A Little More Rite-Aid This Week

I hit up another Rite-Aid this week and bought all this........

2 x Head and Shoulders 20% Wellness Disc. lower than sale price=$11.66
1 x CG mascara clearance=$1.49
1 x CG eyebrow pencils 20% Wellness Disc.=$3.83
SubTotal....$16.98

Coupons Used
1 x $5/2 Head and Shoulders L2CQ=$5.00
2 x $3/1 CoverGirl IPQ=$6.00
2 x $1/1 R-A Peelie on the shampoos=$2.00
Coupon Total....$13.00

$16.98-$13=$3.98 +.24¢ tax=$4.22 paid for with Bonus Cash
I earned back $5 in new BC($5 Cover Girl wyb2 items)so this was a .78¢ moneymaker.

My kids like Head and Shoulders but it's so expensive.  I was glad to find these two with the $1 off peelies on them, plus used a L2CQ and used them to absorb some of the overage on the Cover Girl Qs.

I've got 2 more of those $3/1 CG Qs so I'll go out in the next day or two and look for more clearance items.


Sluggy

Still Trying To Get Into the Holiday Spirit

It's been a rough Christmas Season around Chez Sluggy.....at least in my own head.
My primary doc changed my "crazy pill" earlier this month when I had my semi-annual check-up.
I went on an anti-anxiety med mid year in 2018.  It took a good month to adjust to that one(stomach upset, other weird symptoms)and then he upped the dosage a month later, which took a couple of weeks more to adjust to it.

But the real problem was that soon after beginning this drug I began experiencing ringing in my ears and my hands shake like Barney Fife on crack cocaine and amphetamines! lolz  I don't know if this is a coincidence with the new meds or are symptoms it is causing.  But it's no fun.  My handwriting is affected and I am now a danger to myself and bystanders when I attempt to cut out coupons.  8-)))

So the doctor, upon hearing about my symptoms on the off chance these were side effects of my medication changed the drug I am on.  He wants me to report back after a month being on this one as to my symptoms and if they are or are not.

Of course there were adjustments going on this different med(stomach upset and vertigo)too. sigh
So far(2 weeks in)the tinnitus and the shaking haven't subsided.
I also looked the new med up and it can cause shaking as well......I just can't win, can I? ;-)

I think I'll have to go off the crazy pill totally first to see if the symptom abates.  If they don't then we know it's something else going on with me and not a crazy pill side effect.  But my mind is already "going there" and I am half convinced I have Parkinson's or something devastating like that.

Anyway we are slowly getting Xmas stuff done.  I am running hot and then cold on doing stuff......from wrapping to getting the tree up and decorated to baking to cleaning to other decorating, etc.  I am driving everyone else here nuts playing Xmas CDs 24/7 trying to get myself in the mood.
Thank goodness the shopping was done well before December got here(except for a few odds and ends).

And then on Sunday I had a low spell again.  Between thinking about my mom-who was Christmases  biggest fan-and the fact that Sunday would have been my oldest brother's 67th birthday.
Mom died in 2000 and my brother in 2009.  Mom died a week before her 66th birthday and my brother has just turned 56 when he went into a coma and died 1.5 years later.  I guess I am just missing the both of them right now.

I don't usually feel so down in December but this medication and these unknown health problems may just be causing a dark cloud to hang over my head this year.
Plus I am having more arthritis issues in the last year where it is affecting my daily living.

And I am hitting a BIG MILESTONE birthday in January and I am not looking forward to that.
Getting old ain't for sissies.....

Other than those symptoms my health is getting better all the time(BP down, weight down, Cholestrol down, etc.)but you can't stop time and your aging from marching forward.

I'm going to go take a nap now and try to get my head into a better place.
I am blessed in so many other ways in life(well, maybe except for that no grandchildren yet thing lolz)and I need to stop throwing myself a pity party.

HOHOHO!
I'm going to go snuggle Chester and  take some Christmas tree photos later to show y'all.  That should help my mood, right?

I hope everyone else is having more luck being festive and jolly this Holiday Season.

What is your sure fire way to get your mood up at this time of year?

Sluggy

A Little Rite-Aid Porn & A Weis Q Tip for Friday

I found some clearance CoverGirl(1 of the mascaras snd 2 of the Axe) I came up with this lot on Daughter's card.....

