The Thrifty Wife of the Past

 Just had to share this little gem.......

Have a great Tuesday!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Will I Ever Learn?....Maybe Not!" Edition.......

I LOLed at this when I saw it on Facebook.  I guess I'd still be a dumbass if it's true. ;-)

Onward to the meal planning!
Moving On-

This is what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out

2. Monday--Fend For Yourself or Leftover Chinese

3. Tuesday--Take-out(working the polls all day/night)

4. Wednesday--Cheeseburgers, Squash
5. Thursday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

6.  Friday--Salmon, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out

2. Monday--Fend For Yourself or Leftover Chinese

3. Tuesday--Take-out Salad(working the polls all day/night)

4. Wednesday--Salmon, leftover Green Beans, Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--BBQ Chicken Thighs, Creamed Spinach, Baked Tater(Hubs)

6.  Friday--No Dinner for me/Hubs leftovers

7. Saturday--Cheeseburgers

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/planned overs or FFY and 2 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.  More Take-Out than I like to have but "election working happened" so it was not eat all day or get Take-Out.

Didn't cook the squash so that moves to this week.  No Romaine lettuce so that meal didn't happen either but I bought salmon and chicken thighs so that happened instead.

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

*  3 packs of sausage strips

*  2 packs of chicken thighs

*  1 bag of veggie mix

*  1 box of popsicles

*  1 piece of salmon

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  I piece of salmon

* 1 pack of chicken thighs

* 1 box of creamed spinach
* 4 burger patties

We spent a whopping $116.86 on food/toiletries/HBA last week at Weis($47.61)and Walmart($69.25).  I forgot to use a free gift card to pay some of the Walmart bill. sigh This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $269.54 for May so far.   

There are 6 shopping days left in May.

I've earned $114.43 on Ibotta in May.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in May.

I've earned $1.50 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in May.

I've earned 8,063 points from shopping on Fetch in May which equals $8.06

I've earned 15,950 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in May which equals $63.80.

I've earned 1,241 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in May which equals $12.41.

I've earned $18.87 in Target gift cards.

That's $115.93+ in rebates(not counting the ShopKick/Swag Bucks/Fetch/Target gift cards)on $269.54 in grocery spending so far.

My savings percentage for last week was 37.10%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for April and the monthly savings total for April comes in at  54.50%.(w/out R-A).  

Leftovers going into this week...1 cheeseburger, 2 chicken thighs.

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

1. Sunday--Fend For Yourself

2. Monday--Beef Pie

3. Tuesday--Teriyaki Pork Stir-Fry w/Veggies

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Grilled Squash
5. Thursday--Mushroom Quiche, Salad

6.  Friday--Pizza?, Salad

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I had a leftover pack of mushroom I didn't need for the Stroganoff so I'll make 2 quiches this week and freeze one.  The only thing I "need" is salad greens.  That doesn't mean I won't buy anything else however. lol  I am working on a $10 Ibotta bonus after all and I have 18 offers to finish before the end of May.  I do as many offers as I can at Rite-Aid(which will be Zero dollars and the rest I'll pick and choose what is needed and/or cheap after rebate at Weiss(PMITA)Markets and/or Walmart. 8-)

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

The 3 Amigos Hit the Road-Part Two

 Part One can be found HERE.

Last time we left off we were headed North up to the Rehobeth DE area to hit yet another outlet mall.  Talbot's was a bust, the kitchen store was gone(done in by COVID)but I did manage to pick up some Converse sneakers for Hubs at the Rack Room Shoes store.  We also hit the Skechers store and Sissie found a pair of comfy slip-ons.  I found a pair of tie-dyed sneakers but alas! they don't come in wide widths. 8-(

Then we hit "my" store, Vera Bradley.  I love color, especially purple and I love a deep discount so I dove in.  

