To-Do List.....December Update

Here's the December To-Do List and the outcome for the month......

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything paid and early or on time.

*  Read 1, 2, 3 Books  DONE

This book was very good.  Lots of often overlooked and obscure stories about US history.  I learned much.....mostly that Thomas Edison was a colossal asshole! lolz

This one seemed promising at first but then it turned into a snoozefest.  There were nuggets in there but you had to mine them.  It was mostly about the growth of the animal rights/laws movement.  Like I said, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 
The best thing was the cover art. *snort*

This one was a short read and I was able to fit it in under the December 31st wire.  I think it's a YA fiction...if not, it should be.  Some lightweight reading worth a look.

*  Sell Stuff  DONE

I sold 5 items on eBay.  Profit after fees/shipping/cost of goods was $300+/-.  Woohoo!!
I didn't get around to using the local FB yardsale site to sell locally in December.

*  Write Xmas Cards  DONE  26 cards were written.

*  Mail Xmas Cards  DONE  26 cards were mailed out, 2 inside of packages/24 separately in envelopes.

*  Ship 2 Xmas Presents  DONE  Since eldest was home for Christmas I didn't have to mail his, only my brother and his wife's gifts and 1 package to a friend. 8-)

*  Hold Giveaway 1, 2  DONE  A December box was offered up......

......as well as a restaurant gift card 

*  Mail Giveaway 1, 2  DONE  Both mailed out and both received.

*  Load to Sallies(Salvation Army)  FAIL  Just didn't get my act together and get the stuff into the trunk of the car and have Hubs do it.  Too much other stuff going on around here and then it got too cold/bad weather so not worth driving there.  It will go up at some point in January and this is staying on the To-Do List for now.

*  Bring CB and his stuff Home   DONE  Hubs got home from the rescue mission and the next day I drove him in a snowstorm up to U-Haul to rent another cargo van. Hubs, College Boy and all his crap got back late that afternoon/early evening.  We shouldn't be having to rent trucks again until we move away from PA but that's at least 1.5 years off in the future.

*  Go to Dr. Appt. 1, 2  DONE  Got those visits marked off during the first week of December.  My weight continues to go down and I got off 1 more medication. rah!  Now I am on semi-annual check-ins with these two docs.

*  Decorate the Tree, House   DONE  

The extent of inside decorating this year was putting the tree up, hanging up the Xmas cards we received in the kitchen window and putting a garland strand on the stair railing.  One of our numerous nativity sets did NOT get put out once CB brought home his ceramic class projects and they were deposited on the top of my new dining room buffet. sigh.

*  Wrap all Presents  DONE  Most were wrapped before CB came home for Thanksgiving.  Last minute gifties were wrapped and bowed a good week before Xmas day, but not put under the tree as Chester was too interesting in them.  Many lost bows to Chester once they hit the floor. lolz

*  Fill Stockings  DONE  I had to get a stocking for Chester(since Daughter's dog has a stocking too)so I picked one up at the Dollar Tree.  Next year, if I get ambitious, I'll use glue and glitter and write his name on it.
Santa was very good to everyone as this photo attests.

*  Work on 2018 Goals  DONE  Goals were worked on but not finished.  This week is all about finalizing those.

*  Work on 2018 Budget  DONE  Hubs and I had a money meeting and came to some agreement on some of the budget.  The man doesn't want to be pinned down or commit to an itemized list of spending so I can only do so much on the budget. *sigh*  

How did your December goals turn out?

Sluggy

The Diaper Queen of NEPA--Updated!

Ok, so this week when you buy $30 worth of Huggies(diapers, wipes, pull-ups)in one transaction at the Rite-Aids in my region you get a $10 OYNO Catalina(good on anything you buy at Rite-Aid).
Plus the diapers and pull-ups are on sale for 2 packages for $17 this week, there are also $2/1 Qs both online(coupons dotcom and pickupthevalues dotcom)and in Sunday's inserts AND these products count toward earning a $20 BC wyspend $50 on certain items(limit 2 $20 BC Deals per card/account).

I have access to three Wellness cards/accounts so I decided to get lots of diaper/pull-ups this week.

I finished off the deals on two of the cards and did 1 round of 4 packs of diaper/pull-ups on the third card on Sunday.  That photo is of 28 packs of diapers/pull-ups.

Here are my seven receipts and the lone $10 Catalina I still have after rolling 5 other $10 Catalinas.
I'll most probably do two more transactions of 4 diaper/pull-ups each and end up with a $10 Catalina to spend in the next two weeks at Rite-Aid.

So far I've spent $116.50 in Plenti Points/Bonus Cash and earned back $80 in new BC.  I have 28 packs of diapers/pull-ups to sell which will get me between $140 and $154 cash.
Add those 28 to the 13 packs I had already(12 from Rite-Aid in October and 1 pack I paid $1.99 OOP at Weis). ;-)

*Of course after I came home on Sunday I saw that the $10 Catalina was printing when you bought only 2 packs, which would have lowered my OOP substantially.  Oh well....still a great deal!

*UPDATE*
 I ran up to Rite-Aid this morning before the weather got bad and tried the "Buy 2 Packs & Se if the $10 Catalina still prints for just 2 packs of diapers".  I figured if the Cat didn't print I only needed 2 packs to get that card to the $20 Bonus Cash so I'd just stop at $20 BC and not do the second $20 BC.

But.....it was still printing as of 11 am ET for just 2 packs of diapers/pull-ups!!

So I finished off the Deal buying 8 more packs in increments of two per transaction.  3 of the transactions "cost" me $3 in Plenti Points and 1 "cost" me $4 in PPs. (I had to resort to $1.50/1 Qs as I was out of the $2/1 Qs.)

$13 spent in PPs and I got $40 in Bonus Cash back and have 1 $10 Catalina to spent in the next two weeks at Rite-Aid.

So here are the results--

Plenti Points and Bonus Cash spent.....$129.50
Bonus Cash earned..........$120($40 per card)
Other..........$10 Catalina left
Diapers/Pull-Ups to sell.......36 packs
At $5-$5.50 per pack I'll get $180-$198 for all 36.
Add the 13 packs I already had and that's another $65-$71.50 cash.

Sluggy

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