This Week on the Dining Table

The "The Bombogenesis" Edition--

We got a little snow from the Bombogenesis aka Bomb Cyclone aka Nor'Easter that hit the East Coast last week.  Just about 2 inches in total over a couple days.  My brother down in SEVA got 12 inches at his house.  They don't "do" snow down there and certainly not a foot of it at a time.  He's been shoveling for 4 days now and they haven't gone anywhere since it started snowing as the roads are still a mess.
The photo above is of a fridge magnet I saw this past Summer in a gift shop in Wyoming. lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Cocktail Meatballs, Shrimp Toast, Cheese/Crackers, Dip/Celery, Pickles, Olives and Bubbly to drink

2. Monday--Ravioli in Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Leftover Roast Beef, Asparagus, Mashed Taters

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--Homemade Pizza, Salad
7. Saturday--Chicken Fried Steak, Gravy Taters, Mix Veggies

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Cocktail Meatballs, Shrimp Toast, Cheese/Crackers, Dip/Celery, Pickles, Olives and Bubbly to drink

2. Monday--Ravioli in Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Roast Beef Hash, Eggs, Leftover Rolls
4. Wednesday--Meatloaf, leftover mac and cheese, asparagus

5. Thursday--Pizza, Salad
6. Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
7. Saturday--Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of take-out and 0 night of Eating out.
NYE was finger foods of items picked up for cheap and I turned some premade meatballs Daughter bought this Summer into cocktail meatballs with a great sauce using a can of cranberry glop and a bottle of chili sauce.  I used part of the leftover Roast from Christmas to make hash one night.  A Stouffer's meatloaf picked up cheap at Weis last week was served with leftover mac and cheese also from Christmas with fresh asparagus as well.  The ravioli was a quick meal and the enchiladas(a big production)happened the night Daughter's BF arrived from Louisiana.

2 Trips to Weis was the extent of the shopping last week and the bill came to $60.60 for all.  That brought January's food spending total to $60.60.
There are 23 days left in my shopping month.  

My savings percentages last week was 48.79% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 48.79%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week....... rolls, an entire pan of enchiladas, spanish rice, a little mac and cheese, 1 piece of pizza and 2 servings of ravioli in sauce.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Country Fried Steak, Mashed Taters, Gravy, CA medley Veggies

2. Monday--Chinese(maybe)

3. Tuesday--FFY or Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, Beans, Potato Salad

5. Thursday--Veal Parm, Brussels Sprouts
6. Friday--Manicotti in Sauce, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 1 night of Take-out/Eat-Out.

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is maybe some salad greens.  But that won't keep me from going to the grocery store anyway. lolz

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

The Last of Rite-Aid Deals Last Week

The Daughter set up an online thing on her Rite-Aid account finally so I got to download some Load2Card Qs onto her card last week.

I did the free toothpaste and cheap Robitussin deals again.........

1 x Crest Pro-Health toothpaste on sale $3 but clearanced to $2.44=$2.44
2 x Robitussin BOBO50%=$11.23
SubTotal........$13.67

Coupons Used

1 x $5/2 assorted flu remedies including Robitussin Load2CardQ=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Robitussin Load2CardQ(this also came off unexpectedly)-$1.00
1 x $2/1 Crest toothpaste Load2CardQ=$2.00
Coupons Total..........$8.00

$13.67-$8.00=$5.67

I used $5.67 in Plenti Points to pay and earned back $6 in Bonus Cash(BC).
Then I noticed that some of the reg. $1.15 candy bars at the register which were on sale for .69¢ each last week had .50¢ off Rite-Aid stickers on them, which meant they were .19¢ OOP after discounts.
AND.....most of the bars on sale for .69¢ each were part of a Spend $12/Get $3 BC Deal(it was marked part of a "Frozen Foods" Deal).

I found 14 candy bars with .50¢ discount stickers on them so bought them.  That was 4 short of getting the $3 BC but I was going to be in the town South of me and they had a Rite-Aid there I would be passing right by so I bopped into that store and hit the candy bar jackpot.
I ended up getting the 4 bars needed to earn the $3BC and another 17 bars to earn the $3BC again..........

35 x candy on sale .69¢=$24.15
35 x .50¢/1 disc. stickers=$17.50 off=$6.65
I paid with $6.65 in PPs and earned back $6 in BC so I spent down PPs by .65¢ for all this candy.
Between giveaway boxes and College Boy's sweet tooth(plus I may pinch a couple of those Almond Joy bars myself)this will all get used without a doubt.  ;-)

Now excuse me while I got haul in today's(Sunday's)spoils from the car.........

Sluggy

A Missive From Sonya Ann

I told her she didn't have to share all this but she wants to and I said I'd post it on my blog so here is Sonya Ann, in her own words..............

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Hello everyone, its Sonya Ann here. I wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that has included me in their prayers, sent me a card/money. You have no idea how much your love and support has helped me. I would especially like to thank sluggy. She has been a saving grace in this mess I call my life. Her kind words, her support, and her generous use of the F word has helped me through one of the darkest times in my life. I love you.