I found a purse, a wallet, a matching travel pill case, a lavender mask and a matching small zippered case(which will become my next coupon envelope when my current one wears out.  Don't ask me how much this all cost because Kim and Sissie wouldn't let me pay for any of it!  They called it my Christmas presents.  They are so kind to this old slug. 8-)))

Then it was off to lunch at Applebee's across the road for Oriental Chicken Salads.  Yum!

We also hit Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)on the way back to the beach house.  The only thing I bought were 3 books but Sissie found her kitchen rugs she wanted badly to replace her current ones.  Note to self-never buy light color scatter rugs to use in a kitchen. ;-)

As we left to go back to the car Kim practically RAN across the parking lot to the Dunkin' Donuts and Mickey D's drive thrus to find change, so desperate to beat me in the hunt for loose change.  She dug a penny out of gooey hot tar in the DD's parking lot. lolz

Then it was back to the beach house for a little more Diet Cokes, Chardonnay and Iced Tea and fun and games.

Don't even ask what's going on here! lolz

We slept, packed up the next morning and lugged everything into the car.  I am shocked Sissie got all our crap into the car especially with all the shopping purchases.  She's a Master Tetris Packer!

Here's a bad selfie on me chugging the last of a jug of tea so we didn't have to wedge that into an already packed car. lol

We set off after clearing the premise of "Kim droppings"(aka Diet Coke cans) and dumping our garbage at the place you go to dump garbage there.  We stopped at a diner before leaving the Eastern Shore for lunch.  Not as relaxing a meal as I'd hope due to a fraud alert on Sissie's account and her dealing with that but we all survived the crisis.  I called a Beloved Blogging Buddy on the rest of the ride back to D.C. and we had some laughs with her too.

We hit the beginning of rush hour around the Capital Beltway but not too bad and made it back to Sissie's house in good time.

My BUD was waiting for me.......

This is one of Sissie's cats called "Bud".  He is quite social unlike most cats.  The first time I was at her house while I was sitting in the chair pictured behind him, Bud jumped up on my chest purring away.  Let me say for the record I am NOT a cat person but Bud is different.  Every time I sat in that chair he's climb up on the footstool and demand pets and attention from me.  We had a ritual going by the time I left for home of head butting/rubbing with each other.

Let me also state for the record that I am an idiot who never learns.  That footstool is huge and a heavy substantial piece of furniture.  Every time I got up from that chair I'd bang my shin into that stool and never learned not to do that.  By the time I got home my right leg looked like this....

Stupid stupid slug!  It's disappeared now and it didn't hurt so there is that.

Back to the hjinx...

Sissie's hubby made us dinner the night we got back, his famous Italian Wedding Soup served with Popovers that Kim/Sissie whipped up.  Yummy!  And if hubby is reading this tell him again that NO his soup was NOT too salty and it was fab! ;-)

We sat around and talked, watched a little Jeopardy(well at least I did lol)and watched the Kim droppings accumulate....

I call this art installation "Diet Coke cans on garbage can lid".

She can get them to the can but lifting the lid is evidently too much work. hehehe

So Kim's cans(note I didn't say Kim's Can which is a whole other story)became the running joke.

At one point she was in the downstairs powder room and Sissie's hubby snuck over to the door and opened it enough to lob an empty DC can in there at her. lolz

Later Kim made her own art installation on Sissie's entryway table I called "Diet Coke Can Still Life"......

Kim also left an empty Diet Coke can in Sissie's car on the driveres seat at one point before I left.  I don't know what DC trouble they got into after I left but I'm sure there was more silliness. 

On Tuesday after Sissie finished work she took us out to lunch(after we finally roused Kim out of bed)at a place she likes to hang out at near her house.  We sat at the bar(yes I was barely able to climb on that high bar stool)and had lunch as we kibbutzed with the regulars that were there.

Upon leaving I noticed the planters with pretty geraniums in them.  A closer look and I saw signs in the planters........

Notice the cigarette butts tucked under the sign. lol

Kim arranged this cig(almost a full one!)so it was prominent.

