Thank a Veteran & Christmas Card Swap

Today is Veterans Day so if you have someone in your family or a friend or see someone wearing insignia that indicates they are a veteran, during your daily travels, please be sure to thank them for their service.

Here's a photo of my Grandfather and his men during WWII.  He's the one in front center with the mustache.  He served in both the European and Pacific theatres.

We got our first real frost last night.  No wonder.....it spit snow a bit yesterday too.

I've got to start cleaning the house today as Elder son and his GF will be arriving next weekend for a couple of days.  I've also got to come up with a real nice meal for while they are here since they won't be here on Turkey Day and I am NOT going to cook that meal twice in one week(not a big enough fan of turkey to do so). 

I've also got to get the fridges in order(ie-leftovers eaten and cleaned out)so I can fit the bird in there soon.  And I need to figure out what I still need to buy(besides the turkey).....off the top of my head, it won't be much.  ;-)
I will be going to Target this week as they have their "Get $10 GC wyspend $50 on Food Deal".  I sent for a $50 Target GC a few weeks ago paying for that with our credit card points.  Get $10 GC for spending a "free" Target GC?  Yes, please!! 8-)

Also on the agenda this week is a trip to the Food Bank to drop off a car load of HBA/cleaning products .
We'll probably do that the same day we go out to The Christmas Tree Shoppes with Hubs.  There is one North of here about 30 min away now and I'v'e never been to one.  I probably won't buy anything but we are just going there to get out of the house and window shop.  We'll probably eat lunch out that day too.

Oh, and there will be a trip to Dollar General for some Taco Bell GCs as they are discounted at that store this week.
And of course, there will be a trip to, where else?, Rite-Aid......lolz

Lastly, head on over to Anne's blog, "Cooking and All That Jazz" to find out about entering her Christmas Card Swap.  She's done this for a few years now.  It's open to bloggers as well as blog readers so go join in! 

Sluggy

To-Do List.....October Edition

Let's take a look at how much of our To-Do List for October we achieved.......


* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid on time or early.  No interest paid.
Go me. 8-)))

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
I read this one............

"Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election that Saved a Nation" by Chris De Rose.

It was a thumping good read! ****
 Since I am related to both Monroe and Madison(Monroe being my 4th cousin 7 x removed and Madison was the husband of my 3rd cousin 7 x removed)I was compelled to read this book. ;-)
Two of our founding fathers with very different views on how to structure the government.  If the congressional election of 1789 had turned out differently, the course our country took might have been very different and the USA may well have been a very different place that it is today.
It was thought provoking especially given I was reading it in the month leading up to our mid-term elections.

And then I read this one.........

"Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford's Theatre" by Thomas A. Bogar.

Being a denizen of the "theatuh" I found this book exactly in my wheelhouse.  It's a fascinating take on the whole event and a must read for anyone interested in the history of the American theater or a nineteenth century history buff. 
This book is not how this event affected the country or the Presidency or the misguided actor John Wilkes Booth but rather how one single high profile murder of a President affected the rest of the lives of 46 individuals working in Ford's theatre that fateful night.  46 regular people.....actors, stage hands, designers and the owner of the theatre....who had the bad luck to be on site that evening and witness the assassination first hand changed all their lives and not for the better.  The fallout from that evening was tremendously damaging to these regular folks, who for the most part were just doing their jobs and trying to make a living.  It also opened my eyes to the muddled mess that was the investigation of the assassination by the police, the Secret Service and Secretary of  War Edward Stanton and the lack of justice handed out to some citizens(I'm looking at you Mary Surratt and Ben Spangler.)

* List items on eBay  FAIL  I just didn't get to this one yet. sigh.  Maybe this month....

* Hold Giveaway  DONE  I actually gave THREE boxes of goodies away.

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  All 3 were mailed and received.

* Finish Processing Produce  DONE(sort of)  I have finished processing and preserving produce from the "garden".  I got a little too ambitious about drying Oregano......

Ambition in the amount I thought I'd end up with as my quart jar is barely 1/4 full. lolz  No worries since I'll barely use up this amount in my cooking before next season.  ;-)
I do have another thing to finish processing still which I'll talk about in November's list since it's not really garden produce. 

* Put Deck Furniture Away  DONE

The patio chairs and the swing awning are put away.  We leave the table out(we might cover it).
Hubs even scrubbed the deck on the couple of sunny/dry days we had in October and got all the mold off.

* Clean my Car  DONE  We finally had a dry, sunny(note I didn't say WARM!)day on the 30th so I got out there and hauled out the vacuum and cleaners and got the Sonic spiffied up.  Of course the following week it rained non-stop and my car interior looks like it still needs love. 
 8-(

* Change out Winter clothes  DONE  Got all the clothes gone through and changed out.  Ok, not Everything gone through.....I still need to finish going through my pants.  Having lost weight over the last year I need to either get rid of or pack away some of my pants as they are too big now.  You should have seen me on the trip w/Kim and her Hubs having to hold onto my pants some days to keep them from falling around my ankles.  Nobody wanted to see that.....lolz!

* Pack for Trip  DONE  We packed very light for the trip to OBX as it was just a quickie of 5 days.

