This Week on the Dining Table

The "Buried No More" Edition--

Before 11 days ago.......

After this morning........

What a difference a week+ makes.  Yesterday Hubs and I went out to run errands and it was 56 degrees when we got home.  The day before on Saturday it hit 63F, 1 degree short of the record for that date.
It's suppose to "dip" into the 40s this week and hit into the 50's again next weekend.  This a big time CRAZY hot for February here!!  We'll all be sick by March I suspect.

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Breakfast for Dinner

2. Monday--Kielbasa on Rolls, leftover Halushki

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Asparagus, Rice of some kind

4. Wednesday--Leftover Mushroom/Rice Soup or Chicken & Dumplings

5. Thursday--Shrimp Scampi w/Linguine, Caesar Salad *

6. Friday--Spinach Salad, Pork Tenderloin

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Breakfast for Dinner

2. Monday--Kielbasa on Rolls, leftover Halushki

3. Tuesday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

4. Wednesday--Dinner Out for VD

5. Thursday--Steak, Baked Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus

6. Friday--Pizza

7. Saturday--Leftover Chicken N' Dumplings

Some things got served as planned, some things didn't happen or didn't get bought(like fresh spinach for Spinach Salad).

6 meals cooked at home, 2 of them a night of leftovers or Fend For Yourself, and 1 night of eating-out.

As for the grocery spending.....1 trip to Weis brought the food spending last week to $28.68 and brought my February food spending total to $221.31 for the month.  There are 8 days left in the month.
I will most likely stay under $300 for groceries in February.

My savings percentages last week was 62%.  

Leftovers going into this week.......Mushroom soup, Chicken and Dumplings.  Not much in the way of leftovers and these will probably get used up for lunches.

The Shrimp Scampi w/Linguine & Pork Tenderloin moves to this week.

Here is this week's "food plan"....
* Denotes "complicated" meals

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin Roast, Mixed Veggies, Corn Casserole

2. Monday--Shrimp Scampi w/Linquine, Salad *

3. Tuesday--Burgers or Sloppy Joes on Rolls, Macaroni Salad, Broccoli

4. Wednesday--Salmon, Cole Slaw, Squash

5. Thursday--Cheese Lasagna, Caesar Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftovers or Cheese Ravioli w/Salad if no leftovers

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating-Out and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu?  Maybe some mac salad(if I don't make it myself) and milk.  I've got everything else already in the house.

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 last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy

I Finally Found One!

I have known since I was a small child that my maternal side, my mother's families, have deep roots in Virginian soil.
At least the last 5 generations had been born and raised in Virginia.  That was a fact passed down orally in the family.

Seems nobody in my mother's families nor her cousins had the genealogy bug.  Sure, there were "stories" that got passed down but nobody had any proof of anything, nor seemed interested in proving the stories were fact.

But little did I know beyond those generations how deep my maternal family trees had been planted in American soil until I began this genealogy quest in earnest.

I quickly was able to dive back into history 200 hundred+ years.
Progress slowed once I got back into the 18th century however.

By year three of digging I had compiled a list of my immigrant ancestral lines that all arrived in the 17th century(pre-1700).  Jamestown was founded in 1607 so all these ancestors arrived within the first 100 years of the English occupation of the New World.

These are my earliest ancestor lines in my direct descent for each surname with the date of, or at least an approximation if records haven't pinpointed, their entry year to America.

Now these are only those ancestral surnames that arrived in Virginia.  I do have some other early arrivals(pre-1700) in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts too. I also have a handful of 18th century arrivals too.


