This Week on the Dining Table

The "Weight Loss is Still the Focus" Edition.                                            

We went all the way to the Caribbean last December and this particular rum cake was being sold everywhere!  Who knew I would see it for sale at my local TJMaxx store here last month?   Not a fan so I didn't buy any. lol

I'm still making progress and the knee is holding up somewhat.  My doctor is on board with this way of eating to reach a short term goal so no unsolicited advice on this eating plan please.  While I appreciate the concerns I am fine.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday--a Protein Shake. leftover Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--yogurt, maybe another Protein shake

3. Tuesday--Chicken thigh

4  Wednesday--Probably half a bag of veggies

5. Thursday--Grilled Salmon

6.  Friday--Spinach Soufflé

7. Saturday--The other half of the bag of veggies

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--a Protein Shake. leftover Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--yogurt, another Protein shake

3. Tuesday--Chicken thigh, small helping of steamed Broccoli

4  Wednesday--a cup of yogurt, A Protein Shake

5. Thursday--1/2 of a Spinach Salad with Walnuts, Cranberries and Feta Cheese w/a Balsamic Reduction

6.  Friday--a cup of Yogurt, a Protein Shake

7. Saturday--The other half of the Spinach Salad

We went out for trivia on Thursday but I found something suitable to eat there(a salad that was enough for two meals so brought half of it home).

I guess you'd call this an extreme intermittent fasting deal with many supplements to keep all my innards working and healthy.  I consulted a new PCP and my food plan was given the green light.  

What got taken out of the freezer last week...

*  3 Chicken Thighs

*  a bag of broccoli

*  Beer Bratwursts(Hubs)

*  some honey battered Chicken(Hubs)

*  a bag of mixed veggies(Hubs and I shared)

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

*  3 bags of frozen veggies

Last week we spent $9.59 on grocery shopping.

 Total comes to $75.74 for June.

There are 4 shopping days in June.

I've earned $2.10 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in June.

I've earned $0 on Coupons dotcom in June.

I've earned $0 on Shopmium in June.

I've earned $0 on Kroger Cash Back in June.

I've earned 1,165 points from food shopping on Fetch in June.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in June.

That is $2.10 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $75.74 of grocery spending so in reality it's $73.64 in food spending after the 5 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 39.69% and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 41.23% so far spent.

Leftovers going into this week...Some bratwurst(for Hubs).

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

1. Sunday--2 Chicken strips, leftovers mixed veggies

2. Monday--Spinach Soufflé

3. Tuesday--Yogurt, Protein Shake

4  Wednesday--2 Chicken Strips or some other Protein in the freezer

5. Thursday--half a bag of Green Beans

6.  Friday--Salmon, Yogurt

7. Saturday--other half of Green Beans

I also drink, water, iced tea(unsweetened), hot tea with lemon and honey and the odd zero sugar soda or Zero sugar Powerade/Gatorade and keep my stomach full and it also keeps me hydrated.   I mostly stick with the water or unsweet iced teas with lemon added.

This one mini-meal per day where I change between vegetable matter and a lean protein and a yogurt cup when these other meals won't suffice.  There also is a regime of supplements I am currently on, either to maintain my body's condition or were already taking them for various conditions.

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Got it all here.  Might need more protein shakes this week and some lemons. Hubs will either do his own thing or supplement other foods when I do the salmon.  Right now there is plenty in the freezer he can partake of but are off limits to me right now.  Or he may go buy more tv dinners as he doesn't like to cook. lol

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 deals on food at your stores this week?  I confess that I don't need to buy anything right now nor have I had any desire to read the ads.

Sluggy  

A Feel Good Song for A Crappy Day

Feeling a bit low today with all the crap going on in the world, plus I fell trying to get up from the table as my cane was on the cable to the new(old)computer and the cane went sliding across the floor and I went BOOM! onto the floor.  Getting up isn't so easy when you have a bum knee but with some ingenuity we got me to my feet and no harm to my other knee. 8-)

I've been transferring files from my old(old)machine and found this song on there and so went looking on YouTube for it so I could post it here.

I have a big fan of Will.I.Am of The Black Eyed Peas fam since they came on the music scene.  This was written after Obama was elected but try to overlook the overtly political message and imagery(close your eyes if you don't want to see the political messaging).  I just think it's a wonderfully crafted song.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the June 23rd Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week and not everything here would be considered frugal but here goes......

*  Being on this restrictive short term eating plan meant we spent very little at the grocery store this past week.  The freezer is packed with food for Hubs to eat as long as he remembers to thaw something. lol

*  The best highlight of the week was finding a competent new doctor attached to a major medical facility here, an LSU based hospital with lots of specialists. Yippee!

*  I also completed most of the paperwork to be accepted into this special program of top joint replacement surgeons sprinkled around the country.  I am waiting for 2 appointments here, one for a lab draw and physical and the other with a local orthopedist to send x-rays and sign off that I require this surgery.  By July 12th I'll have this all completed.

*  I found money!  

Hubs had to make an emergency trip to PA so the doggies and I stayed with my daughter and son in-law for 4 days last week.  After she took me to my new PCP appointment we made a stop at Walmart to pick up her meds.  I went along on one of those electric carts with her.  Besides purchasing 3 items I also found this penny and dime-the penny past the checkouts near customer service and the dime next to the door into the store while I waited for her to pick me up with her car.

