Monday, June 18, 2018

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Say Hello To My Little Friends" Edition--



We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday by grilling steaks and corn and inviting these bad boys to the party as well. 

These lobsters came from Quebec as it's not quite lobster harvesting season in US waters.
Don't say I don't support the Canadian economy! lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Tacos
2. Monday--Leftovers(Stuffed Shells or whatever you find)
3. Tuesday--Pecan Chicken, Squash Casserole
4. Wednesday--Reuben Sandwiches, Cabbage
5. Thursday--Eggplant Parm, Salad
6. Friday--Chicken Tenders, Veg(TBD)
7. Saturday--?  Pizza or something easy from the Freezer

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Tacos
2. Monday--Leftovers(Stuffed Shells or whatever you find)
3. Tuesday--Pecan Chicken, Squash Casserole
4. Wednesday--Reuben Sandwiches, Cabbage
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Chicken Tenders, Spinach Salad
7. Saturday--Father's Day Cook-Out(steak,lobster,corn)

Everything got served(I had a eggplant parm tv dinner on Thursday but everyone else had something different)and we had Father's Day meal on Sat. instead of Sun. because the weather was nicer that day.  I got 1/2 price bag of spinach so Fri. TBD Veg became a Spinach Salad.
Last week saw lots of cooking.
I also made TWO desserts last week(I don't often make those.).  I had a 1/2 a can of cherry pie filling in the fridge that needed using up so I made a Pear/Cherry Crisp in the crock pot. Recipe HERE. (My addition is to layer a few sheets of paper towel on top, under the lid so that it doesn't dry out too much while cooking in the crock pot.)  This is a double win because it used a box of cake mix that needed to go as well.  Then I made a pan of brownies for Father's Day at Hubs request.

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

A trip to Ollie's, Weis, and the Shursave market brought the weekly food spending to $84.00 and the monthly total to $315.63.

I've got $84.37 left in the food budget for June and 12 days left in my shopping month.  

My savings percentages last week was 48.20%(without Rite-Aid trips)and June's monthly savings total so far is at 53.46%.

Leftovers going into this week......a few helpings of Beef Pie and lots of Stuffed Shells(it made a ton), Cabbage and a small hunk of Corned Beef.

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

1. Sunday--Fend For Yourself
2. Monday--BLTs
3. Tuesday--Fish, Cole Slaw, Veg TBD
4. Wednesday--Breakfast for Dinner
5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Salad
6. Friday--Brats on Rolls w/Onions, Baked Beans, Veg TBD
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 night of leftovers/FFY and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Sandwiches tonight due to the heat advisory here and I don't want to run the oven.  Wed. may be a FFY night as well and everyone can make their fav breakfast foods because I am not making 8 different things. lolz

Not much inventive or exciting this week as I've got things to get done.  Everything except Tuesday's dinner can be handled by the other 3 people who live here if I don't feel like orchestrating meals this week.

What needs buying for this menu? Tomatoes, Cabbage for Cole Slaw and Lettuce.
I'll just stay in town and shop for this stuff and hope for good prices.

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

Saturday, June 16, 2018

A Little More Rite-Aid Porn

Went back up to Rite-Aid on Friday after the supply truck came in.
I have a TON of BC to use up soon so I pulled out two rain checks and bought all this........the chocolates were bought on a separate card from the rest......


3 x case of R-A water(rain check)$1.99=$5.97 *not pictured*
2 x Dove chocolate bags on sale=$6.00
1 x Aleve pain reliever on sale=$6.49
4 x A&H toothpaste(rain check)=FREE
SubTotal......$18.46

Coupons Used
1 x $2/2 Dove chocolate bags RA receipt Q=$2.00
1 x $5/1 Aleve ManuQ=$5.00
Coupon Total.......$7.00

$18.46-$7.00=$11.46 paid for with Bonus Cash
$2 in new BC earned back(Dove) so I spent down my BC by $9.46.

Sluggy

Friday, June 15, 2018

Frugal Friday.....June 15th Edition

Here are a few things we did that were frugal this past week.............

*  I earned a whopping .25¢ cash rebate on Ibotta.
Go. me. lolz

*  Hubs picked up the Friday Freebie last Friday at Weis.


Free applesauce cups?  Yes, please!

*  Weis was out of the BOGOFree Butter(8 oz. packs)last week's 3 Day Deals so I had Hubs get me a rain check and when he had to go back to Weis on Saturday he thought to get me another rain check for it, giving me two rain checks.........

Gotta love a man who gets rain checks! ;-)

*  I sold 4 packs of diapers this week.


$22 in my pocket selling something that cost me NADA!

*  More things from Rite-Aid for "free" this past week.....


*  Here is what I bought at Weis this week......


The ice cream and OJs were part of the Buy 6/Get $3 Off Deal so $15.94 for those plus I used 4 x $1.25/1 Qs for the Magnum so $10.94 OOP for those 6 items.  (It's too bad I don't like that ice cream....too much chocolate, not even ice cream IMHO.)  The bag of spinach was 1/2 price and I used one of my butter rain checks(see above)so $4.73 for 4 x 8 oz. packs plus another .96¢ off the butter since it was Senior discount Tuesdays( and a Weis branded product)so I paid $3.77 total for all the butter, making it less than $2 a lb.
I'll be sure to use the other rain check on Tuesdays so I get an additional 10% off those butters too.  8-)

*  I got home and discovered that the cashier at Weis had rang up FIVE butters not Four so when we were out Wednesday running errands I stopped in and got my money back.........


I tired to explain that no, they didn't owe me $2.50 but less due to the Senior Discount but the CS guy couldn't wrap his head around that fact so I got the whole $2.50.
$2.50 back into my grocery budget?  Works for me! lolz

*  While doing a much neglected house project, cleaning out the laundry room, I found this.....


