This Week on the Dining Table

The "I've got no photo" Edition................

I am ensconced down in Ocean City with the evil Kim twins at the moment and my phone charger is in the car so I have no photos to share yet.
But be advised that the hilarity has begun!
Here's a recent pic of the puppies instead...........

Dixie has decided she likes her bed better turned upside down and hangs off it like a cliff.  What a goof!

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--FFY
2. Monday--Lasagna Helper, Veggie from Freezer TBD

3. Tuesday--Beef Pie w/Green Beans/Carrots, Cornbread Topping

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches w/Veggie from Freezer TBD

5. Thursday--Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole

6. Friday--Leftovers or FFY or Breakfast for Dinner
7. Saturday--Leftovers or FFY

And this is what actually happened--

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

1. Sunday--FFY
2. Monday--Lasagna Helper, Corn

3. Tuesday--Beef Pie w/Green Beans/Carrots, Cornbread Topping

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

5. Thursday--Chicken, Cheese, Rice and Broccoli Casserole

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Leftovers of FFY

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/ffy, and 0 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out.
Nothing got thrown away and there were some leftovers when I left town so the guys won't starve right away.

What got put into the freezer last week.....

* 4 pork chops
* 1 bag of broccoli
* 2 lbs. butter
* 2 eggplant parm entrees
* 1 bag of baby carrots

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.....
* 1 bag of corn
* 1 bag of green beans
* 6 thin pork chops
* 2 chicken breasts

Trips to Weis($64.95), the Shursave Market($17.24)and a trip to Big Lots($26.78)brought the weekly spending to $108.97 and my October spending on food to $108.97 so far this month.

My savings percentage last week was 45.06%(without Rite-Aid trips)and October's monthly savings total comes in at 45.06%(w/out R-A).

I have 24 more food shopping/spending days in October.

Leftovers going into this week......Beef Pie, Lasagna Helper

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

1. Sunday--No Clue
2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No Clue

4. Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6. Friday--No Clue
7. Saturday--No Clue

This week Hubs and Ex-College Boy are on their own as far as meals go.  I left them with assorted leftovers still in the fridge, a pot of fresh pasta sauce and 2 packed freezers with a wide variety of foods in them as well as a stocked pantry.
It will be interesting to see what they fix/eat while I am gone. ;-)

What needs buying for this menu?
Don't know, don't care. lolz

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  

Garden Totals

Here are the harvest totals for my modest little garden.........

Broccoli......5.75 lbs.
Cauliflower.....3.10 lbs.
Cucumber...1.70 lbs.(or 3 cukes)
Tomatoes....27.25 lbs.
Green Tomatoes yet to ripen.....1.75 lbs.
Grand Total of 39.55 pounds of food grown.

And not a single squash plant gave us anything. meh.

That is all.

Sluggy

To-Do List......the September Update

Here's how the September to-Do List turned out.......

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything was paid on time. No interest paid EVER! lolz

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

"The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough"

Mr. McCullough writes very readable books so it's always a joy to pick one of his up.
Wilbur and Orville(as well as their sister, Catherine, who was a teacher and an Oberlin graduate)were very interesting people.  
This book told me a lot I didn't know about the Wrights.  I found their trips to NC for their flight experiments most interesting as that is the part of the world I grew up near.


Then I read this one.......

"The Whole Town's Talking" by Fannie Flagg

I am a big Fannie Flagg fan but this books, IMHO, wasn't up to her usual standards.  I don't know, I just found it lacking in depth and it just seemed a predictable plot.  It started off well but by the end I wasn't as enamored with it.  But I am still glad I read it.

And then I read a third book.......

"The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving: A Novel" by Jonathan Evison

This book went fast and I actually finished it before September was over.  It was a delightful little read(though the subject matter was so delightful lolz)that kept me interested and in suspense.  I may have to hunt down Mr. Evison's previous novel, "West of Here" and give it a look.


* Purge Inserts & Q Envie  DONE  
My poor little coupon envie looks so thin and anemic lately as I haven't been spending much time hunting down Qs to use.
 I have hardly any Qs in my envie right now after cleaning it out and the Insert stack is quite short.

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

All the above plus a few items chosen by the winner were given away.

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  
The box went out promptly and received safely.

* Deep clean Master Bedroom  IN PROGRESS
I haven't been able to deep clean our bedroom for ages.  All the stuff stored in it was relocated to new places in the house by the beginning of September but with everything I've been working on in September(sewing room mostly)I haven't gotten the bedroom thoroughly cleaned.  It's been cleaning by drips and drabs in there so far.
When I get back from my trip, the seasonal clothing will need to be switched and I'll incorporate the closet into the deep clean too.  More to do on this in October.

* Prepare Peppers for Freezer  DONE
This chore got done in early September as that is when we went to the farm and picked a peck of peppers(or was it 3 pecks? I don't know.).