Then on a horrible day with no electricity on Friday(heat index of 110F anyone?)I finaly said, "Oh hell, NO!" and Hubs drove me to a motel.  We stopped at a Pilot Travel Center with power, filled the car with gas and grabbed something to eat.  I went into the convenience store part to pick up some drinks and found this penny by one of the self-checkouts.

Total Found in last Week.... .12¢
Total Found this Year.......$2.22

That's all for this past week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy 

The May To-Do List 2023

 I know it's the end of June but we've had 3 family issues to deal with since coming back from our cruise so this May To-Do List is a tad late.

Here's what was slated to get done and how we did(or didn't) 8-)

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Always on time and last month many were paid well ahead as we were gone for the last third of the month.

*  Go to 1 DR. appointment  DONE  Had what turned out to be my last appointment with my NP at the disaster of a medical clinic as they canceled by text my June 9th appt and though they said they'd reschedule it within the next 48 hours I've heard nothing but crickets from them(and it's been 12 days).  I am now under the care of a competent facility.  One of the missteps we made when moving to this area was prioritizing proximity rather than stellar care.  I am now trying to play catch up with basic maintenance plus referrals to specialists and get things done before the end of 2023 when I lose private insurance.

*  Replace bathroom lights  DONE  Hubs took the master bathroom light down and discovered there was no box behind them where they attach to the wall.  Plus the part on the wall where the hole where the electrical wires come out was larger than the plate that covers it on the fixture  Ugh  This meant two of the lights we bought had to be returned to the store and we had to find two new light fixtures.  In the end it all worked out.

The original lighting fixture went into the guest bath.  You can see the nasty old yellow paint where the previous fixture covered the wall.  The room needs painting anyway.  The disconcerting thing was discovering that the fancy "gold" framed mirror was hanging in place by 1 nail, no screws or even a wall anchor and could have conked someone on the head at any moment.  Mirror is now installed properly but I still need to take some spray paint to the frame at some point and get rid of that "gold" color.

This is one of the two new matching lighting fixtures that the electrician(see last months bills)installed in the Master Bathroom.   It's so bright in there now you could perform surgery! lol  These mirrors weren't hanging by a single nail at least but you can see where the previous owner, another area "Bubba", had screwed through the frames to attached them to the sheetrock.  Doesn't everyone want metal screws showing in your mirror frames?? 8-P

*  Clean and Organize stuff in House  IN PROGRESS  With the amount of stuff that needed doing/organizing it's been slow going but I get something done every day at a pace I can without causing further injury to myself.

*  Buy Stuff for House  DONE  I can't even begin to list all the stuff we've had to purchase so far!  Hubs and I refer to this house as the "Project House" as so much needs fixing and/or replacing to get to a livable standard.

*  Finish moving tubs from Garage  DONE  All the tubs stored in the 
Bubba Garage" had to be moved indoors before the heat overtook down here.  I did find my serger peddle and my iron stand.  Bad news is the past machine, the food processor and all the pots and pans lids are still MIA and I fear they are gone forever.

*  Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie  DONE  Not much to do to knock this one off the list as I haven't printed a coupon in ages.  I just have the few inserts that come in the mail once a week and use digital coupons when able.

*  Edit More Photos  In PROGRESS  This is a never ending job.  Perhaps if I stopped taking photo I'd catch this one up? lol

*  Post about Old Trips  FAIL  Nope, not enough hours in the day right now, though I have edited some videos for some older trips.

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE  did a little work for others but the best thing was confirming some direct native American ancestors(of course on my maternal side).

*  Hang Ceiling Fans  FAIL  Well we bought a couple of ceiling fans.  But when we went to install/change out the one in what is my sewing room the box holding the fan and light was barely attached.  I could have been decapitated if we had NOT changed that fan out!  This required research and numerous trips to the hardware store and then we left town so it's still not finished.  Luckily?  that room gets great sun(won't be so great soon in this heat)and I can use it during daylight hours with the curtains open. 8-)

Sewing room with a hole and electrical wires where a ceiling fan and light should be.  Lovely

*  Organize Clothes IN PROGRESS  Packing obviously made more of a mess digging through clothing in the closet but some items got put away in their proper place

*  Pack for Trip  DONE obviously  Packed, drove, flew, sailed then did it all again in reverse order.  We didn't forget anything and we paired down what we took, keeping to one checked bag each plus a carryon which mostly carted back some presents and souvenirs(as is required on a vacation).

*  Cash a Savings Bond  DONE  We finally found a small local credit union that would do these kind of transactions.  Evidently folks around these parts don't believe in buying/holding US Savings Bonds as the manager was unfamiliar with the process of cashing them and had to consult a manual to get it done.  Then she told us in the 7 years working at that credit union this was the FIRST one she ever had to deal with.  WTF??

Some days down here it is truly like living on Mars. lol

Sluggy

Can't Anybody Read and Follow Instructions!?

 On my blog so as not to shut commenting down to readers without a Google Account I will post non-troll comments as long as you put your name or handle somewhere in your comment.  I keep getting comments from "UNKNOWN".  This is not considered putting your name or online alias on your comment. These comments will, going forward NOT be published.  I am just tired of some of these folks who can't follow a simple request.

Sluggy