ALLEN-1635 to Virginia Colony
ASTON-1628 to Jamestown/Virginia Colony *
BANNISTER-1635 to Jamestown
BATHURST-1680 to Virginia Colony
BOWMAN-1666 to Virginia Colony
BURTON-1624 to Jamestown
CHAPPELL-1635 to Jamestown
CLEIBORNE-1635 to Virginia Colony
CRIPPS-1664 to Virginia colony
DICKSON/DIXON-bef. 1688 to Virginia Colony
DUDLEY-1637 to Virginia Colony
DUKE-1638 to Virginia Colony
FLIPPEN-bef. 1699 to Virginia
FOSTER-bef. 1675 to Virginia Colony
FOSTER or FORESTER-1648 to Virginia Colony
GARNETT-1610 to Jamestown *
GAYNEY-1622 to Jamestown/Virginia Colony
GREVILLE-1620 to Jamestown *
HARRISON-1632 to Jamestown/Virginia Colony *
HAYES-1637 to Jamestown
HOLLOWAY-bef. 1635 to Jamestown
HOSKINS-1624 to Jamestown *
HUDSON-1635 to Jamestown
HUNT-1635 to Jamestown/Virginia Colony
MASON-1613 to Jamestown/Virginia Colony *
MATHEWS-1622 to Jamestown *
MEADOR-bef. 1635 to Virginia Colony
MERIWETHER-1652 to Virginia Colony *
MILLS or MYHILL-bef. 1647 to Virginia Colony
MOULSON-1663 to Virginia Colony
PUCKETT-1665 to Virginia Colony
RAGSDALE-bef. 1644 to Virginia Colony
RUDD-1698 to Virginia Colony
SEWELL or SEAWELL-1637 to Virginia Colony *
SHEPPY/SHIPPY-bef. 1633 to Virginia Colony *
SNEAD-1635 to Jamestown
STITH-1656 to Virginia Colony *
STRINGER-Before 1644 to Virginia Colony
TAVERNER-1618 to Jamestown
VASSER-1635 to Jamestown/Virginia Colony
WADE/WAAD-1655 to Virginia Colony *
WHITE-1651 to Virginia Colony
WOMACK-before 1655, no port listed but settled in Henrico County(Richmond area)


The Jamestowne Society(a private genealogical society for people with ancestors who were early settlers to Virginia)has a list of criteria it uses to see whether your direct ancestor qualifies you for membership in this "club".

As far as my list above goes all the surnames with astericks are currently qualifying ancestors.  Ten ancestors, whom, if I wanted to spent the time and money on gathering records for, would gain me membership in that club.

Though I've got lots of direct ancestors who came to Virginia very early on in it's settlement by the English I had yet to find one of the original 105 settlers who made the voyage on the first fleet of three ships in 1607 to the shores of the new world.

Until now......

Meet my 3rd Cousin, 13 x removed, George Percy.
George's 2 x Great Grandfather was Richard Neville, 2nd Baron of Latimer.
Richard was also my 15 x Great Grandfather, so our common ancestor.

Born the youngest son to Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Catherine Neville he had to make his own way in life due to primogeniture inheritance laws in England.

A graduate of Oxford he made the military his vocation.  He served in Ireland and fought in the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain in the early 1600's.
He was also interested in the world of exploration as it was an exciting time as England tried to play catch up in this arena in the first decade of the 17th century.
He bought shares in the Virginia Company and signed on to venture to the New World in 1607, embarking onto the flagship, Susan Constant, piloted by Christopher Newport.

George Percy was there during the infamous "Starving Time" in the Winter of 1609-1610 and survived.  He kept journals of his experiences during his time in Jamestown which were published.
You can read excerpts from his journals HERE .

George Percy left Jamestown 22 April 1612 to return the England due to ill health and I suspect the tenuousness of life in the colony then.
He sold his Virginia Company shares in 1620 and went back into military service serving for the Dutch forces in their war against Spain.  There is debate on where he died and when, those most seen to think he died around 1627 somewhere in the Netherlands area.

He did marry while in Jamestown to Anne Floyd, and they had a daughter, Anne Percy, who married John West, a subsequent Governor of Jamestown.
Incidentally, John West is also my 6th cousin 13 x removed, through our common ancestor of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick.

You will notice that in the portrait of George Percy he is missing part of his middle finger on his left hand.  The story goes that he lost it during one of the battles in the Low Countries against the Spanish.

So the digging continues and I hope to unearth more ancestral connections to explore.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....Wins & Losses

Here are some things I did this week that were frugal......

