This Week on The Dining Table

The "For the Coffee Addict" Edition.........

Spent some time last Friday wandering around Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)and saw these coffee mugs.  Too bad I don't know anybody who needs more coffe mugs as these were high quality, very cheap price and funny to boot!lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Leftover Ham and Mac and Cheese(just Hubs and I)

2. Monday--BBQ Chicken Thighs, Asparagus, Leftover Fried Rice

3. Tuesday--Birthday Meal Out(Ex-College Boy)

4. Wednesday--Breakfast-Scrambled Eggs w/Ham and Cheese, French Toast

5. Thursday--Brats on Rolls, Grilled Onions, Broccoli, leftover sides smorgasboard lolz

6. Friday--Leftover Lasagna, Tomato/Cuke Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftover Ham and Mac and Cheese(just Hubs and I)

2. Monday--BBQ Chicken Thighs, Asparagus, Leftover Fried Rice

3. Tuesday--Birthday Meal Out(Ex-College Boy)

4. Wednesday--Breakfast-Scrambled Eggs w/Ham and Cheese, French Toast

5. Thursday--Brats on Rolls, Grilled Onions, leftover sides smorgasbord 

6. Friday--Leftover Lasagna, Tomato/Cuke Salad
7. Saturday--Fend For Yourself

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out. 
Everything actually got cooked/eaten as planned AND the specific day planned!  Amazing!! ;-)
I did very little actual cooking last week so that was nice.  Unfortunately most of the leftovers are gone now....boo!.......so that means this coming week I'll be in the kitchen quite a bit.

What got put into the freezer last week.....
*  1 package of Brats bought for Thursday's dinner but not used

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.......
* Nothing because of using up leftovers

 Lots of little grocery trips..... smallish trips to Weis($6.64/$1.56/$20.94), a big $65.64 trip to Weis, a trip to Walmart($10.94), a trip to Maines for produce($14.17), a trip to Aldi for produce($14.55) and a trip to P&R Discount Outlet( $4.36)brought the weekly food spending to $138.80 and brought the February monthly total to $319.69 so far.

My savings percentage last week was 56.27%(without Rite-Aid trips)and February's monthly savings total comes to 60.91%(w/out R-A).  

I have 3 more spending days in the month.

Leftovers going into this week....1 helping of chicken teriyaki stir-fry, fried rice(more than 1 helping).

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

1. Sunday--Korean Beef BBQ, stir-fry Broccoli, Ramen Noodles

2. Monday--Dirty Rice w/Andouille Sausage and Red Beans

3. Tuesday--Lobster Ravioli in Alfredo Sauce, Tossed Salad

4. Wednesday--Pasta w/Turkey Italian Sausage Sauce

5. Thursday--Pork Chops, Green Beans, Sweet Potato Fries

6. Friday--Assorted Leftovers
7. Saturday--Taco Con Queso Casserole

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 1 night of leftovers/FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? All the meats needed this week are coming out of the freezer.  I'll just need a little salad stuff, almond milk for Hubs and reg. milk for the rest of us.

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  

A Survivor's Story.....Part One

How about some genealogy for a change?  I haven't written any of these types of posts in forever.

As I've noted before I am related to many early American families of note in Virginia though my maternal ancestors.

I want to talk about a few of my long ago kin today and a salacious event involving them that occurred  in 1792.

I have many ties to the Randolph family of Virginia.  Randolph family members intermarried with other prominent Colonial VA families--the Carter, Byrd, Fitzhugh, Stith, Lewis, Isham, Bland, Cary, Harrison, Bolling and Beverly.
One of the early members of the Randolph family, William, and his wife, Mary Isham are often called the "Adam and Eve of Virginia".
Mary Isham Randolph, on this line, is my closest cousin, being a 2nd cousin 12x removed. We share a common ancestor in Mary's Great Grandfather(my 13th Great Grandfather),

It's like a Rubik's cube puzzle keeping all these folks straight what with all the intermarrying of first and second cousins.  I am surprised I am not insane and have 3 extra toes at this point! lolz

Now a bit of background information........

One of the Randolph clan, Thomas Mann Randolph, was born about 1740.  Thomas was the son of William Randolph III and Maria Judith Page. Thomas Mann Randolph and his 2 sisters(some accounts say there were 4 sisters w/3 sisters surviving their parents, so it's either Mary Page Randolph and Judith Randolph or an additional sister named Priscilla Randolph)were orphaned in 1745.

William Randolph, Thomas's father, was close to his cousin, Jane Randolph and her husband Peter Jefferson. William had put a codicil in his will that Peter and Jane would raise he and Maria's 3 children until his only son, Thomas Mann Randolph, became of age.