What is D.C. coming to with this blatant display of not following rules?!?!

Oh yah, it's Washington....*snort*

Then Kim made a beeline for the Dunkin' Donuts next door as she'd only had 1 pastry so far the whole trip!  Oh the agony.........

Instead of then going back to Sissie's we were off on another shopping trip.  yay.

This was an outlet mall not 15 minutes from her house! 

This photo is of one of the many entrances and this stretch went on and on and on.  Notice the escalators on the right side as well.  There was a lower level we never even got to!

Frick and Frack made a beeline to the Talbot's outlet(of course).  I hobbled along behind them.

I found a few things to try on including this burgundy tunic/sweater top.........

And again Sissie wouldn't let me pay for it even though it was a great clearance price.  I passed on the white top I was considering because the discount wasn't high enough.

I also spied this dress for 60% off on the rack that might have worked for my son's wedding in February.........

Of course it looked hideous on me(didn't fit right and I didn't want to have to alter it myself)and if I HAD worn it to his wedding all the bride's family would have gotten the impression that the groom's mother was the Madam in a Shanghai Opium Den(just needed a black wig).lolz  So I passed on that dress.

This was by far the longest Talbot's shop so you get another photo of me waiting......

Finally we were done with Talbot's and it was onward to the Ugg's outlet to look for boots for a missionary Kim and Joel are helping to outfit for her mission.  After listening to Kim complain about the prices(lol)she got her boots and we wandered across the mall to the Coach Outlet Store.

I am a Coach Store virgin, but no more.  I felt the need for an oxygen mask when I walked in because of the rarified air in such a pricey store. ;-)

The store was all decked for Mother's Day gifting as that was the coming Sunday.  I liked some of the bags and tried to get Sissie to buy me one. hahahah

I did find this one 75% off.....

They also had it in teal(another color I like)but it was too small for me and it was $73+tax.  Dang, I could get two bags for that at the Vera outlet. lol

I almost pulled the trigger on this wristlet/wallet though........

It seemed to perfect "Anti-Coach" item.....their tradmark fabric/leather with hot pink lips embroidered randomly on it.  It was fun and snarky and 75% off but still I just couldn't do it for $68+tax.  The photo I took is enough for me. 8-)))

After leaving Coach we walked back toward the entrance..........

I saw this neglected landscaping area with nice rocks, nice for painting and thought for a moment of putting one in my purse to take to Lorraine the next time I saw her.

But I didn't swipe a rock because the thought of spending time in jail in MD was more unappealing.

Of course the slug who wouldn't spend big money on a purse or wallet wandered into the Bath and Body Works outlet and came out with all this......

6 tubes/bottles of shower gel/body wash.  They were having a B3G3 sale. lolz

Back into the mall and Kim had disappeared into the Ann Taylor outlet looking for clothing for her missionary gal and Sissie was sitting at a table enjoying the day.

Of all the shopping jaunts this one will forever be referred to as "The Bataan Death March of Shopping". ;-)

After leaving the outlet we hit the Mickey D's for Diet Cokes and I got my Free McFlurry on my app too....

Back to Sissie's for dinner(Taco Tuesday!)and I enjoy my McFlurry for dessert and watched the season finale of "Finding Your Roots".   A few more head buts with this guy........

....then it was off to bed a few hours after that.

When Sissie got home from work around 11am she was beat and wanted to take a nap after a night of insomnia so she gave Kim her car keys and told us to go off somewhere.  More shopping.  go me.

We didn't go far and we only went to one store-Home Goods.  We don't have one here so it was a fun experience.

Well it was fun after this fish tried to eat my arm.  I know this shot would have been funnier if the fish pot was on the floor and I had my head in it but it was too heavy to move so this lame shot will have to do.

I spent most of my time in there leaning on a cart and shopping the clearance section.....of course, right?  I found a few things, mostly some gifts and a new dish mat for the kitchen.