* Can Tomatoes  DONE

I canned the tomatoes in early September.  After that the tomatoes ripened in drips and drabs so I either sauced and used them right away or tucked them into the freezer as there wasn't enough to run the canning pot really.
I didn't can as many this year as last partly because I didn't buy any at the farm like last year and we ate more of the ones we grew fresh(or I made sauce to use right away).

* House Train Puppy  IN PROGRESS
Mostly Dixie is trained now and we haven't had any accidents in the house in a month but I hesitate to mark this one DONE for awhile longer.  Maybe at the end of October?

* Take Load to Salvation Army  DONE
I didn't get a photo of what we took in the last week in September.  Mostly it was Hubs' things he de-cluttered from the man cave as he was setting it up after the makeover in there.

* List Items on eBay  IN PROGRESS
I got about 7 items up in September. It is so frustrating though as eBay REQUIRES you to have the "Make An Offer" feature on non-auction listings so I am having to run the gauntlet of lowball offers from eBay bottom feeders. ugh.
Is it worth it really anymore?  Maybe I'll just start putting my eBay goodies in Giveaway boxes instead!

* Get Car Checked for Trip  DONE  The oil got changed and all belts/hoses checked and tires inflated to proper levels.  We are all set to travel...woohoo!

* Move More $$ Into a CD  DONE I finally got this completed.  The cash hasn't been in a CD for a month yet and already I've earned $30+ on the deposit(can't take it until the CD matures but I still count it every month lol).  Much better than the .06¢ it was earning a month in the reg. checking account. 8-((

* Organize my Stuff in Sewing Room  DONE

All my crap is in there now.

And it's all organized and set up.

Now I just need the motivation and inspiration to get in there and sew something. lolz

* Reorganize Garage  IN PROGRESS
With the Stockpile Sale lots of things got moved and reorganized in the garage.  I've still got some work to do out there but with the weather getting cold now(and I'll be away for a couple of weeks)I don't know how much more progress I'll make this year.  I'll call this one done for the year once October is finished.

* Put Garden to Bed  FAIL
As we are still harvesting veggies into October the garden wasn't put to bed in September.  I am hoping Hubs does it without my help while I am away.  hehehe

* Organize my Stuff in Dining Room  IN PROGRESS  The Dining Room has become "eBay Central" now........it's where I photograph, store and pack what I am attempting to sell on eBay.  It's also where I load/store Giveaway boxes too.  I've got it fairly organized in there now and don't need to clear it out until Thanksgiving, when I'll just move the stacks into the corner of the living room where the Daughter's hanging device(for her back pain)use to be.

* Go Through Stack of Recipes  FALL
Here's what I need to go through...........

A red box of my mother's recipes as well as print outs of recipes from online and a recipe tin with recipe cards, both mine and my mother's.  A lot of these print outs from online can get pitched.  I just didn't get to any of this in September.  Maybe this Winter when I'm stuck inside because of the weather I'll get around to it?  Let's remove it for now and re-attempt this chore during the Winter in 2020.

* Make Reservations for Dec./Jan.  IN PROGRESS
I've gotten MY half of the reservations completed. Hubs is in charge of the car rental and the dog boarding reservations.  I suppose I'll have to nag at him, especially the boarding rez as they will fill up for the Holidays soon. sigh

* Clean my Car  DONE
I got it cleaned and vacuumed out.  The cup holder was nasty(Ex-CB must have spilled something in it one of the few times I've let him take my car lately)but otherwise not too bad.  I wish I could reach the windshield better to clean the inside of it but it's done.

* Color my Hair  FAIL
I didn't get around to coloring my hair until this past Thursday, which was October.

*  Pack for Oct. Trip  IN PROGRESS
Packing is a process and takes days for a trip like this.  I commenced the process late September(making the checklist and gathering supplies).  The actual packing(putting stuff in the car)happens a couple of days before leaving.  After all, I can't be riding around to Rite-Aid and Weis(PMITA)Markets here with my car filled with stuff, right? ;-)

*  Hold Stockpile Sale  DONE

Held the sale the first Saturday of September and traded a lot of what is pictured above for cold hard cash below, with a trace of my sanity too.........

That's all from Chez Sluggy for September.  It was a good and full month.
Onward and upward to October!

Did you have a productive September?  Tell us all about what you got done. ;-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the October 4th Edition

Here's a look around at what frugal wins we had this past week.........

* We picked what is probably the last of the garden veggies.....

Hubs picked the last of the tomatoes, including some green ones.  Except for the Cherokee Purple which we'll reserve for slicing and eating fresh, the rest of the ripe ones went into my last pot of sauce  made from our tomatoes.  Hopefully the green ones ripen soon.