.10¢ of found money added to my wallet.

*  Hubs and I hit Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)on Wednesday.

Didn't get much in the way of foodstuffs.......3 Jello(Peach), Garlic(2 ways), Parsley, Ranch dressing, 2 Parmesan shakers, lemon custard for pie and then Pop-Tarts for Ex-College Boy and Mocha Frappe mix for the 2 kids.  $23.11 on food and we picked up a couple books, a new non-stick skillet, a tablecloth and some doggie treats.

*  Hubs and I had lunch out at Bob Evans on Wednesday after hitting Ollie's.  I drank water so didn't pay $2.49-$2.69 for a drink!  And I used a coupon for $4 off our meal which covered the tip amount.


*  Hubs clipped Chester's nails and I cut Chester's hair this week and he'll be getting a bath soon too.
Having a puppy we were able to get him acclimated to having these things done to him while he is/was young so it's pretty easy to perform them(except that he is still a puppy and can't hold still).
Why pay money at a pet groomer when we can do these things ourselves?

Other than lunch out we didn't do anything special this week.



What frugal wins did you have lately?

Sluggy

A Little Rite-Aid Porn(for Sonya Ann) 8-)))

I had a $5 OYNO Catalina to spend before Friday so it was up to Rite-Aid to see what I could bring home on Tuesday.

             
2 x Oxi laundry detergent on sale($3.99)=$7.98
2 x Speed Stick deodorants on sale($1.99)=$3.98
2 x Dove chocolates on sale=$6.00
SubTotal.......$17.96

Coupons Used
2 x $3/1 Oxi detergent(1 ManuQ/1 IPQ)=$6.00
1 x BOGOF Speed Stick ManuQ=$1.99
1 x $2/2 Dove chocolate bags R-A mailedQ=$2.00
Coupon Total........$9.99

$17.96-$9.99=$7.97-$5 Cat=$2.97+.24¢ tax=$3.21.
Paid with Bonus Cash and $2 in new Bonus Cash was earned back(for buying 2 bags of Dove chocolates).


They were out of the Aleve which I planned a getting so I'll go back Friday when the truck comes in and if they are still out I'll get a rain check.  Since the $5/1 Aleve Q expires on Sunday(it was only good for this week)I'll get them to staple that Q to the rain check as proof I had the Q and was going to use it in time.  My Rite-Aid will do that for you. ;-)                                                                                                       

Sluggy

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Shit & Tornadoes Happen

First off let me say that we are FINE!  I got your email CT MOM but thought I'd let everyone know in a blog post what happened and that we are aok.

Last night a storm front came through this area of PA.
Suddenly a little before 10pm the wind picked up and then torrential rain(mostly blowing/falling sideways).

I ran to close windows downstairs and yelled upstairs for the kids to close the freaking windows! as the back of the house and was getting flooded from the rain coming in.  Then the lightning and thunder started and the lights starting cutting in and out and the answering machine on the landline started beeping.  I turned on the television and the TV signals were cutting in and out as well.

About 10:15 pm things stared settling down and the TV signals righted themselves.
The next 2 hours on the local tv stations were live weather reports, preempting the network shows.

In the light of day it has been confirmed that a tornado touched down in Wilkes-Barre Township, PA right near our major shopping area.
The Wyoming Valley mall was undamaged but lost power and the parking lot and roadways are full of debris from businesses surrounding it.

Across the street from the mall is the U Haul business next to a Nissan dealership.


This is an aerial photo of the U-Haul dealership.  The blob of lumber in the center of that parking lot is what is left of the building.  This is where we used to rent a cargo van to get Ex-College Boy back and forth to school.  Live electrical lines were down everywhere, debris strewn everywhere(a U Haul truck part was found inside a store front .25 mile away).  The huge Propane tank at U-Haul was leaking but luckily they hosed down the escaping gas and it didn't ignite and blow more stuff up.

Two adjacent furniture stores, a restaurant and a mobile phone store near the car dealership and U-Haul were also damaged.

An entire strip mall an access road across from the large furniture(Ashley)was destroyed.  A Gamestop, an America's Best Eyewear, a Sneaker King, a Famous Footwear, a nail salon, Tovon and Co.(a diamond dealer) and a Panera Bread will all be demolished.  The nearby Smokey Bones restaurant also was damaged but not as extensively.

At least 2 dozen stores may have to be condemned and torn down as they are so badly damaged.

The tornado then skipped over to another shopping area, the Arena Hub Plaza, knocking the roof and one side of the Barnes and Noble down.  It traveled across that parking lot and hit the Dick's Sporting Goods store, tearing off the front of the store and the roof.  The Dick's sign(a giant basketball sign)ended up 6 miles up a mountain in the Bear Creek creek.


Dick's Sporting Goods is the red dot on the map and the end of the blue line is approx. where the sign ended up.  It's about 6 miles as the crow flies and up a mountain.

Some photos of the damage are HERE and check out the slideshow at the bottom HERE on the Weather Channel's page.

This same twister, or a sibling of ours, touched down in Bradford County, about 90 miles NW of here, on it's way to our area, doing lots of damage there.  Luckily it's a rural area so lots less to destroy there.
If this thing had hit an hour or two earlier there could have been massive casualties.  The stores were closed mostly at 10 pm so only 6 folks(mostly overnight workers)were hurt and no one badly so.

This sort of thing is very rare for our area.
Dec. 7th of 2006 a tornado hit my town.  It turned out to be the first tornado to ever strike PA in the month of December since they started keeping records.
This house down the road from me caught the worst of it then........


So that's the excitement here in NEPA.
Hoping things are calmer in your part of the world. 8-)))

Sluggy