* Go on Trip  DONE  That trip is done and over and was quite enjoyable.  We might have to do one of those trips with my brother and sis in-law again next Fall.

How did your To-Do List go in October?
Did you get much accomplished?


Sluggy

Rite-Aid Pillaging This Week

I went to Rite-Aid on Sunday and bought this on Daughter's card...........

2 x Suave shampoo on sale=$5.00
I used a $3/2 Suave L2CQ so paid $2.00 in Bonus Cash for it.
I earned back $2 back in new BC.
Except......
besides the $3/2 Suave L2CQ came another $1/1 Suave L2CQ came off as well so I paid $1.06(w/sales tax)in BC and earned back $2 in BC.

Then I bought this on my card on Tuesday when I went to pick-up some Rxs.....

1 x Robitussin on sale=$5.99
2 x R/S candies on sale=$1.00
SubTotal......$6.99

I used a $3/1 Robitussin IPQ so paid $3.99 in Bonus Cash.
I earned back $1 in new BC(wyb2 Russell Stover candies).
I also earned a $3 cash rebates on SavingStar for buying the Robitussin so converted $3 of BC to cash on that card.

On Wellness Wednesday I bought this.........

The single sample pack of Tena undies was free on the Wellness table as well as a small tube of Advil which is not in the photo.

1 x Tena undies pack on sale=$11.99
1 x Unstoppables on sale=$3.99
1 x large bottle of arthritis strength acetaminophen 20% Wellness disc.=$11.99
1 x Alka-Seltzer sleep gummies 20% Wellness disc.=$7.99
1 x Lipton tea bags 20% Wellness disc.=$3.59
1 x Lipton decaf tea bags 20% Wellness disc.=$3.83
2 x Russell Stover sugar-free candies 20% Wellness disc.=$4.46
1 x Dove derma soap on clearance=$2.14
4 x Boost drinks BOGO50%=$29.96
SubTotal........$79.94

Coupons Used(remember that you can load WWQs onto your L2C account AND use the paper WWQs too and that WWQs can be stacked with reg. ManQ and IPQs)

1 x $8 wyspend $40 CatalinaQ=$8.00
1 x $5/1 Tena WWQ=$5.00
1 x $5/1 Tena WWL2CQ=$5.00
1 x $3/1 Tena ManQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Unstoppables CatQ=$2.00
1 x $5/1 R-A arthritis acetaminophen WWQ=$5.00
1 x $5/1 R-A arthritis acetaminophen WWL2CQ=$5.00
1 x $4/1 Alka-Seltzer gummies WWQ=$4.00
1 x $4/1 Alka-Seltzer gummies WWL2CQ=$4.00
1 x $1/1 Ala-Seltzer gummies ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Lipton WWQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Lipton WWL2CQ=$2.00
2 x $1.50/1 RS sugar-free candies WWQ=$3.00
1 x $1.50/1 RS sugar-free candies WWL2CQ=$1.50
1 x $2/1 Dove derma series item L2CQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Boost IPQ=$4.00
Coupon Total..........$58.50

$79.94-$58.50=$21.44 + .14¢ tax=$21.58 paid for with BC.
I earned back $10 in new BC(for buying 4 Boost)and the Dove counted toward a $3 Dove BC Deal and the $10 R-A gift card Deal.
Ex-CB will reimburse me $21.58 for the Boost drinks so everything else is free to me.

After stacked Qs the Tena was -$1.01, the Unstoppables was .99¢ the acetaminophen bottle was $1.99, the A-S gummies were -$1.01 the 2 boxes of tea bags were $1.42, the RS sugar-free candies were -.04¢ and the Dove was 14¢.  Applying the overage of $2.06 above and the $8 wys $40 to the Boost brought that down to $15.90.
My sister in-law will take the Tena undies and the rest will get used here.

Not a bad trip. ;-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the November 9th Edition

Let's take a look at what went on here at Chez Sluggy last week that was frugal..........


* Last Friday's Weis freebie was procured....

Just the frozen waffles in the left of this photo, not everything pictured. lolz

*  All this Rite-Aid shopping was free.  No cash spent OOP AND any Bonus Cash spent was earned back in new BC(or converted to cash through rebates).........a post to follow on what I got at R-A this week. ;-)

* I found money!

Between the pennies on the ground and the guy at Aldi who didn't want my quarter when he gave me his cart I found 46¢ there.

I don't know who it was but someone left .85¢ in my car(prolly Ex-CB or Hubs-I never leave change in my car).  Any $$ found in there, as well as in the washer or dryer, is MINE! lolz

*  Discount sticker meat at Aldi's made it $1.33 a lb!

*  All this for $4.69 at Ollie's(all but 1 item was 75% off!)....

*  The weather warmed up a bit this past week so I could turn the heat off for a couple of days.
No heat, no a/c is a win no matter how long I can get away with it.

What frugal wins did you have this past week?


Sluggy

Grocery Shopping Exploits This Week

On Tuesday after voting Hubs and I went down to Aldi to pick up a few things we needed plus we found a couple of Christmas items.  I picked those up too as I wasn't sure whether I would get back to Aldi before Christmas...........

