This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Getting Too Hot to Run the Oven" Edition-- 

This past week was muggy and humid so running the oven was not an option most days.  It's about time to drag out the crockpot again,, fire up the outdoor grill and/or revert to cold dishes.

 

Onward to the meal planning!

 

Here's what was planned last week.......

 

1. Sunday--Garlic Ginger Shrimp Stir-fry, Rice
2. Monday--Lasagna w/Meat Sauce, Tossed Salad
3. Tuesday--Sausage Sandwiches, Brussels Sprouts
4. Wednesday--Tacos or Taco Salad
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Smoked Brisket Sandwiches(cooked brisket in freezer), Cole Slaw, Green Beans
7. Saturday--Leftovers

 

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Garlic Ginger Shrimp Stir-fry, Rice
2. Monday--Lasagna w/Meat Sauce, Tossed Salad
3. Tuesday--Sausage Sandwiches, Brussels Sprouts
4. Wednesday--Tacos or Taco Salad
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Chicken Green Chiles Enchiladas
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Everything as planned except no brisket sammies on Friday.  I had all that cooked/grilled chicken breast to use up.  I made chicken salad for a couple of lunches for myself and then got tired of it so I decided to make enchiladas with the rest.
These are a "production" to make since I make my sauce from scratch with dried chiles but the chicken was already cooked so I just spent a chunk of Friday cranking this dish out.  I made 2 pans(6 large enchiladas).  Hubs ate 1.5 and I had a half of one, leaving a pan of 4 enchiladas as leftovers.

College Boy comes home from work Friday night with his buddy(who slept over)and they ate 3 of those 4 enchiladas at 2am.(The next night they finished off the remaining enchilada, some of my pan of leftover lasagna, 3/4 of a hunk of garlic bread I bought 50%off at Weis on Friday, 2-3 grilled cheese sammiches and 2 cans of tomato soup.)  Supposedly the restaurant where they work feeds them each shift but I have my doubts.  lolz

So much for NOT upping my grocery budget while CB is home!

Luckily I kept some of that chicken and threw it into the freezer and there is leftover enchilada sauce so I can make a few more enchiladas this week as that pan of them the boys ate was a "planned-over".

As for my grocery spending last week....ouch!
I spent $181.09 on $338.61 of reg. retail food-2 trips to Weis, 1 each to Dollar Tree, Sam's Club, Shursave grocer and Kmart. There was also 1 trip to Rite-Aid for toiletries.  46.52% savings rate on what I bought or 49.86% savings rate including the Rite-Aid goodies.
I also earned a $5 gift card at Weis for doing the Nabisco/Coke deal(and CB has cookies and cokes to last a couple of weeks).
The food spending is already up to $366.96 for June and we are only halfway in the month!

I only plan on hitting my 2 local stores(once each this wee)for oss leaders and maybe a trip to Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!)later in the week as I have a discount card that expires on Sunday.

Hopefully I can restrain myself enough to not see the backside of $500 food spending this month since July won't be pretty either. 
Oldest will be coming home next month so we can trip to NC but he'll be hanging out here a goodly portion of the month otherwise before he begins his new job down South.....and that means more mouths to feed.
But in true Scarlett O'Hara fashion I'll just think about that tomorrow. ;-)

Leftovers going into this week--2 sausage sammies patties, lasagna, maybe some taco meat.
 

Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--Steak(bought last week), Green Beans, Grilled Pineapple
2. Monday--Hot Dogs(freezer) on rolls, Beans
3. Tuesday--Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Leftovers or Pizza or Pork Chops(freezer) or ?
5. Thursday--Flounder(freezer), Cole Slaw, Veg TBD
6. Friday--Smoked Brisket(freezer) on rolls, Cole Slaw, Green Beans or l/o Baked Beans
7. Saturday--Chicken Enchiladas

What I need to buy for this menu?.....cabbage for Cole slaw, pizza.

This coming week should be a light shopping one. 
The deals I plan on doing this week.....Weis-bagged Perdue chicken 40% off, maybe a couple of DiGiorno pizzas(on sale and I have a Q)for CB and some G2 Gatorades for me, Shursave grocery-cheese deal but I have a $10 store scrip to use so little cash OOP there.
$40 spending planned not included any deals I find at Ollie's.
 

