This Week on the Dining Table....the March 25th Edition

The "A Great Deal on a Couple of Pizzas" Edition.....

I bought a couple of these pizzas to try at Kroger a week or so ago as they were BOGO and I had multiple rebates/coupons to go with them such that these were better than free to me.  We don't often eat pizza anymore but sometimes we splurge out.  It was a tad spicy(either the sauce or the pepperoni-pepperoni is like that, very inconsistent on degree of spicy from pie to pie).  

Anyway, I liked the verbiage in the instructions on the back of the box-read what I highlighted.......lolz

Would I pay the regular price of $13.99 for one of these?  No way.

This is day 288 of the new "way of eating".  Down 59 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 67 lbs.).  

Kicking the weight loss up again with intermittent fasting this week, but no movement of the scale yet.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Braised Corned Beef, Colcannon, Cheesecake Factory Rolls

2. Monday--Liver, Onions, Gravy, leftover Colcannon

3. Tuesday--Rueben Sandwiches

4. Wednesday--Teriyaki Stir-Fry w/leftover Pork Loin, Rice(for Hubs)

5. Thursday--Cheeseburgers(bun optional), leftover Veggies or Sweet Potato

6. Friday--Salmon, assorted leftovers

7. Saturday--?

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

1. Sunday--Braised Corned Beef, Colcannon, Cheesecake Factory Rolls

2. Monday--Liver, Onions, Gravy, leftover Colcannon

3. Tuesday--Rueben Sandwiches

4. Wednesday--Teriyaki Stir-Fry w/leftover Pork Loin, Rice(for Hubs)

5. Thursday--BLT Sandwiches

6. Friday--Assorted leftovers(I had green beans, stir-fry w/a little pork loin)

7. Saturday--Salmon, leftover Cabbage, leftover Sweet Corn Grits

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

* Teriyaki Pork Loin

*  Bacon

*  Liver

*  Salmon

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

*  1 piece of Salmon

*  2 packs of Sausage

*  2 packs of Ice Cream Sandwiches

*  2 packs of Ice Cream Cones

Last week we spent $179.45 on grocery shopping for March.  

Total shopping comes to $744.15 for March.   

There are 6 shopping days left in March.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $278.04 on Ibotta in March.

I've earned $70.50 on Shopmium in March.

I've earned $19.50 on Alexa app in March.

I've earned $33.25 on Kroger Cash Back in March.

I've earned $29.43 on TaDa in March.

I've earned $4.75 on Checkout51 in March.

I've earned $40.22 on Aisle, etc.

I've earned 31,586 points on Fetch from food shopping in March.

I've earned 6,623 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in March.

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

That is $442.77 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Fetch/Alexa)on $744.15 of grocery spending so in reality it's $301.38 in food spending after the 4 rebate apps I count(the ones that give me cash back, not the ones that I turn the points into gift cards, or Alexa that gives me Amazon credit, and I count when those points are cashed in).  Some of what I spent was for Food Bank donations(I'll start not counting those items in our personal grocery spending going forward into April.)

My savings percentage for the last week was 52.33% and the monthly savings total for March comes in at 42.40% spent so far. 

Leftovers going into this week....not a blessed thing.  We got nothing.

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

1. Sunday--Pizza, Salad

2. Monday--BBQ Pork Loin, Assorted Veggie Mix

3. Tuesday--TV Dinners

4. Wednesday--Garlic Shrimp/Veggie Skillet meal

5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Sweet Potato Fries

6. Friday--Catfish, Cole Slaw, Green Beans

7. Saturday--Steak, Scalloped Potatoes, Veggie TBD

Trying to use some fresh produce up and trying not to buy any more as our trip is coming up soon.  Shopping from the freezer this week and for Easter dinner next Sunday.

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?  

Sluggy     

The Great Road Trip of 2017......Part Twenty Nine/Day Twenty

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

When last we met we had just crossed over the state line into North Dakota......

Nice sky and an encouraging billboard, "Do Your Best."  I concur.

More sunflowers........

When we got to Fargo I told Hubs I wanted to visit the local Visitor Center.

This piece of equipment was featured outside of the Center......can you guess why I wanted to go here?

                                        

What a grand new building!  Hubs initially stayed in the car while I went inside.  He noticed that local kids were going into the building and coming out with bags of fresh popcorn.  Color him puzzled.....

As I entered the Visitor Center I saw a coffee and popcorn machine right by the door???

                                      

Then I saw some display cases...........

                   

These cases had all sorts of props and memorabilia from the movie "Fargo".  It's a good movie with a great cast of actors.  If you haven't seen it, you should go find it on some streaming service.

There were photos of the cast during production too.

It was shame they weren't selling this t-shirt in the little gift shop inside the visitor's center.

