Meal Plan? MEAL PLAN?? We Don't Need No Stinking Meal Plan!!

 The "Meal Plan?"...

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Chinese Take-out

2. Monday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

3. Tuesday--Some Protein TBD, Sweet Potato Wedges

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Spinach Salad
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself

6.  Friday--Steak, Baked Potato, Tossed Salad

7. Saturday--Leftovers

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

1. Sunday--Chinese Take-out

2. Monday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

3. Tuesday--No Clue

4. Wednesday--I had a slice of Raisin Bread
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself

6.  Friday--FFY

7. Saturday--More Chinese Take-Out

Last week saw 1 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/planned overs or FFY and 2 night of Take-Out/Eating Out and 1 night of Who Knows!?.

I was out of town most of the week but I know I thawed and cooked up 5 thin chicken cutlets-one went into the Caesar Salad on Monday and Hubs did what he wanted with rest of them while I was gone. I would bet dollars to donuts that at least one dinner while I was gone involved pasta as well. lol When I got home late Saturday all I wanted was Hot and Sour Soup and bed.

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

* Nothing

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

* 5 chicken cutlets

We spent a whopping $18.33 on food/toiletries/HBA last week at Weis(PMITA)Markets before I skipped town.  Not home and didn't shop much-not to say I didn't also hit up Rite-Aid and use Bonus Cash before I left town too. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $122.06 for June.   

There are 9 shopping days left in June.

I've earned $142.25 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in June.

I've earned $3.50 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in June.

I've earned 7053 points from shopping on Fetch in June which equals $7.05.

I've earned 1036 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June which equals $4.14.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in June which equals $0.

That's $120.46 in rebates(not counting the ShopKick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $103.73 in grocery spending.

My savings percentage for last week was 44.00%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for June and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 66.80%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week...some carnitas is all.  Hubs will take care of that for 1 or 2 lunches.

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

1. Sunday--FFY-I had a small tv dinner

2. Monday--Chicken apple sausage, Sweet Potato Wedges

3. Tuesday--Spinach Salad and TBD

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or No Clue
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself

6.  Friday--Salad, Pizza(homemade on flatbreads)

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Nothing I can think of yet.  My brain still isn't back here totally. 

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

Feeling Low About the Death of my Cousin

 I got word that my cousin, Mel, died yesterday morning.  My mother was an only child and my father had one sister, my aunt.  So my only cousins are her 3 kids so now I have 2 cousins remaining.

My family lived in Virginia and they lived in Massachusetts so growing up we really didn't see them much.  They visited us in 1969 and we made a couple of trrips to see them and my grandmother in Massachusetts on a couple of Summer camping trips that are now infamous in our family.

This is a photo from the mid 1960's of my Aunt, Mel and her 2 older brothers in their backyard in MA

Then both our families fell apart because of divorce when we were both teenagers.  I visited with my Aunt, Grandmother and my cousins in the Summer 0f 1979 when I was doing Summer Stock theater in New Hampshire. I saw Mel at my Grandmother's funeral as Granny was buried down in Virginia with her second husband in 1981 the Fall after I graduated college and my Aunt and Mel came to the funeral.

I finally tracked Mel down on Facebook in 2015-she was married and I had a devil of a time finding out her married name.  Mel and I reconnected  via Facebook in 2015 and about that time we were both done raising our kids and readdy to "get our lives back" and travel, etc. she organized a small family gathering at her home in 2016 with all but 1 member of my father's family(aunt, cousins, their kids, etc.)present,

And then about 6 months later came the news of Mel's Lou Gehrig's Disease(aka ALS)diagnosis. sigh
Hubs and I saw them the Fall of 2018 when we took Kim and her hubby up to explore New England(we al had dinner with Mel and her hubby one night on that trip).

Then in 2019 on our way to Porcfest hub and I stopped by for a night to visit on our way to New Hampshire.  We had some laughs and went out to dinner and meandered around the harbor there.  She was still doing well even with the progression of that insidious disease.