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

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy

Changes in Sluggy's World

First Hubs is having an unexpected health issue.  Could be bad, could be just a little annoyance.  We should know more in a week or so.  Keep good thoughts out there for him if you will.

The best news is that oldest son got a teaching job.....after two years of looking!
They may say that you don't have to pay someone off and/or have a relative or political pull to get a teaching job in PA but don't believe it for a minute!  They may say there is no corruption and graft in the public schools in PA but we know better. 8-(

Anyway he will be a brand new high school social studies teacher come this August in North Carolina.  This has been his goal for years and it's finally going to happen and I am thrilled for him.

The best part is he'll only be an hour away from where the family reunion is held each September so he can go with us this year! 8-)

He will be coming home next month so I can go with him down to NC to apartment hunt since his girlfriend is still finishing up with school in Pittsburgh.  Please wish us luck with the housing search too.

We are wedging this excursion in between my cataract surgery on the 8th and one of my follow-up appointments on the 16th.  It will be tight but doable but depending on how this eye heals up he may have to do the bulk of the driving.

Then the end of July Hubs and/or I will be involved with helping them move down to NC.  The South in late July....meh...not my favorite thing but as long as I have a/c I can deal. lolz

I am happy to help my kid anyway I can but this means any plans for a Summer road trip for me the last half of July is out for this year. 8-(
August means getting College Boy ready and off back to school  the 2nd weekend that month as he has to go back a week early due to Marching Band.

Then late August we can take a deep breath and exhale......

There were tentative plans for a quick trip to Maine late August too before all this "life" happened which probably won't happen now either.

The Reunion is end of September and then we go to OC in mid October.....OC may happen or may not at this point too.

Then we get into the Fall and Christmas and how knows what will happen by then.
Perhaps a trip South for Christmas or Thanksgiving?  I know that would thrill my sister in-law if we could spend the Holidays with them. (Oldest will only be 2.5 hours from them too once in NC.)   ;-)

Oh well.....life happens and things change.....constantly!

I'm just going to take things as they come for the rest of the year.  That way I won't be disappointed if things  don't work out how I have things planned in my head.

2015 is turning into the "Year of Flux" here at Chez Sluggy.
And I am keeping an open mind about it all.

So that's the news here.
What's going on in your world?
Any big changes or life events or just the "same old, same old" in your life?

Sluggy

Ask the Sluggy

                   image from HERE


I've basically got nothing to post today.
We've got a few outdoor chores to take care of this weekend, as long as the rain holds off, plus I really need to do some photo and video editing/uploading this week from our trip.

Speaking of photos/videos I just realized this week while trying to clean out/up my computer files that I never finished editing photos from either of our last 2 trips to Ocean City MD, one in 2013 and one in 2014.  In addition I never blogged about those trips!

*Sluggy shakes her head in disbelief. *

Between chores, I'll be working on photos, videos and trying to write up posts on those 2 min-vacations....because I know y'all are just aching to hear about a 2 year old trip, right?  lolz

So for a post for today, how about I open up the comments and entertain questions from my readers?
Sounds like a plan!

If there is anything you ever wanted to ask me about anything at all about me, my life, my money, etc. or have a question about frugality, personal finance, etc. or about life in general I'll attempt to elucidate(see how I threw in that $20 word?) any and all seekers.

And don't be surprised if I ask you a question right back.......I am sneaky that way.  ;-)

Sluggy
 

More Provisions Shopping

I went down the mountain to take advantage of that KMart Pharmacy Coupon/Rx Transfer I got in the mail in May.

I had to wait until I had 2 prescriptions needing refills at the same time so I took them in and had them transferred from Rite-Aid.
An hour later I had my pills(and saved .90¢ total over having them filled at Kmart instead of Rite-Aid!)and this......

A Kmart "Award" Card with $60 on it.

Get free $$ AND save .90¢ on my drugs for a little bit of my time?
Yes please!

