy?

Just some Random Stuff going on around here......

*  I just added up the credit card expensed from our road trip to Louisiana and I am not happy.
$2985.58 on the card.
Bleh.
Between that and having just finished our Net Worth Statement for MAY I am not a happy camper right now.  Retirement Funds were up only $4,500 from March(last month these were up $11,500) and the cash funds were down $2,100....plus now a big chunk of our liquid money is tied up in a Personal Loan to our daughter.
I am feeling rather poorer right now.

*  After almost 2 months of looking for a new part time job, #2 Son found one!
Guess where he is working?



If you guessed the new local bakery that opened up recently in  teeny tiny town, you are correct!

#2 Son had quit his demanding restaurant kitchen job back in February.  Not only was it a hostile work environment but he was working basically fulltime hours around his school and activities schedule and since he was a kid they were not paying him commensurate with his duties and work.
And he had college auditions coming up to prepare for so he gave his notice in late January.

I figured at this point in the year no one around here would hire him when they found out he'd be leaving to go away to college in August.
why spent the time and energy(not to mention the money!)to train someone who will leave in less than 4 months.

But someone DID hire him!
And he is loving the people and the work.  And it seems they are loving him since they have him working the doughnut filling station and the register and have put him on the schedule for weekend mornings(their busy times).

While he is enjoying a better work environment I am not enjoying that he bring bags, BAGS I SAY!, of pastries, doughnuts and bread home every day he works til closing time.
I guess the 50% off rack at Weis and the Bread Outlet will see a lot less(if not any)of my money any longer.

All I can say about the photo above is......Must Resist Eating This!......
8-)

And the restaurant where he was taken advantage of?
Here's what happened to it March 17th......

 


If you knew what went on in that kitchen, you'd never have wanted to eat there again......I'm just sayin'......

*  Wednesday night was a last for us.
The last High School Band/Chorus Concert we ever need to attend(outside of any for grandchildren, some day).
And I am OVERJOYED!
Not that I don't love going to see my kids perform.....but I am so sick and tired of the ignorant, uncivilized behavior of the audience members.
Ok, the fellow students and siblings of the kids performing I can understand--they are young and haven't learned you don't get up in the middle of a concert while a number is being performed to walk the aisles, you don't talk through the entire number and you don't play on your PHONE during it!

But what GETS ME are the PARENTS of these kids who do all this!!!  When their kid is not performing, they chat, bring coffees into the auditorium and slurp it, text on their phones and I have to listen to phone sounds and they get up during numbers and go back and forth to their seats.
Its. Maddening!!!

I thought for sure Hubs was going to get into a knife fight Wednesday when he turned around and yelled at the assholes sitting behind us.
Gawd, these people here are so ignorant....but I am sure it's in all parts of the country.

The teachers use to tell the audience(parents)not to leave after their student performs....this was common a few years ago, as a kid finished their bit, they and their parents and friends would leave and by the time the Jazz Band(which was always last to perform)went on, the only folks in the audience were family and friends of those performers.

I sure wish these asshole parents would go back to leaving after their kids were done.  At least the rest of us behaved audience members would get to ENJOY the last few numbers of the evening. 8-(

I got #2 Son's last high school band performances on film, albeit shaky film. lol

*  On the medical front.......

I received a package in the mail earlier this week with a small plastic piece, a prepaid padded envelope and instructions on how to remove the modem from my Bi-PAP machine from my current DME supplier.
Ok.....

The only problem is, they picked up the Bi-PAP April 10th, as I returned it to them since I have one already. And the modem was attached to aforementioned Bi-PAP that no longer lives here.
So what exactly do they want me to return?!? lolz

So I had to call them and tell them all this, at which point the CS agent made a "note" in my file.
A rep from the DME company called me back and said to just pitch the small plastic piece(it's a cover to plug up the hole in the Bi-PAP(that isn't here)and ignore the instructions.
Well yah......nothing here to return so darn right I'm ignoring the instructions.

Then I called the Dr. in Pittsburgh that is billing my son for 2 visits and tests he had done the end of December.
His work-sponsored insurance didn't kick in until Jan. 1st of this year so he had no medical insurance last December, as he was no longer on our family plan.

I called them to get some kind of "uninsured patient" discount on these bills since it has to be covered totally out of pocket and my son has limited funds and can't really afford this now.

Well the DICKHEADS at Premier Medical Associates PC out of Pittsburgh PA "don't do that" I was told twice before I hung up on them.
If you have financial hardship you have to apply to Medicaid and send them a copy of the determination that Medicaid sends you back on your case.
Hey, I don't want to get the government involved in this, I just want to help my kid pay his bill.

Oh, they will set up a payment plan for you....for the full amount.
I have always asked for and gotten a discount for paying cash when I had work done that wasn't covered by our insurance.

I ask, is it fair that folks with medical insurance get a discount(as the medical suppliers give the insurance companies a discounted rate for services, which it turn means the insured pay less)and those without coverage pay the full freight?!
I think not.

The woman on the phone was NOT helpful in the least and I told her, "I guess you people don't want to get paid, do you?", to which she had no reply.

I think I will send them $5 a month until it's paid off.  Better yet, maybe I'll send it in cash....$5 worth of pennies via Priority mail each month.
I know that will cost me far more than he owes but did I mention that Premier Medical Associates PC are DICKHEADS yet?!?

Oh you DO NOT want to get on a post-menopausal women's bad side.......

*  I spent a good part of the weekend reorganizing my fabric hoarded stash inventory. I pulled some things to donate since they don't seem to be "salesworthy" and started getting ALL of it listed or relisted on Etsy(except for the Fall/Winter fabrics). 
If you are in need of nice vintage fabrics for your sewing needs, be sure and stop by my store on Etsy "Slugmama's".  There is a link on the right sidebar.