2 bags of flour for $1.15 ea.
2 cans of cranberry "glop" for .89¢ ea.
4 cans of evap. milk for .59¢ ea.
1 pie crust rolls for $1.39
All of the above is for Thanksgiving

1 box cornstarch for .89¢ *not pictured*
1 bag cole slaw mix for $1.29 *not pictured*
6 bananas for $1.04 *not pictured*
1 bag of "Doritos" for Ex-CB .99¢ *not pictured*
4 cans refried beans for .75¢ ea.
1 bag of harvest bagels for $1.99
1 bag of chocolate croissants for $2.99(a treat)
1 container of chicken salad for $2.99(a treat)

And 5 items for Christmas--
2 packs of Bourbon Sweet Potato Ravioli for $2.99 ea.
1 Cranberry/White Cheddar Cheese round for $3.99
2 Stollen(1 Butter Almond/1 Cherry)Cake for $4.99 ea.(love this!)

And here was the deal of the day at Aldi's......

80/20 Ground Beef patties for $1.33 lb!!!  Each package was just over 1.5 lbs. and $4 off, which made them $1.33+/- lb.  I wish I had more room in the freezer for more than the 3 packages I bought.  We've eaten 5 of the patties already and the other 7 are wrapped well and resting in the freezer as I type.  ;-)

We spent $50.54 Total at Aldi.
Only $23.76 of that was Not Holiday spending(Turkey Day/Xmas).
Reg. retail at other grocery stores here would run upwards of $89 for all this.

The Aldi's had just reopened after being remodeled and I'll tell you it's a much nicer store now.  They expanded a bit and the lighting is much better(as is the floor plan).  The produce prices seem lower as well.

And don't look KIM, I hit the mother lode of abandoned change there.........

I went to get a cart and put a quarter in and some guy started waving and yelling at me, pushing his cart back to the corral.  He handed me his cart and I tried to give him a quarter(since I'd get "his" quarter back when I was done with the cart)and he just walked away, so I made a quarter. lolz
Then I looked down under the carts in the corral and saw a plethora of pennies scattered there.
It was pouring down rain but do you think I stooped over and picked up every penny I could reach?.....of course I did! lololz
Then when we were done and I returned my cart and retrieved my quarter from it there were more carts gone and I could reach the last few pennies that were under the row of carts.  I am .46¢ richer after that Aldi's visit!

We hit the Dollar Tree next door for 4 packages of boxed potatoes, $4 spent OOP.

Then we hit that town's Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!)that had all that 75% clearance food a couple of weeks ago and I picked up a few more items.......

I picked up just a few more items.........
2 MH coffee drinks
3 Avelina oatmeal
2 Jello puddings
1 Pillsbury frosting(cinnamon)
All 75% off=$2.70
The almond flavoring was $1.99(reg. Ollie's price).
So $4.69 OOP for everything above.

After my dr. appointment on Wednesday I went back to Price Chopper to use that $10 OYNO Catalina.........

The weekly flyer from the Sunday paper had a lot of coupons if you spent $15 on non coupon stuff---
1 x King Arthur flour for $1.99
2 x Domino sugar for .99¢(1 was .99¢/1 was $1.99 but I stacked a $1/2 Domino ManuQ so the second sugar was .99¢ as well)
1 x 18 ct. eggs for .99¢
1 x lb. of butter for $1.99
1 x PC brand choc. chips for .99¢
2 x Wesson oil for $1.77 ea.

I also found 2 x ZClif bars in a clearance bin for $1.79 ea.
Also bought but not pictured was a 12-pack of Snapple teas for Daughter and 3 boxes of Count Chocula//FrankenBerry cereal on clearance for $1 each for Ex-College Boy. ;-)


Here are the things I bought so my total before the special Q items was over $15.......

1 x Hatfield Black Forest dinner ham on sale for $7.19 and I had a $1.50/1 Q so $5.69.
2 x Hatfield chorizo loose pork on sale for $2.39 ea.
2 x Hatfield Pork Loins(Texas bbq flavor)on sale for $4.79 ea. and I had 2 x $1/1 Qs so $3.79 ea.
5 x Hatfield bacon packs on sale for $2.99 ea.
All the meat was $33.00 after sales/coupons.

But even better there are Ibotta cash rebates on the loose pork, tenderloin and bacon right now($1 on the loose and bacon, $2 on the tenderloins)
There was also a $1 ZClif bars rebate too.
I ended up earning back $15.50 in Ibotta rebates on this purchase($11 on meat items, $2 on Zbars, $2 Mid-Week Bonus and .50¢ November Level 1 Bonus).

$47.54 OOP after Qs and the $10 Cat and I got back $15.50 in rebates.
I'll take it! 8-)))

Then I hit Rite-Aid since it was Wellness Wednesday but that's another post for later.
I was so tired by then I never even got to Weis(PMITA)Markets before this week's sales ended.
Bu that's ok as they didn't have much I wanted in that ad.

I am over $100 spent for the week but that's aok as I picked up some Turkey Day and Xmas needs/wants too.


Sluggy