                      Tuckahoe Plantation

So cousin Jane and Peter Jefferson moved their 3 daughters and 1 son, named Thomas Jefferson(yes, THAT Thomas Jefferson)from Shadwell Plantation near Charlottesville, VA to the Randolph's Tuckahoe Plantation outside of Richmond VA and raised the Randolph and the Jefferson children together until Thomas Mann Randolph turned 13 in 1752.  This is how Thomas Jefferson came to grow up at Tuckahoe and the Randolph and Jefferson families became close.

 Thomas Mann Randolph married Anne Cary sometime before 1762.
Anne Cary's parents were Col. Archibald Cary and Mary Randolph.  Thomas Mann Randolph and his wife, Anne Cary, therefore shared a set of great grandparents(William Randolph I 1650-1711 and Mary Isham 1659-1735)making them 2nd cousins.
This also means that Thomas Mann Randolph is my 5th cousin and Anne Cary is my 7th cousin.
Got that?

Thomas Mann Randolph and his wife, Anne Cary, had 13 children together, the most notable being Mary Randolph(1762-1828), Virginia Randolph(1786-1852), Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr.(1768-1828), Judith Randolph(1772-1816)and Anne Cary "Nancy" Randolph(1774-1837).

* Mary Randolph, the eldest child, wrote an early American cookbook.  More on her in another blog post.

* Virginia was also an author who published four books after her husband'd death.  Her husband was Wilson Jefferson Cary(1783-1823)and they were also cousins......my head hurts too much to try to figure exactly how they were cousins right now so I'll just take the word of the information where I read this. PS-It's probably through their shared connection to the Bolling line that goes back to Pocahontas.

*Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. is probably the most notable of their children.  Thomas served in the US Congress, in the Virginia House and Senate, served in the rank of Colonel during the War of 1812 and was elected Governor of Virginia in 1819.  But his most notable achievement was marrying the daughter of Pres. Thomas Jefferson, Martha Jefferson. 

Martha was the only one of many acknowledged as well as unacknowledged children of Thomas Jefferson to live past the age of 25.

* Judith Randolph married her cousin(seems to be a theme here, doesn't there?)Richard Randolph.  They were 1st cousins 2 x removed to be specific. 
Except for one brief episode that brought scandal to the Randolph family, Judith and Richard Randolph disappeared into historical obscurity fairly quickly after their deaths(except for one other unusual stand they took upon their deaths).  Perhaps this accounts for not being able to find any portraits of them.

*  Anne Cary Randolph, known as Nancy Randolph throughout her life, is the person and story I want to delve into in the next post(since this one has gone on and on).

Anne was part of a Colonial Scandal that rocked the ruling class and ended with her being ostracized from her homeland, her social class and the esteemed extended family of American Founders she was born into.
But it's also a story of a real survivor who, given the odds, inexplicably rose to the top and earned a place in our national history.

The Oh So Juicy! Part Two coming soon......

Sluggy

And the February Winner Is.......

Sorry I am a bit late with this Giveaway post update.  Yesterday was a bit busy, being Ex-College Boy's birthday and all.

First to recap what was up for grabs.  All these lovely goodies.......

There were 44 valid entries for the February Giveaway.
Random dotorg was used to select the winner.

And the Winner is...........

Making Cents Of It All!

Making Cents Of It All February 15, 2019 at 9:27 AM
Hubby's birthday is in February so I have to love it.

Congratulations MCOIA!
Please email me your full name and mailing address and I'll get this out in the mail on Monday to you.

Thanks for everyone for playing along again.
Another Giveaway will be popping up sometime in March.  Just keep checking in here at this same Bat Channel. ;-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the February 22nd Edition

Let's take a look around and see what frugalness we came up with this past week............

*  Ex-College Boy's Birthday was yesterday.  Because of the weather this week(see "unpredictable")we had his Birthday Meal out on Tuesday(as he was off then).

He requested to go to the Hibachi place(like the Benihana chain but local and just as expensive!).
I discouraged alcoholic drinks(hate paying for overpriced booze out)but I was the only one who got iced tea. 8-(
#frugal fail

We did go on Free Appetizer Night so we got a free appetizer.  Yay!

And I finally remembered to use a $10 gift coupon(gotten from a birthday meal 3 years ago! but still valid)for one of these bday trips here.

Of course, because it's me, the waitress forgot to take the $10 off when she brought the c/c receipt to sign. sigh.
Hubs was perfectly happy just to sign the incorrect receipt and not say anything and not get our $10 off.
But y'all know me...........lolz
So "I" got it adjusted. ;-)  I
t helped take the sting out of the ridiculously expensive prices there.