And I STILL don't get this "favoriting" thing they have over on that site.
I really don't CARE if you "Like" one of my fabrics.
I just care if you BUY the blasted stuff! lolz
WTF?!.....shaking my head......

Not quite done but I do have 104 listings on Etsy up as of right now.

*  I have a wild hair up my ass about my kitchen lately.
I have always detested it.....hated the layout(so bad!).....hated the cabinets(cheap and so boring).....hated the tile backsplash color(so dated).
I got rid of the duck wallpaper(ewww!)years ago and painted the walls.  I am tired of those walls now too.  I also replaced the sink, countertops, even the cabinet hardware and the appliances over time.
The only thing we haven't replaced is the backsplash and the cabinets.

I can repaint the walls but that still doesn't fix the layout and the old fake oak cabinets.
I am thinking drastic measures need to be taken.

We are moving and selling this house in approx. 4 years.  We will NOT get top dollar with this kitchen.
So I am considering a major gut of the kitchen.
Remove Everything, change the layout and start from scratch.
Maybe keep the floor because that is tile(which we also had redone)and the only thing I like in this kitchen.
Redo and update the kitchen soon so I at least get a new kitchen for a few years before we move and sell this place seems like a good thing to do rather than wait 3 years and just redo it all to sell.

What do y'all think about this idea?
And if anyone has remodeled their kitchen, tell me how much it cost in the end please.
I am scared of getting started with this and getting carried away and spending way more than I feel comfortable with.  8-0


*  Now that the Band Concert and the Prom are over with for this year, we are down to 3 more Events and we can put High School in our rearview mirror forever!
We have the French National Honor Society in 2 weeks, Class/Awards Night early June and Graduation on June 13th(yes Friday the 13th LOL).
Then I get my "survived High School" parenting badge and we just have 1 more to get through College and our days of Active Parenting are DONE!
Woohoo!
And then it's on to the next phase of life here at Chez Sluggy.......

Sluggy


 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

The Car Gods are Angry Again

The Car Woes of 2014 continues here at Chez Sluggy.



When we got my minivan inspected in March the auto shop said we needed body work done(a rust/corrosion issue underbody)sooner rather than later.
Said issue would definitely fail our annual inspection next year and take the minivan off the road.

So we bit the bullet and took the car up to our "Auto Body Shop Guy" on Friday.
The news is bad and badder.

IF once he gets it up on the lift and can bang around under there AND he only has to patch the ends of whatever he is repairing, it's going to run $1500.
IF once he gets it up on the lift and can bang around under there and AND the "whatever" can't be patched and the middle has to be replaced, it's going to run $3000.

bleh.

I would have no problem sinking that kind of money into the van since it only has 98K miles on it and it's a 2003.
But it's a 2003 and only worth about $3500 anyway.
Can I justify putting $3K into a car only worth $3500 after it's fixed?
*sigh*

So we have 1 car that needs potentially $3K in repairs, 1 car that has major issues to repair(but keeping the oil and transmission fluids checked and capped is working to keep it on the road w/out sinking the $3K it needs to fix those issues)we have to address eventually and 1 car that is aok right now and needs no work.
The only car without issues is the one #2 Son drives.......our kid has a better car than both his parents at this point. lolz

Once #2 Son goes away to college, we were going to get rid of a car....not the one he drives.
Hubs was going to get rid of his "leaking too expensive to repair mess of a car" vehicle and take over the third car. 
But now my van is on the table for discussion too.....so do we ditch the van instead, since Hubs car is drivable for the foreseeable future with the tweaking he does on it?
Or do we ditch 2 cars come August and become a 1 car family?

I don't need a car except for errands-going to the grocery store, gas station, bank and post office.  I don't commute to a job.  All these can be done when he gets home in the evening and/or on weekends.  It becomes a little inconvenient with the bank and PO, but still doable.
The problem would arise if I had a medical appointment or emergency.

So what would you do in this situation?

I hate these blasted machines' associated costs!

Sluggy


 

Friday, May 2, 2014

Rite-Aid Update

Here is what I bought at Rite-Aid since we went away on vacation April 12th.....


Yes, I went to Rite-Aid while on vacation.
This was bought the morning we left Fairhope Alabama.
I had 2 Coupons expiring that day I wanted to use with 2 AdPerk Rite-Aid Qs and a rain check I had and I KNOW once we got on the road Hubs wouldn't want to stop for me to do this transaction. lolz

After Qs and rain check these large bottles of dish soap cost me .50 each.
The baby food was free after rain check(there had been a +Ups Reward Deal for them).
In total with Alabama sales tax on the dish soap, I paid $1.09 for everything pictured.


Then last Saturday, before my $3 +Ups expired I did this.....




2 x select cookies on sale 2/$3=$3.00
I used my $3 +Ups to pay so $0.00 out of pocket.
And I received $1 +Up Rewards for buying these cookies.

Nice.

I spent a total of $3.46 on $102.42 worth of food/toiletries at Rite-Aid in April.

I'll be laying off Rite-Aid(once I spend that $1 +Ups)for the next few months.  Heading into Summer we are good on the stockpile of most toiletries for now.

Sluggy

I Need Your Help

Hey I don't ask for favors often but could everybody, do me a favor please?

My son's band, Docile Sponge, is trying to win a chance to play at a local music fest this Summer called JAM AT THE DAM.

Could you go to the website, http://www.thejamatthedam.com/ and scroll down to the voting for Week 6 and vote for Docile Sponge.

You can vote once per email/computer.
The band just found out  about this opportunity and REALLY want it.

Voting ends May 7th I think.
Much appreciated!

Sluggy