Some Days It Doesn't Pay to Get Out of Bed

Yesterday was a Very Bad, No Good Day for me, just like in that book about Alexander my kids read when they were young.

It began with a phone call from my dr.'s office.  He won't be in for my June appointment.  And come to find out, he is leaving this medical group/system.

I really like my doctor.  He is the first one I've found that I have confidence in and get along with and actually makes me look forward to doing the right things for myself medically. 
He "gets me".

50+ years to find the right doctor for me is a very long time and I am so not looking forward to finding a new doc that fits with me.
The practice punted me over to another doctor, another Osteopathic doc at least.  The guy looks young enough to be my grandson.  I have clothes older than this guy!!

I just wanted to sit down and cry over this turn of events......

I am a complicated bundle of medical conditions and needs.  I still have no help for my Hidradenitis Suppurativa though I do finally have an appointment at an HS clinic in late July(that was the soonest I could get an appt. when I called in late Feb.).  Did I mention that this clinic is 2 hours away?  This won't be fun to get to when the weather turns bad again. sigh.

Add in all these new strange symptoms I've developed when I turned 60 and my outlook moving forward just gets me down.
It's true, when you turn 60, if something isn't already wrong with you, cheer up! because a whole new basket of crap will get dumped in your lap. *snort*

Then ex-College Boy decided to leave his job.  He can't handle the stress of all the selling he's forced to do there(with his anxiety condition)plus he's been there just shy of a year and they STILL haven't trained him in the job he has been told to do.  Is this normal now in the business world?  Hire someone and don't train them and expect those hired to handle a job they haven't been trained to do w/no supervision or support?  It started to get really bad once the company he works for got bought out by another company.  Frankly after hearing what all has gone on I am amazed he's lasted this long!

So now that the Daughter is graduating and leaving in one month(yay!)we now have ECB here indefinitely when we thought he'd be flying the coop and getting his own place in a couple of months and until he finds something else he's back on our health insurance.  At least he got a nice tax refund so he can financially tread water and not take the first shitty job he finds.

And to add insult to injury, my favorite bbq joint down in VA closed down last Saturday for good.
I know that's no biggie but still........just something else to make my outlook even worse.

And that current champ on Jeopardy is pissing me off too!  I just want someone to wipe that fake smile off his face and beat his ass!!! ;-)

Add in all the political crap and world news and I feel like the world is piling on me.

So excuse me I can't be Big 'Ol Mary Sunshine right now.
I may take a couple of days off from blogging to get my head back on straight.

Anybody else feeling low about things going on in their life too?  Let's commiserate. Let us all know what's buggy you!

Y'all play nice while I'm gone.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Seasons are Changing" Edition....

The early trees are starting to bud here and the forsythia bush, poor thing, got fooled by that almost 70F degree day into blooming some, only to be followed by a night in the 30Fs.
We'll be seeing our cars covered in a pollen layer fairly soon here.
Oh boy.....can't wait.......HA!

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday---Pork Chops w/Apricot Glaze, Rice w/Broccoli, Broccoli

2. Monday-Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

3. Tuesday--French Onion Soup

4. Wednesday--Barbecue Sandwiches, Cole Slaw

5. Thursday--Steak, Baked Potatoes, Veg TBD

6. Friday--Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday---Pork Chops w/Apricot Glaze, Rice w/Broccoli, Broccoli

2. Monday-FFY(Hubs had pesto, I had soup)

3. Tuesday--Lasagna

4. Wednesday--Barbecue Sandwiches, Cole Slaw

5. Thursday--Garlic Chicken w/Pasta and Veggies

6. Friday--Beef Pie w/Cornbead Topping
7. Saturday--Beef Stroganof, Rice w/Quinoa, Cauliflower

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 night of Eating Out/Take-Out.

I got to digging around in the chest freezer to locate the ham as it will be needed next Weekend and I unearthed some ground beef and a London Broil that needed using up.  This meant that besides Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday the plan got changed last week(and Tuesday was a change as well, as the Lasagna was suppose to happen on Monday instead).
No worries as the changes didn't necessitate buying more foods as I had them all here anyway.

What got put into the freezer last week.....
* Big bag of mixed veggies
* 2 bags of grilled chicken strips
* 2 bags of pepperoni
* 2 lbs. haddock

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.....
* pork chops
* bag of broccoli
* 2 bags of smoked pork
* 1 container of homemade pesto
* 2 bags of a chicken pasta meal
* 2 lb. ground beef
* a London Broil
* 4 bags of carrots and green beans
* 1 bag of cauliflower

In terms of volume between what gots put in and what gots taken out I managed to open up a bit of real estate in the freezers.  I've gotten enough points at Weis to get a free entree item(turkey/ham/big ass frozen lasagna, to choose from)so it's a good thing we've eaten down a bit.