I had bought College Boy 4 pair of Levi's branded jeans at the Kmart in LA on our trip.  CB loves him some Levis but I only buy them when I can get a deal.  The Shreveport KMart had Levi Signature jeans on clearance for $15.99 and $16.99.
I got a waist size I thought he could wear only to haul them home to PA and find out they were too big.
Ugh!

So I returned them to my Kmart while I was there anyway and got those charges taken off our c/c.

After putting in my rxs to transfer/fill I wandered around the store and found the exact same pants in a smaller waist size that would work for CB for $10.99.  2 pair of them.
Score!

Then I saw they had that special Baja Blast Mountain Dew CB lurvs for $3 a 12-pack so I picked him some up.  A clearance box of Cheese Nips got thrown in the cart too for him...imagine that! lol

And I forgot to use the $60 Kmart card to pay for it all at the register......
Ugh. Ugh.

I also had $7 in surprise points on my Kmart SYW card so it all came to $22.95 instead of $29.95.
Not bad.

While waiting for the rxs to be filled I went next door to Dollar Tree and picked up a few things....

I picked up 3 bags of cinnamon Jolly Rancher candies....it's my favorite snack for a sweet tooth craving.
Also got 3 potsticker dumplings as they restocked, a box of lasagna noodles, a box of vegetable stock(trying this brand), 2 refill bags of hand soap, a tube of Udderly Smooth hand cream for CB(he's washing dishes at work), 1 2-pack of corn dogs(used a coupon so was .45¢) and a box of Swanson "Cream Starter"....it's stock with dairy in it for cream type soups.
$13.69 OOP.

And I splurged on myself(besides the hard candies)and got a book.....

I am nearly finished with my Stonewall Jackson book so I need something light to read.  This looked fun and was the only thing I considered in the book section at the DT.  DT use to have a good book selection....now? not so much.  I know I could have gone to the library and possibly checked this out for free but I didn't....sue me. ;-)

Some women splurge and buy themselves name brand clothing, or day spa treatments or trips to Europe.
I have much simpler needs so a $1 book takes care of that "itch" for me.
Maybe that's why we almost have enough saved to retire?...because my needs are simpler than many others.  Or is it just plain luck?  It certainly isn't due to buying lottery tickets and hitting the jackpot. lolz

I also hit Sam's Club this week for cheap Hydrogen Peroxide(much cheaper than using those Oxi products in the laundry), fresh fruit, lunchmeat for Hubs, pecans(cheapest price around), cashews(ditto), sinus meds(a year+ supply for what I use to pay for 1 monthly rx fill), chili, special taco shells and French fried onions for CB.

And there was a quick trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets on the way home for a couple of deals.
The video about that is HERE.

 Next week I am staying out of the grocery stores mostly as the shelves here are overflowing with goodies.

Did you find anything good to buy at the grocery/drug/discount/dollar/warehouse club stores this week?

Sluggy

Throwback Thursday.......4 Generations of Women

It's Throwback Thursday and this entry is taking on a genealogical bent.

If you remember I posted this photo of 4 generations of the women in my mother's family awhile back.....

That post is located HERE.
This photo is of the latest generations of my mother's mother's mother's family.

I recently found another old photo in one of my mother's old scrapbooks(or could it have been my grandmother's?)of another 4 generations of women in my mother's family that goes back another generation, to my 2x Great Grandmother!
It's not dated but I know it was taken in either late 1934 or early 1935.

My mother was born in August of 1934 and she is the baby in the photo......

From left to right are my mother, Carole Harper Bowman, aged under 1 year,  my mother's mom/my grandmother Lillian Vassar Harper, aged 20, her mother/my great grandmother, Lucy Baker Vassar, aged 46, and her mother/my 2x great grandmother, Luretta "Lou" Foster Baker, aged 76.

The 4 previous-to-me generations of my midtrochondrial DNA are in that photo.

Before you cast asperions upon Lucy and her sagging bosom be aware that she gave birth 12 times(and no doubt, being a country gal, breastfed every single one)plus at the time of this photo she had just given birth to number 12, my great Uncle Barry....or was about to give birth.  Barry was mom's youngest uncle,  yet mom was 3+ months older than her uncle. 8-)

I only have one other photo of "Lou" my great great grandmother and it was taken in an earlier year than this one and she is in that photo with her daughter, my great grandmother, Lucy, along with some of Lucy's children(including my grandmother Lil).