* I didn't buy into the marketing of Valentine's Day and spend money on "stuff".  Heck I didn't even go out the day after and get 50% VD stuff to use next year.  We have never been a big fan around here of made up holidays(not that ALL holiday aren't made up really). Ok, call them "Hallmark Holidays" then. ;-)  Hubs used to buy flowers for me but I told him to save the money years ago.  At that time we were struggling financially with three small children and it was an unnecessary added expense we didn't need.  We got out of the habit of spending cash on that one and a few others.  We do show our love to each other in other ways that don't cost of cash.

* I had bought this at the end of December at Rite-Aid(using Plenti points, not cash).....

It was $11.23 in PPs and I had a Try Me Free Rebate for it that was sent away for.
Last week, I received a check for $11.23......

And the pay to the order of name is wrong!  Well the last name is correct but my bank knows me so it's all good. ;-)

*  I did all our laundry during the off peaks hours of 5 pm to 7 am this week, or on the weekends which is also off peak hours 24/7.

* I went to Rite-Aid and brought all this home for no money.......

Not only was this all free but I'll get paid cash to buy it when the rebates come in. 8-)

* Speaking of rebates--I sent for two mail away rebates totaling $14.62 and claimed 4 SavingStar and Checkout51 rebates on products I bought this past week, netting me another $7.50. (The $7.50 in rebates have already been received into those accounts too.  The mail aways will take longer.)

* My Kohl's Visa Debit Reward came in the mail finally....

This was for 5 rebates on items bought at Kohl's around Black Friday last November.  I made sure to keep the boxes and cut off the UPCs, save the packing slips(bought online, not in the store so no receipts), and print off the rebate form, and then document everything before mailing the paperwork off at the end of December.
The card is for $60.  While this isn't free money I won't be spending it on wants or physicall things I'd like to have.  It will go toward my grocery budget in the coming months instead of using paycheck income.

* I only made 1 trip to the grocery store(so far)this week and spent $28.68.  I usually hover around $100 in spending for groceries per week.  I've been trying to eat down some of our stockpile and frozen assets instead.

* This item isn't something I gained this past week exactly, but I am putting them into play now.....

Back in December Weis(PMITA)Markets put gift cards on Raise dotcom.  Usually the only Weis cards that show up on that gift card exchange site are from customers unloading gift cards they don't want for cash and they are usually for very small amounts, under $100(usually the balance of a card someone has used already but doesn't want to finish).  As such very few Weis gift cards are even offered up there.
But I found pages of listings for high value gift card being offered back in December.  Although it raised my credit card spending in December(and how WANTS to spend more at the Holidays on their credit card? lol)I went ahead and bought two cards worth $160 for $144 each.  Just doing that means I will save 10% off the top on the groceries I purchase with these cards.  Add in that I almost always buy items only when they are on sale and if I can pair that item with a coupon I will.  The savings exponentially grow doing this(discounted gift card compounded with sale prices and coupon savings).

So I dug out these Weis gift cards and now have them in my coupon pouch and am ready to use them.  As I have already paid for these anything bought with them will not 'cost' me anything going forward.

* I basically stayed at home other than the Rite-Aid trip and the Weis Markets trip this week.  Hubs and I ate leftovers for lunches.

And here are the Frugal Fails of the Week....

* We found someone to plow our driveway last weekend after our 8+ inch snowstorm.  He did a decent job and it cost us $40.  I hate to spend money on this chore but it's a necessity for us at our age and with Hubs out of commission for shoveling.

*  Hubs talked me into going out to eat on Wednesday(the day after VD).  He wanted to get out of the house plus I wanted to break from cooking.  We went to our local Bob Evans.  The food is decent there and not highly priced(plus do I have to mention that I had a coupon? lolz)and the service is good.

Ok, so I did make this meal out sorta frugal by using a coupon and bringing half my dinner home to eat for lunch the next day.
I guess I just can't help myself! 8-)))

What did you accomplish this week that was frugal?

Sluggy

A Few Good Deals from Weis

I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday rather than Wednesday due to weather issues that were suppose to happen on Wednesday.

Here are a few good deals I got.....

* Barber chicken was on sale 3/$10.  I used 2 x $1/1 IPQs(there are also ManuQs available)and paid $4.67 for 2 packages of 2 or $1.17 per portion. (I don't buy this often as it's a splurge for us.)