One trip to Weis($54.03)and one trip to Big Lots($35.48)brought the food spending last week to $89.51 and my April total so far to $200.47.
Well I forgot to account for the Bread Outlet stop and the Dollar Tree foray of last week so those will go into next week's tally.

My savings percentage last week was 58.35%(without Rite-Aid trips)and April's monthly savings total came to 58.16%(w/out R-A). 

I have 16 more food shopping/spending days in April.

Leftovers going into this week.... some Harvard beets, most of the pan of lasagna, some barbecue and Cole slaw, 2 helpings of Garlic chicken meal, a large pan of Beef Pie(I doubled the recipe), lots of Beef Stroganof w/rice.

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

1. Sunday---Leftovers

2. Monday-Chili Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--French Onion Soup or Leftovers

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Fried Haddock(or Baked), Cole Slaw, leftover sides
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 3 new meals cooked, 4-5 night of leftovers/FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu?
Cabbage to make Cole Slaw.

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  

TWO Giveaways for April? Let's GO!

I know Spring has sprung here as the Serviceberry tree flowers are starting to bud.
So it's time to hold some Giveaways!
Yay!!!

For The first Giveaway, here's what you can win if you are selected.........

1 x Suave deodorant
1 x Max Freeze topical pain cream
1 x HE conditioner
1 x Pantene shampoo
1 x Simple Micellar Water face wash
1 x Tums sugar-free
1 x Schick disposable razors
1 x Crest toothpaste
1 x Colgate toothbrush
1 x Visine allergy eye drops
1 x Nivea lip balm cherry
1 x Magnavox ear buds
4 x Hershey Gold full size candy bars


Close up shots of the goodies..........

Around $60 worth of regular retail goodies(depending on where you shop for this sort of thing).
Lots of April necessities here--things to get you ready for Spring(razors, hair, deodorant, face wash, dental needs)pain cream, allergy drops and ear buds for outdoor yard work time and then candy bars to feed your soul(and antacid tablets if you eat too many bars at one time.

There is a little more room in this box so depending on whomever wins and their needs I can tuck a little more chocolate in and/or some cosmetics paraphernalia.  ;-)

We are doing things a bit different this month.


* This April Giveaway Box of goodies is open to any and all readers WHO HAVE NEVER WON A  GIVEAWAY.  You can be a new reader or a long-time reader, just haven't won yet

There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER NON-WINNER YET PERSON PER DAY for this Giveaway.  Come back every day and enter though!

Please tell me in your entry what your big plans are for April......or your Easter dinner menu if you celebrate that holiday.........your favorite thing about Spring.........if you make jams and jellies when the fruit starts coming in...........your best buy at the grocery store last week........your best money saving move.......or something random about yourself that we don't know.........that sort of stuff.
No boring "enter me, thanks" entries.  Be creative!


* Now for the second Giveaway, it's open to everyone who HAS won before only.
Being an "old-timer" here you get the luxury of choosing what goes into your box(within reason).


I would like to try to grow the readership so I want you to do two things to get entries......

1-get someone to come read this blog who doesn't read it.  Have them enter the NON-WINNER YET GIVEAWAY and get them to say in their comment there that YOU(using your name or blog name) sent them here.  Easy Peasy.
You will get an entry in this 2nd Giveaway for everyone who enters the NON-WINNER GIVEAWAY and mentions your name or blog.

2-The other way to get a daily entry on the 2nd ALREADY WON GIVEAWAY is to tell me something you'd like to see me cover/talk about/discuss on this little blog.  It has to be something we don't cover yet or give me some constructive criticism on something I do here and/or how I can do that thing better.

Ok, got it?

GIVEAWAY 1-YOU HAVE TO BE A NON-WINNER and can enter daily.
GIVEAWAY 2-OPEN TO FOLKS WHO HAVE ALREADY WON ONLY and can enter daily AND get additional entries if someone enters the Giveaway #1 and mentions you and/or your blog.


I'll leave these giveaways open until Tuesday, April 23rd at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. On April 24th I'll mark all valid entries  on slips of paper and have Ex-College Boy draw the two winners(one for each giveaway).

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winner on this blog on April 24th and that person has 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

If I am not contacted via email, I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supplied with their entry(or gave me to add to the Giveaway Data Base)and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one with those Google Circles nonsense I CAN NOT CONTACT YOU as Google Circles doesn't show your contact info.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get the April Giveaways started.  Good Luck to all!