Here's where it gets weird(or maybe just quirky), they had the actual woodchipper machine used in the movie inside the visitor's center.  It has a rubber foot sticking out of the hopper(if you know, you know).  They had Winter trapper hats(google it if you live in the South and have never been North), and a short piece of lumber so you can reenact a scene from the movie while one of the employees there takes your photo(with your phone or camera).

Here's Hubs posing with me, though he didn't don a trapper's fur hat like I did.

Such a grand two story Visitor's Center with all sorts of brochures of things to see and do in the area and books for sale and reading tables like in a library!

And a small gift shop off to the side.

We spied this colorful bison on the way out.

Then we checked into our hotel for the evening, dropped our bags and went out to find dinner.

We hit a strip mall nearby with two options, Smash Burger and Huhot.  After Val in Iowa had raved so about Huhot we chose the Mongolian Grill.

A cute sign as you entered........

We perused the appetizer and dessert menu while we waited for our drinks.  Then it was time to get in line.

Huhot is a buffet style place.  You grab a plate and make your meat selection, then your veggie selections, and lastly your sauce option(s).  Then you queue up and wait your turn to have one of the "chefs" put your dinner on their large circular flattop grill and they cook it for you.  All cooked your dish is returned to you to enjoy.  They have a communal tip jar and when someone puts a tip in they all chant together while they cook.  Too funny and fun!

Here's my plate of vittles(you get soup and rice too).  My first plate was a bit spicy(the sauce was as I combined two sauces on that plate.  My second plate I went with just the non-spicy sauce which was more to my palate's liking.

For the price I didn't think it was a good deal so I wistfully glanced over at Smash Burger on the way back to the car(since I had never had that before either as there are none of either restaurants back in our part of PA).

Since it was August and the days stretch out until 8 something in the evening we had time to kill so we made a stop in town across the road from the "Sons of Norway" Lodge in Fargo.

After having my DNA tested a few years earlier it turned up that I had a small amount of Viking blood coursing through my veins.  Then after years of genealogical research I had discovered earlier that year that a statue of my 33 x Great Grandfather, Rollon Ganger-Hrólf the Viking or as he is also known ROLLO.  He was Count Rouen, the first ruler of Normandy(in present day France).  It is still not known whether he was Norwegian or Danish but we can say with certainty that he was Scandinavian.

More on Rollo HERE.

Rollo is the 3 x Great Grandfather of William the Conqueror, the progenitor of the House of Normandy in England.  The direct male line descendants of Rollo ended with Henry I.  Henry's daughter, Matilda, was the mother of Henry II, who laid claim to the English throne and was the first of the Plantagenet rulers.  Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine's son, John I, became King of England(him of Magna Carta fame).

Me and Great Grandpa.  A statue in stone of Rollo made in 1863 by Arsenne Letellier was erected in the city or Rouen, France in 1865.  Two copies of this statue done in bronze were cast, one being sent to Alesund(the supposed birthplace of Rollo and the other to Fargo, North Dakota.

That marque is on the Sons of Norway Lodge across the way.  This area was settled by Norwegian settlers thus a Rollo statue being prominently displayed in Fargo. 

History of the Rollo Statue

The statue now stands in a small park near the Elim Lutheran church in Fargo.

We saw this portable stage nearby.  I suppose some musical entertainment was getting ready for that coming weekend.  But we were losing daylight and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Sluggy

Southern Louisiana Cajun Life

Another video from Cajun Country......

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the March 22nd Edition

There are very few Frugal wins this past week but here goes....

*  I successfully used up odds and ends and incorporated them into new meals and no food got thrown out. 8-)  I cooked up the rest of an open pack of bacon-half went into the Liver meal(come on Anne!  You know you'd love my liver dinner)and the other half went into BLTs for Thursday night's dinner.

*  I got 2 MRIs done on Tuesday of my neck and base of my skull for the Neurologist(paid nothing).  I have 2 more MRIs scheduled later today for my shoulders for the Orthopedist(again, nothing will be owed for those).

*  There was no spending on eating out this week.

*  I had a dental cleaning on Wednesday.  Since I have no dental insurance at this point it cost me $$$ OOP.  But better to spend that now than not go to the dentist until I have a problem, so this is frugal, right?  They found nothing of concern so I am good to go until the end of October.  Maybe I should show up for that Halloween appointment wearing fake vampire teeth? lolz

*  I did a little Ibotta rebating on Thursday......

This all cost me $67.03 OOP.  Rebates I earned from Ibotta($24.50), Social Nature($14.47), Shopmium($13.00),  Zoup! manufacturer's rebate($4.98) brought it down to $10.08.  Add in $1.75 from Fetch and $1.82 from Shop Kick, $9 back on Alexa/Amazon plus using a $4.97 on a Walmart gift card and this all ends up as a $7.46 moneymaker.