These signs were funny too.  This one describes Sissie......

And this one would fit a lot of folks..........

Then it was home to Sissie's but first another stop at Mickey D's for Kim's addition.  We parked and went inside since the drive thru was backed way up.  I ordered my Iced Tea and turned to Kim and she had disappeared!  I assumed she had gone into the rest room and I KNEW what she wanted so I ordered her DC for her and paid for both drinks.  It took awhile to get them and as I picked them up from the counter Kim comes flying into the building.

That RAT had left and gone to the drive thru window, dodging cars, and used the ruse that her sister had dropped her bracelet in the drive-thru lane there so she was looking for it.  All the while you know she was looking for dropped change in order to catch up with me and beat my total.

I resisted the urge to throw her drink, which I had just paid for, while she had double crossed me and ran around the building to look for change!  Cheater?  You be the judge.....

She may be a ruthless rat when it comes to the Money Game but I still loves her. 8-)

I had to take a photo of this though Sissie will kill me.

This is the toilet roll holder in the bathroom I used.  You can tell Sissie has cats just seeing this, right? lololz

Another excellent meal that night and more laughs and chatting and it was off to bed again.  I had to pack up and haul everything into my car including Sissie's Balls.......

She had a spare pair for me as a parting gift. lolz

We said our goodbyes and hugged hard and took a final photo.......

As payback I only got 3/4 of Kim's face in this photo.  Ha!

I hit the road for home making a couple of stops and getting home a bit late due to hitting Harrisburg PA rush hour traffic and construction but it wasn't too bad.

Kim flew home 2 days later and I don't even want to think about the trouble those two got into by themselves! 8-)))

And thus ended my little trip South for fun and giggles with my sisters from another mother.

Sluggy

Too Tired & What the Shat?!

I'm too tired to finish that 3 Amigos post....maybe Sunday?

I am way behind on emails too.  How does stuff pile up so fast as I age?!?

I got out of my car Thursday and saw this pitiful sight on my passenger window....

Good Queen Bess has had some real sorrows lately but must these ex-colony avians shit upon her too?
Really, it's just the last straw!

Going to go hose off the Queen now........

Sluggy

Frugal Friday-the May 21st Edition

 A few things qualified for frugal this past week...............

*  I did some Rite-Aid transactions this past week but I haven't photographed any of them.  7 transactions were I spent $182.99(including tax)of Bonus Cash and earned back $155.00 in new BC so I spent down the BC by $27.99.  But this doesn't include the $8.60 in Ibotta rebates earned at R-A last week, and the 296 Fetch points earned as well.

*  I found money!

The only places I went this past week was 1 trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets and a few trips to my Rite-Aid.  I didn't write down what penny or pennies were found on which date but these were all found at Rite-Aid.

Found Change This Week... .06¢
Found Change This Year...$3.78

*  I found this item on sale at Weis(PMITA)Markets this past week...

Johnsonville Sausage Strips-looks like bacon and it IS still pork.

They were on sale for $4.99 per package and had $2 off Weis peelie Qs on them so $2.99.
Plus there was a tearpad of Qs next to the meat case for $1/1 from the manufacturer so I paid $1.99 each for 3 packages.  Has anyone tried these yet?  Let me know what you think.....

I also found BOGO Perdue thighs with $2 Weis peelies on them and Coho Salmon for $5.99 lb.  Nice!

*  Hubs and I worked the election polls.  I tell ya it sure is a loooong day and we get paid pennies but I feel like I perform an important job(my civic duty as it were)doing this.....even though the country's all going to hell in a handbasket no matter what, because well, "bread and circuses" as the Romans said.

Me, cynical?!?  Nah.  ;-)

That's about it from here this week.  Didn't go anywhere otherwise and I'm still trying to rest my knee after the Bataan Death March of Shopping. lolz

Tell me about your exciting Frugal Week!  I bet it' better than mine.

Sluggy