Where to start? October 12th was our 23rd anniversary. October 13th was Den's birthday and October 15th, Dennis told me that he wanted a divorce. I asked him if he was cheating and he wouldn't answer. I guess now the baby cards that we were getting in the mail make sense. I ignored my gut feeling for a very long time. I've stopped doing that now. He went to his parents on the day that he said he wanted a divorce. They found/hired/paid for the best law firm in the area. I never received a call from them. After a month, I blocked them. There was nothing that needed to be said at that point, I know where I stand with them. I have been a 2nd class citizen in their family from the beginning, why would it change during the divorce. I guess my blog was about what I wanted to see, not what the truth was. I found a lawyer and then fired that lawyer. He laughed and scoffed at me. He said with a snicker, you know that he has been planning this for a long time.

Anna and DJ have been wonderful. I have asked God over and over, why I suffered through so much pain. But seeing the kindness and love in my children's eyes, has made me realize that I have not wasted 23 years.I've gained a family. Two people that would walk through Hell with me.

Dennis said to me once that he married below his class and that was exactly how he treated me for our marriage. Coming from such a terrible childhood, I guess that I allowed the abuse because that was all that I knew. He is an alcoholic and is/was out of control. I no longer have contact with him. He said that he is living with his parents but the cell phone bill shows that he has other interests. I'm good with that knowledge. Let her deal with his snoring, insults and drinking until he pees himself and leaving it for someone else to clean up.

The kids and I are much closer than we have ever been. Anna has been a life saver. After he left, she told me a few things from her childhood and the bottom fell out. I thought the divorce was bad but that information crushed me. I failed her. She is in counseling now. And I have been calling a women's crisis line for help.

And it just wouldn't be my life if there wasn't more craziness added to the mix. I kept seeing an older black SUV in front of the house. At first, I thought that Dennis had sent a realtor out to access the house. But then the SUV started coming back with a big thug in it. I saw it a few times and thought that I was just being paranoid.  I mentioned it to my neighbor. He said that he had seen it over half a dozen times and that it now sits farther up the road where I can't see them but they can see if I leave. I have no idea what that is about but they haven't been back for about a month. I have the odd feeling that his new GF is scouting me out.

The furnace quit. I fixed it with a spoon. Don't ask, just nod and shake your head. The water wouldn't drain out of the tub and I ended up bailing water forever. The upstairs toilet is leaking into the bathroom downstairs. I figure that Dennis is finally going to have to do some chores in this house. This is just the madness that I am dealing with on top of everything else. I ran over two skunks. I started to cry but the smell got to me and I gagged and sort of cried. I finally decided that I needed to do something nice for myself and I went and had my toes done. Do you want to know what I got for putting myself first? Two infected toes. 

I've been packing and sorting 23 years of stuff. The house is a train-wreck. Oh well, I guess things like that don't matter anymore.  I won't get in trouble if something is out of place. And that is a nice feeling. I haven't missed the narcissist yet so that says something about the level of abuse.

And here is the craziest part of this whole plan, I have decided to move out toward Vegas. I know it sounds like madness but we have a family plan. Anna will be about 4 hours away from me. DJ is graduating with his Masters in accounting in 1.5 years. He wasn't planning on staying in IL or IN. And there are tons of casinos that need accountants. I thought about staying in IL or moving to Phoenix but the cost of living is so high that the little bit of money that I get from the divorce would be eaten up quickly. And then I really wouldn't have any options. I can almost live on minimum wage in Vegas. And not to fear, I am not going to go on a gambling/drinking binge, I'll be too poor for that. Both of the kids like this plan. And living somewhere warm has been on my bucket list since I was young.

Out of all of the madness some wonderful things have happened. I know without a doubt that God is here for me and helping me. My faith is stronger than ever. He has sent some wonderful and caring people to help me. He has also shown me who can't be trusted. And that I need to trust myself more.

My "best friend" told me that it takes two people to ruin a marriage even after I told her everything. Sigh. I have been clearing out my stash of cleaning/health/beauty products. I'm not leaving them for asshole and his new woman. I drove over to my "best friend's" house to drop them off. She wasn't paying attention and backed into my parked van before I could get out. She crushed the bumper of my van. Her concern and her husband's concern was only for their new car. She said sorry and they left. She texted me later and said that they didn't have the money to pay for it but I could turn it into my insurance. Ummm no thank you. My van is only worth about $1000 and they would total it and then I would really be sunk. It cost me $400 to fix it. It is scraped up but it isn't dented anymore.

Another neighbor and her new BF have come through for me like nothing that I have ever seen before. They both have been divorced and she deals with legal documents all the time for work. The three of us went to work on fighting one of the best legal teams in IL. They have truly been a gift. They have sent over food, had me over for dinner and just loved me even when I was a train-wreck.

I finally found a good female lawyer and she was quite impressed with how far that I have gotten against such a good firm. We are very close to having it settled and I am grateful for that.