How I yearn for the days when my kids were happy with a chicken tenders meal or a burger for their birthday dinner. lolz

*  I scored at Rite-Aid this past Sunday with clearance cosmetics paired with Qs meaning I only "spent" $13.30 in Bonus Cash and/or Prepaid Visa script(gotten free as well)to earn another $20 in Bonus Cash on 1 of my cards.

This spending earned me $20 in Ibotta cash rebates as well so overall a $6.70 moneymaker. 8-))

I also bought this last Sunday

The Rite-Aid I was in had this new Alka-Seltzer Mucus product which has a full price(after Q used)rebate if bought before Sunday-rebate info HERE.
Anyway I bought this on Daughter's card and used a $3/1 ManQ and promptly applied for the rebate essentially making this free once the $8.99 rebate is received.

I noticed that this item is part of the "Spend $50/Get $20 Bonus Cash" scheme too so you know what that meant?
Sluggy got her Revlon Qs and went out in search of more clearance cosmetics.  ;-)

5 x Revlon face stuff $3.74=$18.70
4 x Cover Girl 210 mascara(straight brush)$1.49=$5.96
2 x Revlon brow crayon $2.49=$4.98
1 x Cover Girl face powder=$2.57
2 x Revlon lip crayon=$4.98
5 x Nivea cherry lip balm(clearance .82¢)=$4.10
SubTotal......$44.29

Coupons Used
5 x Revlon $3/1 face make-up IPQ=$10.00
4 x Cover Girl $2/1 item IPQ=$8.00
2 x Revlon $2/1 brow item IPQ=$4.00
1 x Cover Girl $2/1 face item IPQ=$2.00
2 x Revlon $2/1 lip item IPQ=$4.00
Coupon Total.........$28.00

$44.29-$28.00=$16.29+63¢ tax=$16.92
Add that $44.29 spent to the $11.99 for the Alka Seltzer and I "spent" $56.28, paid $25.91 in BC/Prepaid Visa script, got $20 BC back and $8.99 in a cash rebate so a $3.08 moneymaker.
I'll probably  return a couple of items just because I was $6.28 over what I needed to spend and I don't strictly "need" everything for giveaways above(and that makes it an even better deal in the end).

Even better if the assorted Revlon Ibotta rebates come back on my list before these receipts expire I can get up to another $18 in cash rebates on all this(but not holding my breath).  8-)))

Moving on.........

*  While out on Tuesday picking up cosmetics I found this too...........

A quarter partially hidden under one of those floor mats by the register at the first Rite-Aid I went to.

And then this.........

A dime at the second Rite-Aid I went to under the candy racks by the register.
I am up .35¢ this week in free money!

And speaking of Rite-Aid, this printed at one of the stores this week for me..........

30% off Sale coming the first weekend in March.  Watch for it!

*  And then there was 75% off Valentine's Candy at Rite-Aid too..........

Cheap chocolates for giveaways....woohoo!

*  While I didn't get to use all my IPQs for free yogurt and soup before the sale ended at Weis(PMITA)Markets thanks to a snowstorm on Wednesday, I did get this on Tuesday evening.............

4 x Oh! yogurt
2 x Oikos triple yogurt
1 x Too Good yogurt
All were $1 on sale and I used Qs which doubled that made them all free.
I would have gotten more of the Too Good brand but that only had 1 cup left on the shelf.  If they had had 2 cups I could have gotten a $1 Ibotta cash rebate as well. sigh.
I also picked up 1 more pint of ice cream, the Weis brand gelato on 50% clearance for $1.73.
Being as it was Senior Citizen day Tuesday I also got .17¢ off the glelato too so I paid $1.56 OOP for everything I bought in that trip.

That was a nice surprise, getting that Senior Discount too.
Hey!....17¢ is .17¢, right?!?

*  I had a $5 Kohl's birthday reward to use soon.
A couple of weeks ago Hubs and I went to Kohl's just to check clearance things out.
Ex-College Boy is NOT a shopper and the kid is in serious need of new clothing(he wears things until they are rags)so I will go clothes hunting for him and now that he's gainfully employed, he reimburses me what I spend on him.
I didn't use my $5 reward but I did pick up $50+ worth of clothes for Ex-College Boy and they were giving out $10 Kohl's cash that week so I now have $15 in script to spend.

Hubs' birthday is coming up in early April so I went out to Kohl's last week(during the time frame I have to use that $10 Kohl's cash)to see if I could find something for his bday.
I found just the thing(but will show it after he gets it).  It cost me $16 so after my $5 bday reward and the $10 Kohl's Cash his Birthday gift cost me $1 OOP.  8-)))
I'll add this gift to the things I picked up at Sallie's when Kim and her Sissie were here and I am done with Hubs gifties. 8-)))

* While out on Tuesday I dropped by the Discount Grocery near the second Rite-Aid I hit just to browse.
I found a few things to bring home cheap.......