2 x Axe body wash 20% WDisc. price on 1/clearance price on 1=$8.97
2 x Suave shampoo on sale=$6.00
2 x CoverGirl mascara(1 clearance $1.57/1 20% WDisc.)=$6.60
SubTotal..........$21.57
Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 Axe In-Ad RAQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Suave Professionals IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2//2 Suave In-Ad RAQ=$2.00
1 x $3/1 CoverGirl L2CA=$3.00
1 x $3/1 CoverGirl IPQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$11.00

$21.57-$11.00=$10.57 +.63¢ tax=$11.20 paid with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $11.00 in new BC($4 Axe, $2 Suave, $5 CoverGirl).
I thought both mascaras were $1.57 clearance...didn't notice that one was the curved brush type and not on clearance, otherwise this would have been free and a slight moneymaker.  That darned sales tax made me go over by .20¢.  If I had notice I would have bought 1 mascara and 1 eyebrow pencil and had an approx. $1 moneymaker.  boohoo for me.......lolz

Then I bought this on my son's card..........

2 x CG eyebrow pencils w/20% WDisc.=$7.66

I used a $3/1 L2CQ and a $3/1 IPQ so $6 off=$1.66 + .10¢ tax=$1.76 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned $5 in new BC(CoverGirl wyb2 items)so I good $3.24 moneymaker.

Go print out the $3/1 CoverGirl eye Q on coupons dotcom and get yourself some moneymaker(after BC earned)eyebrow pencils before they yank that Q and/or the weekly sale is over.

If you shop at Weis, here's a tip.........
go to Coupons dotcom and print out the Ragu $1/2 Qs there soon.

Weis's Fantastic Friday later this week will have Ragu for $1 per jar(when you buy 3).  With 2 copies of this Q you can pick up 4 jars for $2 total or .50¢ each.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Birthday Cake" Edition.........

Thursday was Daughter's birthday and she couldn't decide what type of cake she wanted.  I had some boxes of pistachio pudding mix lingering in the pantry as well as a bag of coconut so I went online and found a recipe that would use both up......a Watergate Cake.

It's named after a pudding dessert that Kraft came up with in the 1970's to promote their new pistachio pudding mix product.  That "Watergate Salad" called for pineapple, the pudding, nuts, mini-marshmallows and Cool Whip(another Kraft product).  Originally named Pistachio Pineapple Delight, a Chicago food editor renamed it Watergate Salad to drum up interest in the recipe when his/her newspaper reprinted it.....this was during the Watergate scandal of 1972.
The Watergate Cake evolved from that Watergate Salad.

Daughter said it looked good so I was given the "green" light to make this.  It was a hit and I got to move two lurkers out of the pantry....win/win for me! ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries

3. Tuesday--Chicken Alfredo w/Mushrooms

4. Wednesday--Leftover Buffet

5. Thursday--Beef Stew, Biscuits

6. Friday--Pizza, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries

3. Tuesday--Chicken Alfredo w/Mushrooms

4. Wednesday--Pizza, Salad

5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Mushroom and Green Bean Risotto 

6. Friday--Garlic Shrimp Pasta & Veggies
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 night of Eating Out/Take-Out. 
The Stew didn't happen(again)because I got a deal on some frozen veggie meals with pasta and we had that instead.  Then there wasn't as many leftovers as I thought so I made pizza.

 A couple of grocery trips.....1 trip to Weis($42.03)and a trip to the Grocery Surplus Outlet($68.80)brought the weekly food spending to $110.83 and brought the December monthly total to $210.89 so far.
I wasn't planning on the Surplus Outlet last week but we were in that town so it happened and I have no regrets as we won't get over there until Spring again.  I got some really good deals I'll talk about later this week.

I have 14 days left in my shopping month for December.  Half a month to go and I am on track to spend $400 this month on food.  I wanted to have a low spend this month but it might not work out that way.  Such is life.....

My savings percentage last week was 55.46%(without Rite-Aid trips)and December's monthly savings total comes to 60.17%(w/out R-A)so far.  

Leftovers going into this week....a little bit of taco meat and some Baked Beans.  I didn't make large amounts for last week's dinners so not much leftovers.

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

1. Sunday--Bourbon Sweet Potato Ravioli w/Bechamel Sauce, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Roasted Chicken w/Veggies

3. Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches

4. Wednesday--Italian Sausage Sandwiches, Potato Salad or ?

5. Thursday--Beef Stew, fresh Bread

6. Friday--Chicken Pot Pie
7. Saturday--Homemade Pizza

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 0 nights of leftovers/FFY, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Roma Tomatoes for BLTs and salads(bought on Sat.), fresh carrots to roast.

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  

About Linda

An anonymous person posted on American Dreamer's blog, "Frugal Things Every Day" on Thursday that they had heard from Linda.

"Just wanted to let everyone know that's concerned about Linda.  I spoke to her on the phone last night...she's okay but her computer has a virus and she doesn't have the money to have it fixed.  I can't post on her blog, so please share this info.  Thanks"

Sluggy