The funny part is I've been asked out a few times. Those men have very low standards. I look ghastly. I've lost about 35 pounds. And since I lost it so fast my face is drooping and my neck looks like a hairless nutsack.

So that's about it for my madness. Oh wait, DJ is gay. It took some getting used to but then I realized that the gay jokes are now at a whole new level. And I am grateful to have Ricky(DJ's BF) in my life. He is a kind and caring soul.

Again, I just want to say thank you to every single person that has thought about me. You have made me feel loved and important.

Love and gratitude,

Sonya Ann

PS-If you feel the need to say a few prayers for me that would be wonderful and appreciated. Also if you know of a good neck/nut cream that helps with wrinkles that would be appreciated too.

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Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....January 5th Edition

Here's what I gots to report on this week in Frugal Land...........

*  We stayed home and didn't eat out this past week.  Last week and the week before was heavy w/eating out so we needed a break.

*  I got some loss leaders at Weis this past week..........

Including 10 packages of flour tortillas.  They were part of the Mix & Match Sale(items on sale plus you get $3 additional off wyb6 items)last week plus the coupons online reset for I had lots of prints to pair with the sale.  Tortillas for $1 a package to add to my stockpile.  They keep a long time plus we'll be eating more Mexican type meals anyway with College Boy home. ;-)  Now I just need to find a deal on green chiles as I will be fresh out as of tomorrow.

I also scored a few Xmas candy deals at Weis this week..........

White peppermint M&M's for .50¢ a bag.  These will be nice in cookies this coming Christmas.

.10¢ a bag, regularly $1 a bag Lindt white chocolate peppermint truffles.  I'll tuck these into February's Giveaway box. 8-)))

*  When we rang in 2018 on Monday I still had all this WAM from December in my wallet......

$87.  I would have had $107 if Hubs hadn't promised $20 to College Boy for new work shoes(of course Hubs had no WAM so "I" had to give it to him out of my cash. 8-(

*  I hit Rite-Aid for some freebies, moneymakers and cheapies............

*  And something NOT frugal was this.......

I bought two lottery tickets last Friday when both Mega Millions and Powerball were over a $300M jackpots.  I don't play the lottery, period.  It's not a good retirement plan. lolz
And I hit!

I got one number and the MegaBall and won $4.
Woohoo!! 8-)))
So I rolled that $4 back into more tickets for tonight's drawing.  It's suppose to be over $440M now.
Eesshhh!
If I win the "big one" I'll hold a big ol' blogger party.....stay tuned! 8-)))

Sluggy

Rite-Aid....Oh Brother Here We Go Again!

Seems like every 2-3 years Rite-Aid changes up their program/how they do things.
WTF Rite-Aid!?!?
I guess they've never heard of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!".
That or somebody has to keep all those marketing folks in business, right?  ;-)

This new Bonus Cash system is going to suck ass, pardon my French, but it will.

I've heard the following from online sources and from a head-to-head conversation with my store's manager and a couple of cashiers too.....some are indeed fact and some of the following are rumors.....

*  That new Wellness cards will be issued(the employee are rolling their eyes about that one, since all the work will fall to them).rumor still
*  The you need to accumulate $5 in Bonus Cash(BC)in order for it to come "off" your card and be used.  Also heard you don't need to accumulate BC for it to come "off" your card.  I guess we'll find out when I go back next week and attempt to spend it. 8-)
*   When you earn BC it will appear on your receipt(it did)but sources say it won't appear on subsequent receipts(but it will be attached to your card/account).  If so, people aren't going to be able to keep track of how much BC they have(unless they study and keep track of it in a spreadsheet or with pencil/paper).
*  Unlike with +Up Reward(the predecessor of Plenti Points)you could choose to have Up Rewards printed out on your receipt OR have them electronically attached to your account(like Bonus Cash).  No such printed Rewards option with BC.
*  If you have Plenti Points AND Bonus Cash in your account, which will be taken/used first? no clue yet
*  I also heard that if you have BC to use that the register will take those as payment even before your coupons!  The workaround of not scanning your Wellness card until AFTER you hand over the coupons will work for some items but not for those that you need to scan your card to get the discount?  I foresee a lot of "post coupon" situations ahead for me and other couponers at Rite-Aid.
*  At some point, will Rite-Aid not take your Plenti Points in payment before your PPs expire in 2 years?  I don't see them hanging onto the Plenti system that long.  As long as they give us advance notice that won't be a problem.

So in some ways this new system is worse and in others it's better.
It's worse as the BC expires in 60 days, but better than the +Up Rewards because those expired in 2 weeks.
A mix of PPs and BC is a problem just waiting to happen.
Having to use your BC even if you don't want to is a problem, at least for me.
Also what about folks who share a card?  Person A may be saving BC to use on something for themselves but Person B can't not use the BC if they go to Rite-Aid first.

Again, time will tell and shake out the problems.

Sluggy