And I went out yesterday in the rain and snipped the last of the broccoli.  I made a chicken, rice, cheese and broccoli casserole Thursday evening for dinner and this was just enough broccoli for it.

Growing your own food saves a ton at the grocery store and if you grow tomatoes you actually get to taste a "real" tomato and not that genetic monster they raise to sell in the grocery store that looks great, travels well but has no actual flavor.


* I found money!

This corroded penny was found in my car when I cleaned it out on Saturday.

These 2 pennies came from Rite-Aid....the nice shiny one inside the store on the floor and the grody one in the parking lot.  It looks like it was run over a few hundred times!lolz

Another penny in Rite-Aid when I went to buy a Sunday paper on Sunday.

And these three in Rite-Aid(where else?!?!)on Monday when I bought all that cereal.

And this lonely penny at Weis by my favorite self-checkout.
Free money tally for the week is .08¢.

*  A free gift card arrived last Friday......

I had enough points with my Hotel Program that I sent off for this $50 gift card.  Now to use this to it's best advantage.

*  I hit Big Lots on Sunday during their 20% off Friends and Family Sale.  I like to stock up on tp at one of these but I didn't need to(see Weis stock ups the week before)so I just got a few things.

Some good deals at Weis..........

And some good deals at Rite-Aid....

And some samples at Rite-Aid as well........

* Between SavingStar and Ibotta I got back $21.10 in cash rebates this past week.
Sweet!

* I also had a number of post coupon/refund situations this past week resulting in $8 cash back---

$4 back at Rite-Aid on Sunday when the cashier hit the total button before taking my Qs.....

$2 back when my 2 digital Qs didn't come off at the Shursave Market.  It was actually $1.99 back($1 and .99¢)but she gave me $2 even.

And $2 back for being overcharged on some clearance turnip greens at Weis.......

* I got the Weis Friday Freebie last week.....

That's about it from here.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?
Tell us all about them! 8-)))





Sluggy

Rite-Aid Wellness Wednesday

Well my WW plan got blown out of the water when I got to the store yesterday.
Rite-Aid online had Cold-Eeze on sale for $4.99 a bag.
Stack the WWQ $4/1 Cold-Eeze and IPQ Manu $2/1 Cold-Eeze and you've got $1.01 overage for every bag you bought(so buy something at least $1.01 when you buy a bag to cover the overage)for free Cold-Eeze.

But in the store the Cold-Eeze was NOT on sale. sigh.
With 20% Wellness discount they were $6.79 so .79¢ OOP after stacked Qs.


First though, here are the samples they were giving out.........

A new Cold-Eeze 2 pack with elderberry in it, Vivarin caffeinated chewing gum and a Zim's Max Freeze sample pack.

Then I bought all this on my Daughter's card........

2 x Advil on sale=$27.98
3 x Robitussin on sale=$17.97
2 x Russell Stover sugar-free candy on sale=$4.00
SubTotal........$49.95

Coupons Used
2 x $4/1 Advil IPQ=$8.00
2 x $4/1 Advil WWQ=$8.00
3 x $2/1 Robitussin IPQ=$6.00
3 x $2/1 Robitussin WWQ=$6.00
2 x $1/1 Robitussin PeelieQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Russell Stover sugar-free WWQ=$4.00
Coupon Total.......$34.00

$49.95-$34.00=$15.95 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned $10 in new Bonus Cash and $6 at SavingStar($4 Advil, $2 Robitussin)so after all that a .05¢ moneymaker. ;-)

But I just looked at my SavingStar account and I not only got the 2 rebates I mentioned above but they also gave me the $4 AdvilPM rebate.  I bought 2 Advils so I guess they counted one against the PM rebate?  Whatever, I'll take it as it means a $4.05 moneymaker in the end.  ;-)

Then I bought this on my card......

1 x Cold-Eeze 20% Wellness disc.=$6.79
1 x Zims Max-Freeze on sale=$8.49
2 x R/S candy singles on sale=$1.00
SubTotal.........$16.28

Coupons Used
1 x $4/1 Cold-Eeze WWQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Cold-Eeze IPQ=$2.00
1 x $5/1 Zim's WWQ=$5.00
Coupon Total........$11.00

$16.28-$11.00=$5.28 paid for with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $4 in new BC($3 Zim's, $1 Russell Stover)so I spent down the BC by $1.28.  I had BC expiring soon and I'll go back later this week to spend some more.

*Update*
Remember all that cereal I bought on Monday?

Ibotta rebates popped up late Tuesday on my account for all three varieties I bought(Raisin Bran, Special K, Frosted Mini-Wheats)so I submitted the receipt and got another $6.00 in cash rebates back, including a $1 Kellogg's bonus for submitting for 3 or more cereal brands.

Now that transaction is also a $5.31 moneymaker between cash rebates and BC earned.
8-)))


Sluggy