Last Summer any plans to visit had to be put on hold(stupid COVID!)so there was just a little Facebook communication and then she took a turn for the worse about 6 months ago and went downhill fast and on Tuesday morning I got a call from her brother that Mel went to be with Granny and her dad(who passed in 2020)and heaven gained another angel.

I feel badly especially for her husband.  They seemed to have been deeply in love and I know he is hurting badly right now.  And is he special because he took care of Mel with love during her long(or short depending on how you look at it)illness.  He is a special kind of man.  Mel and her husband raised two fine sons together and dang it if she didn't become a grandmother before me. even though I am more than 2 years older than her.  ;-)

Mel was a kind, funny woman.....the light of my Aunt's eyes(not that she doesn't love all her children)but Mel was special.  Our lives seemed to have many parallels in them though we weren't close growing up or later in life.  I am so glad I reached out and reconnected as older women because she added something special to my life as she did to anyone she chose as her friend.  

Please do me a favor and reach out to someone in your life today you haven't seen or heard from in awhile.  Don't wait until later because you don't know if you'll get another day and another chance.
Mel didn't even make it to her 59th Birthday.  None of us is immortal and the older we get time is the enemy.  Embrace each other and every moment, both the mundane and the extraordinary.

Sluggy

New Giveaway...It's June? Whaaa!!

 Who's ready for the Fifth Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2021?!?

It's June already and May sort of slipped by me(due to my trip with the Fearsome Twins)so I'm due for a Giveaway..let's get this one started.  You only have a limited number of days to enter this Giveaway so don't delay!      

Let's take a look at what is in the Giveaway Box this month........

2 x Kokie nail polish(Pop the Champaign, Forget Me Not-Gold w/glitter, blue grey)
1 x Vaseline spray lotion

1 x Suave sleek and shine conditioner

1 x Pantene shampoo

1 x Schick ladie's razors

1 x Colgate optic white toothpaste

1 x Doan's pain reliever pills

1 x Cover Girl concealer(medium)

1 x Rimmel mascara(2 pack)

1 x Riesen chocolate caramels

1 x Kokie lip gloss(On Fire-red)

1 x Revlon color correcting pen

1 x Oral B toothbrush

1 x Listerine ready tabs

1 x Carmex lip balm

1 x Almay eye shadow palette(160-Thrill Seeker-teals)

1 x Trident orange gum

1 x Rimmel eyebrow pencil(black)

1 x e.l.f. blending eye brush

Close up shots of these goodies.....

Depending on where you shop, the winnings have a reg. retail value of between approximately $50-$60.

Here's how this is going to work.....

* The giveaway is open to ALL readers, previous winners or not.

* There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY.  Come back each day to enter again.

* Only VALID entries will be posted.  A Valid entry is a limit of one per day and I MUST HAVE VALID CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOU(either you are on the Giveaway Contact List which I maintain, your comment is connected to a Google/Blogger profile which links to your email address or you email me directly(my email is in the side bar on the Blog)your email address.

IF YOU ENTER THE GIVEAWAY AND DON'T SEE YOUR COMMENT AFTER A DAY OR SO(Give me time to post the entries each day)THAT MEANS YOUR ENTRY ISN'T VALID DUE TO ONE OF THE ABOVE REASONS AND IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIX YOUR ENTRY!

I will no longer spend time hunting down folks.  If you want to win, read ALL the rules and do the work.

From all the VALID entries I receive I'll pick a winner at random and the winner has 48 hours from when the post goes live to contact me with their full mailing address.

In your entries I'd like to hear about your plans for Summer....Have you gotten vaccinated?  Do you plan to travel and where or do you plan to have a Stayaction?  Your favorite places to go and do? Whatever you want to share.

If you are on my Giveaway emails list just leave a comment and your name(with last name initial please)to enter. If you aren't on the Giveaway emails list make sure you leave your email in your comment OR email me your email privately after you leave a comment(my email is in the side bar area under "About Me").
I'll leave this giveaway open until June 22nd , Tuesday at 11:59 pm Eastern  Daylight Savings Time. On June 23rd, Wednesday, I'll draw the winning entry and post the Winner. 