A jar of Korean Bulgogi sauce for .99¢, a box of garlic mashed taters for .79¢(2 pouches), a lb. thick cut Hatfield bacon package for $1.99(not pictured)  and a pack of OM hot dogs for .59¢(not pictured).  I would have gotten more of the hot dogs at that price for the freezer as Summer grilling season is approaching but I am still in empty mode in regards to the freezer.

*  And the best deal I got this past week.............

Back in late December I had an eye exam.  It had been 1.5 years since my last exam and my eyes had gotten a bit worse.  So I went to Vision Works as they were charging the least amount around here for a vision exam(I no longer had vision benefits on our insurance so hunting a deal on anything to do with my vision is even more important to the financial bottom line).
After the exam and armed with a new Rx, I perused their selection of glasses and came up with two possibilities and sat down with the salesperson to see what the cost would be.

Of course the pair I liked best was the more expensive $242.97 all in.
They offered me a BOGOFree Deal, 2 pair for $404.95 all in.
Not liking this amount I went home with nothing and proceeded to look online.

I found almost the exact same pair of frames online for a LOT less....the only difference was there was a little less "bling" on the arms(which I could certainly live with).  So I used my prescription and ordered those instead.

And they finally showed up this week!  It seemed to take forever but was really took just over 3 weeks to get here.

In fact GlassesUSA had a deal if I bought TWO Pair also, but their price for 2 pair was much LESS than what Vision Works wanted to charge me for ONE pair!
So I got 2 pair of these glasses(one to keep downstairs and one to keep upstairs)for $137 total and free shipping.

I spent $94.03 LESS than Vision Works for the same thing and basically GOT A FREE PAIR.

Here's Sluggy rockin' the purple specs. ;-)

Keepin' it Frugal and Livin' the Dream folks....

Tell us about all your Frugal Victories lately too!



Sluggy

Random Stuff from Sluggy

*  A personal loan offer......again!

I am forever receiving stuff like this.  Personal loan offers to pay off my credit card debt.
Umm, don't these folks ever look at my credit report first?  If they did they'd know that I don't have credit card debt and haven't had any since the early 1990s. lolz
I use credit cards but responsibly.....and pay off the balance before the end of each billing cycle.
The interest rate on these loans range from 5.99% to 28.99%.  I could see if you have a c/c balance with a higher interest rate transferring your debt to this but that person ain't me! 8-))

*  Some more crap you can buy if you have more money than you can spend.............

A gold plated musical porcelain box that says, "My Granddaughter I Love You With All my Heart".
Actual size is 4"L x 3.5"W x 1.75"H.  Also adorned with 5 sparkling "jewels".
For the bargain price of $59.95 + $9.99 shipping plus sales tax for your state this can be yours.
Yeah.  This fine offering is from the ubiquitous Bradford Exchange.
I'd say a much better way to say I love you to your grand kids is to take that $59.99 + $9.99 and sales tax and buy them a Savings Bond or invest it into a 529 Plan so they can someday go to college.  There are much better ways to honor your progeny than wasting $$ on crappy trinkets.

*  I got a few goodies this week at Rite-Aid.  The Valentine's candy was 75% off.....

Lots of goodies to stick into giveaway boxes....woohoo!

*  Speaking of Valentine's Day, here are the flowers Daughter got from her Fiancé......

Sort of droppy at this point(Vday was almost a week ago)but pretty white and pink tulips.


*  I also found this 75% off at Ollie's"Good Stuff Cheap!" last week..........

An entire box of King Size Oreo bars for under $2.00.

*  Here's a photo I took of the Full Snow Moon the night we took Ex-College Boy out for his Birthday Dinner.......

Sort of foggy out that night and the photo didn't do it justice on my phone.

*  Here's what we got the next morning..........

More snow and sleet and then freezing rain. STill digging out today.  bleh.  It's suppose to get close to 50F later today and then mid 55'sF on Sunday.
Crazy Winter.


*  Also from our friends at the Bradford Exchange, a Playful Pup necklace........

A sterling silver-plated pendant, from your choice of 30 dog breeds, hand painted enamel puppy with movable legs and tail(actual size of dog is about 1/2 inch).  Also on the included 18" silver-plated chain is a silver plated heart charm engraved with "I Love My(name of breed)" along with a "genuine diamond".
For the low price of $79(payable in 4 installments of $19.75)plus $9.98 shipping and sales tax this can be yours! ;-)

Have I mentioned yet how much I DESPITE getting these leaflets urging me to buy crap like this anytime I buy ANYTHING online?!?!?

*  And lastly I found this photo of someone we all know and love...........

The person in question is pictured on the left in this very very very old photograph. *snort*

Oh, she is going to hate me for this......

Any guesses? ;-)



Sluggy