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid This Week....30% off & Clearance

So Sharpie and Paper Mate items are part of a "Buy 2/Get $2 BC" Deal this week.  I found that all those Sharpie and Paper Mate clearance items also work on this Deal.

I hit Rite-Aid on Friday and Saturday since it is the 30% Friends and Family sale those days to get some more free and/or moneymaker Colgate toothpaste(some of the varieties that are on sale for $3.50 are even less with 30% off plus the In-Ad Q and any ManuQ you can find to stack with them).

Here is what I ended up getting..........

3 x Colgate Optic White toothpaste
3 x Cogate Total toothpaste
2 x Sharpie pens on clearance
2 x Paper Mate colored pencils on clearance
2 x Prang paint brush sets on clearance(not part of a deal, just almost free)

All of this cost me $2.86 in Bonus Cash and earned me back $4.00 in new Bonus Cash(2 x Buy2 Sharpie/PM Get $2BC)so a $1.14 moneymaker. 8-)

Then this morning and did this........

2 x Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste
2 x Colgate Total toothpaste
6 x Paper Mate colored pencils
1 x Paper Mate dual end colored pencils on clearance(these were $1.24 and the other 6 packs were .62¢)
1 x Sharpie pen on clearance

Total was $3.92 including sales tax paid for with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $8 in new Bonus Cash(4 x $2 wyb2 S/PM)so a $4.08 moneymaker. 8-)))

Lots of toothpaste for the giveaway boxes and some art stuff too and I grew my Bonus Cash a bit.

Next week there's not much worth getting at Rite-Aid unless you need Easter basket candy or movie gift cards(some of those give BC next week).  I might try to do the $15 prepaid Visa P&G wyspend $50 that expires the end of May.  I've got $7.80(after Qs)from shampoo I bought at CVS a couple weeks ago so far toward that.  I might get some Olay body wash(love that stuff!)as it's on sale and the Qs for it are valid until 4/27 and I have BC I need to use up or lose on 1 card.
Still thinking on what to do there.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the April 12th Edition

Here's what passed for Frugal around here this past week.............

*  I got the Weis freebie last Friday.....

A 2 lb. bag of frozen mixed veggies.  This will go into a massive pot pie or a pot of soup eventually.

*  I hit Big Lots last Sunday during their 20% off store wide sale.........

I didn't get anything exciting really, just some canned//bottled pantry supplies like green chiles, refried beans, rice, some spices, stuff like that.  I spent $38.60 but can't find my receipt right now to see how much I saved.  It was all much lower than buying it at the grocery store though at regular price.

*  I hit some laundry detergents on clearance at Weis last week........

 2 each of large jugs of Tide, large bags of Gain flings, jugs of Persil and smaller bags of Tide pods.

Reg. price for all was $66.56, on clearance at 50% off($32.24).
Even better I had 8 x $2/1 ManuQs and IPQs on all these brands/items so I paid $16.24 for it all(plus $1.28 sales tax).

*  I went to CVS...............

A couple of weeks ago I got lured into a CVS deal that had me pay more OOP than I like to and left me with $7.50 in ECBs.
Not wanting to go all "Extreme CVS" at this point I had to find a way to use those ECBs and not wind up with more ECBs which would just lead me down a dark path like I am on at Rite-Aid. lolz

So I bought those 2 deodorants on the left in the photo, used 2 x $1/1 IPQs and a $3 Reward I had earned for that first foray back into CVS a couple of weeks ago.  My OOP for those was $1.04 w/tax.
That generated $5 more in ECBs($4 for the deodorant, $1 just because I was there I suppose lol).
After sale prices, coupons and ECBs for the rest of what is in the photo I paid .45¢ including .03¢ tax).

All the other items earned me a $10 Cash Card which I redeemed.  This doesn't expire like ECBs so if I ever want to go back I have it to spend but it doesn't mean I have to go back anyytime soon. 8-)

So I guess I did ok spending $1.49 total OOP this trip and getting a $10 card back.

*  Hubs and I had lunch out at Bob Evans while running errands this past week.  I used a $5 off $25 Q there so saved a bit that way.  These Qs usually cover what we would have spent on the tip so I'll take that as a win. 8-)

*  I saw this 3L box of sangria was on the clearance shelf at the liquor store......

Marked down to $19.99, not a great price but better than a poke in the eye around these parts.
I found a $2/1 tearpad w/Qs for "any Black Box" wine somewhere else in the store and used it so got my marked down wine for $17.99.
Go me. ;-)

Still no change to be found around here so that's about it for my week.
Living the dream folks, living the dream.........

What frugal wins did ya'll have lately?


Sluggy