* Eight o'Clock coffee was BOGO this week(and next week as well).  I had a $2/2 CatalinaQ to use so paid $3.49 for 2 bags of coffee or $1.74 per bag.(I also got a $3 off 3 bags CatalinaQ when I paid.)

* Select Progresso soups were .77¢ a can this week.  Using 2 x .50¢/2 ManuQs(which doubled to $1 off each)I paid $1.08 total for 4 cans or .27¢ can.

* And the best deal was the Andouille Sausage which was on sale for $2 per package(reg. $4 per package)and this one had a $1 instant meat discount sticker on it, so I paid $1 for a lb. of sausage.

These items along with others came to a total of $28.68 OOP, with a reg. retail of $78.64. I saved 62% on it all.

I'll take that rate on groceries all day long! lolz

I also will be getting $2.50 back in SavingStar rebates for the 4 cans of soup($2)and for Nature Valley granola bars(.50¢)I bought for the daughter's lunches.

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Moneymakers This Week

I combined a free coupon, 3 cash rebate offers, 2 "try me free" rebate offers with other coupons and sale prices and a gloriously mucked up transaction at the register to buy all this at Rite-Aid on Tuesday.........

First off the Blizzard Points qualifying items--

1 x Schwarzkopf Gliss shampoo 20% wellness disc.=$5.83
1 x Schwarzkopf hair color 20% wellness disc.=$8.79
2 x Purex detergent on sale=$3.98
2 x Finish dishwashing tabs on sale BOGO=$6.79
1 x Coke 12 pack on sale=$4.99
SubTotal.....$30.38

Now the non Blizzard Points items--
2 x Noxema razors on sale=$5.98
3 x Colgate toothbrushes/toothpaste on sale=$10.50
SubTota....$16.48

SubTotal ALL....$46.86

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Schwarzkopf shampoo ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $3/1 Schwarzkopf hair color ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/2 Purex detergent ManuQ=$1.00
1 x Free Coke 12 pack Q(mycoke rewards)=$4.99
2 x $2/1 Noxema razors IPQ=$4.00
3 x $2/1 Colgate item RA in-ad Q=$6.00
3 x .75¢/1 Colgate item IPQ=$2.25
Coupon Total..........$23.24

$46.86-23.24=$23.62 + .82¢tax=$24.44

I also had 2 Plenti points offers/coupons that had printed on older receipts to use-1 for $2 in PPs wyb 1 Purex(x 2)and 1 for $2 in PPs wyb $10 in Oral Care items in 1 transaction.
Neither of these worked when the cashier scanned them(or so we thought)so she just took of 3 x $2 off my order, which turned the total into this..........$24.44-$6.00=$18.44, which I paid for with Plenti Points.

When I got home I saw that I had earned back $14 in Plenti points--$2(2 x $1 wyb Noxema razors), $10 wyb $30 of Blizzard point items and another $2 wyb $10 in Oral Care.

So it looks like the register DID take the $2 Oral Care PPs Q so I ended up getting it twice thanks to the cashier. 8-)

So we are at $18.44-$14 in new PPs=$4.44 "down" in PPs.

BUT......
The hair color and shampoo also qualified me for cash rebates-
$2 on the 'poo in SavingStar
$3 on the hair dye in Savingstar
$2 on the hair dye in Checkout51(which I have already sent for as it expires today)
For a total of $7 cash back from these sources.
* There is also a Spend $25/Get $5 Back Purex Deal in Savingstar(which my Purex purchase qualifies for)but I doubt I'll finish that one and receive that rebate.

PLUS.....
There are two Try Me Free Offers on both the Schwarzkopf items that runs through the end of 2017
These offers are full price after any coupons used in the transactions.
And yes, I broke my transaction into two transactions just so I would have two receipts to send for each of these rebates.  ;-)
So I'll get another $3.83 for the 'poo($5.83 paid-$2Q)and $5.79 for the hair color($8.79-$3Q), so $9.62 total in cash back.

Let's recap.
Spent in PPs after paying....$4.44
Total cash back from all offers....$16.62
Results......a $12.18 moneymaker!

I love getting paid to bring things home from Rite-Aid. 8-)))

Sluggy