Lou Foster Baker is the one standing in front of the tree and her daughter(my great grandmother)Lucy Baker Vassar is standing to the right in the photo.  My grandmother Lillian is in front holding a baby, between the smaller girl holding a baby and sticking out her tongue and the boy leaning over.
I suspect this photo was taken a few years earlier than the other one, perhaps the late 1920's. or 1930's before 1932.

If only I could bring Lou back for a day to find out what her life was like and the stories she would tell.
I look at the paper trail on Lou and I see a woman who survived a hard life.

She was born in circa 1858, the oldest child of Wesley Baxter Foster and his first wife, Susan Elizabeth "Fannie" Redmond.  
If you read the paper trail of official records there is no clear record of Lou's actual name.
I found it as Luretta L., Lou, Lora, Lue L., Lou L. and Lou E. in census records.  No birth record has surfaced to date so we just have her birth date as what was given to the census taker.

The War of Northern Aggression began when she was 3 years old so she lived through that period of deprivation in the South until the age of 7.  Lou had a younger sister, Lillian Belle, born in Feb. 1861.

Here's a picture of Lou's father, Wesley.....

I don't have a photo of her mother Susan Redmond Foster unfortunately.

Her father, Wesley, fought in the war, so his wife Susan and their 2 children were without their source of income for a number of years while the war dragged on.   I don't know how long Wesley was gone but there is a gap in children from 1862 to 1867 so it's possible he was gone for most of the war.
He served in the 56th Virginia regiment which organized in September of 1861.

After surviving the war and the return of Wesley to the family, he went back to farming and the family grew to include 3 more children; Henry, Estelle and Flora.

Then Lou's mother Susan died in 1873, when Lou was 15 years old.  Her father was 36 years old and the children ranged from 15 to 4 years old.

Lou's father remarried in 1875 to Martha Harris(a woman 10 years his junior)so Lou had a stepmother at the age of 17.

I can find no record of any children from this union of Wesley and Martha and though a death certificate alludes me so far, Martha is probably deceased by 1878, since Wesley Foster married again that year to Alice Katherine Baker(a woman 19 years his junior).  Lou is 20 years old when this third marriage takes place. 

Alice and Wesley went on to have 8 additional children before Alice's death in 1919.  Wesley predeceased Alice by 2 years, dying in 1917.

Alice Baker was the younger sister of the man Lou Foster would marry later in life, Patrick Henry Baker.   Alice and Patrick's father was Richard W. Baker.  This means Alice was Lou's 2nd stepmother and later her sister in-law.

Alice is my second great grand aunt, being the child of my 3x Great Grandfather,  Richard Baker, thus my tree again turns into a macramé project. lolz

But I digress......

By the 1880 federal census Lou is 21 years old, married to Patrick Henry Baker and has a 6 month old infant named Richard Baxter Baker.  They are living with Patrick's parents,  Richard W. and Sallie Hamilton Baker.   According to the 1900 Census they were married in 1878.

Coincidence that Lou married Patrick the same year her father married a 3rd wife, Patrick's younger sister?  I think not.  New wives don't like having previous wives children around especially if they are old enough to marry off.  Lou was only 2 years younger than her father's new wife Alice at the time of that marriage.

Lou and Patrick Henry Baker went on to have 8 more children besides Richard Baxter(called Baxter)Baker between 1882 and 1899.  Patrick, who spent his life farming in Charlotte County Virginia, died in 1930 at the age of 83 and Lou lived another 11 years in widowhood with their oldest son, Richard Baxter(who never married),until her death in 1941.

Lou died when my mother was around 7 years old.  I don't ever remember mom talking about her great grandmother Lou.  Mom and her parents moved away from Charlotte County in about 1939-1940 so she may not have had any memories of Lou, being so young when they left the county/when Lou died.

It's nice to have this treasured photo though.  And nice to be able to patch together an ancestor's story.

Sluggy