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winners on this blog on  and those persons have 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).

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 make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

So let's get this Giveaway started. Good luck to everyone!!!

This Week What Might or Might Not Be on the Dining Table

The "Donuts Everywhere Edition"...

I meant to post this last week for National Donut Day in honor of Kim but Hubs didn't send the photo to me from his phone in time. Found these dog frisbees at Ocean State Job Lot and thought of her. lol

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Pizza, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Soft tortilla Carnitas

3. Tuesday--Bratwursts on Rolls, leftover sides

4. Wednesday--Chicken Enchiladas
5. Thursday--some sort of Seafood, Sweet Tater Wedges

6.  Friday--? or Fend for Yourself

7. Saturday--Leftovers

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

1. Sunday--Pizza, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Soft tortilla Carnitas

3. Tuesday--Bratwursts on Rolls, leftover sides

4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--hot dogs, potato salad

6.  Friday--Fend for Yourself

7. Saturday--Corn on the cob, Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/planned overs or FFY and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.  We had lunch out on Friday while shopping so we just scrounged for dinner,

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

* 1 container of ice cream

Most of what we bought was toiletries and produce.

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

* Whiskey flavored pork roast

* 4 Bratwurst

* 4 hot dogs

We spent a whopping $36.60 on food/toiletries/HBA last week at 2 different stores(Walmart on Wednesday and the Produce Outlet on Friday).This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $103.73 for June.   

There are 16 shopping days left in June.

I've earned $116.96 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in June.

I've earned $3.50 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in June.

I've earned 7053 points from shopping on Fetch in June which equals $7.05.

I've earned 1036 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June which equals $4.14.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in June which equals $0.

That's $120.46 in rebates(not counting the ShopKick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $103.73 in grocery spending.

My savings percentage for last week was 79.67%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for June and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 79.03%.(w/out R-A).  Higher than usual savings rate due to clearance at Walmart and cheap produce at the Produce Outlet.

Leftovers going into this week... potato salad, a helping of teriyaki pork stir-fry, lots of brown rice, some carnitas and 2 helpings of quiche.

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

1. Sunday--Chinese Take-out

2. Monday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

3. Tuesday--Some Protein TBD, Sweet Potato Wedges

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Spinach Salad
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself

6.  Friday--Steak, Baked Potato, Tossed Salad

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Nothing really.  Got the proteins and lots of fresh produce here from last week's shop.  Just need the "umph" to whip up the meals.

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

Frugal Friday....the June 11th Edition

Staying home most of the week leads to a not so exciting frugal week but we did have a few wins........

*I did go to Rite-Aid and got some free Daylogic razors among other things  when I went to pick up my Rxs.

* While at my unscheduled Walmart stop on Tuesday I tried the Freeosk and it was actually working!

I got this baby degree deodorant for free!

* Got a dr. appointment yesterday and this happened.......

Got a steroid shot in my knee joint. ouchie!  Not really, it wasn't bad and much less than hobbling around on what is was like. lol  Hopefully this helps stave off a knee replacement for awhile. ;-)

It's frugal as we have good medical insurance so this won't cost as much as a knee surgery if it helps.

* Been setting up for the Garage Stockpile Sale on Saturday and have posted the ads online for it this morning.  I have a bit more to set up and price plus I had a backlog of bags of crap to put out once I sell some of it. lolz Wish me luck and wads of cash!8-))

* I found money!

 While cleaning stuff out of the garage we came across an ugly handmade mug our daughter made in high school art class and left here.  I found a penny inside of it!

Monday I found 4 pennies at my Rite-Aid.  1 was on the floor and the 3 others someone left on the register counter and didn't want.

Total Found This Week... .05¢
Total Found This Year...$4.15

What good frugal finds did y'all have this past week?
Have a great Friday and Weekend!

Sluggy