If I buy one more item with an Ibotta rebate before Sunday night, I'll earn an additional $5 for hitting the Weekend Bonus(plus whatever the rebate for that one item is). 8-)

Some of this will go into the Donation Box, some to family and some we will keep.  Nothing will be wasted.

The only other food purchases was a pack of Romaine lettuce and 2 cans of Water Chestnuts which came to $5.60.

*  I found money!

I hit the jackpot of self-checkout machines at Walmart on Thursday(the only day I went out to a store).  Someone had left ALL their change in the coin return.  I guess they had gotten back their tax return refund and felt flush enough with dolla bills y'all so they didn't want no stinkin' change back.  Sweet!  I'll gladly take it!!  Bonus, I didn't have to pick this all up off the floor...

Total Found in last Week.... .53¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$2.56

That's all I got.  

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

Sluggy    

February 2024 To-Do List.....How It Turned Out

Here are things I wanted to get done in February.....

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Always done first, Always!

*  Go to 4 Dr. Appointments  DONE

In February it was 2 x the Painful doctors(Pain Management)for test injections and then the Ablation, the Orthopedist for x-rays of shoulder issues and the creepy Eye doc for an eyeball check(where he found the secondary cataract).

*  Have Shoulder Injections  DONE

I had the injections.  They didn't seem to help however so the Orthopedist put me on an oral steroid pack in March at my follow-up, while we waited to schedule MRIs.  Of course, they scheduled the MRI for when we will out of the country, even after we told the doc and office staff when we wouldn't be here. sigh

*  Begin Going Through Merchandise to Sell  FAIL

I just didn't get around to this yet.  I have certain projects/things I need to finish before starting on this one.  I doubt I'll get to it until late April.

*  Find a New Dentist  FAIL

Like I detailed in that recent Frugal Friday post, using that AARP United Healthcare Dentegra Discount Program didn't pan out.  Even after informing UHC they don't seem to want to update their providers who accept Dentegra NOR care about this old ladies' terrible weekly long experience finding out that Dentegra is a NO GO.

*  Re-organize Pantry  DONE

We had a mouse in the massive kitchen island last Summer(found how it was coming up from below the house and corrected that). Since then Hubs has been paranoid about another critter getting inside(especially in the laundry/utility room as that is where we store the dog food.  Got a metal can for that now and he bought tubs to keep all the boxed/packaged food in-stuff in glass and metal, etc. is safe he feels.

So other than a couple of tubs for the boxed items, we have shelving for the canned goods, plastic bottles, beverage bottles, etc.

In the nook by the door to the hallway we have a larger shelving unit which holds dish soap, trash bags, baggies, laundry and cleaning products as well as some boxed dog food.  12 packs of soda as well as some bottled water sit stacked in front of the shelving.

Two upper shelves hold canned, jarred, bottled pantry staples and above it the tp stash.  After 1+ year here I think I bought 1 pack of tp but all you see in the photo was what I brought from PA when we moved here.(Hey, it made great packing material for some fragile items. lol)  I could probably go another year or so before we had to buy anymore tp. 8-))

And this is my auxiliary pantry space.  Since I can't use my sewing room for that purpose, I set up another shelving unit to hold more items in there.  I have a Rubbermaid tub in the kitchen where I put food bank donation items.  I probably need to go through what's in here and add to the donation tub.  The dish soap should be in the laundry room with all the other soap and the Kleenex should be in there as well.  There is more work to be done.....

*  Schedule RFA procedure  DONE

I had it and it was about as painful as the test injection nonsense I had to undergo to get approved for this one. ugh  I am 2 weeks+ out from having this done and the improvement is still barely perceivable. 8-(

*  Send Youngest a Birthday Present  DONE

I made sure I sent his package waaay early since the "Cajun Pony Express" operates around here with it's own unique set of rules and work hours.  I also Paypal-ed him some cash too.

*  Buy Stuff for House(Always)  DONE

I can't for the life of me think of what was bought but something is always needed to be done here(and money spent).  I believe Hubs had to buy some lawn tractor stuff and fire ant killer for outside projects.

*  Help Hubs reorganize his half of the Closet  DONE

Hubs has been living out of 3 Rubbermaid tubs for 1+ years now.  He left his dresser in PA(the bottoms of the drawers were falling out)and he hasn't felt the need to buy another dresser here.  He has a much smaller wardrobe than I do and he felt he had a system that worked with these tubs.

I picked up a hanging organizer on clearance for $3 at Kroger in February and helped him move most of his clothes out of those tubs into a more accessible configuration.  He now has one tub left for out of season clothing.  Hanging everything on hangers or in the organizer seems to be working for him.

*  Reorganize Master Bathroom  DONE

The vanity/sink area was piled high with stuff.  I found better places for all that(other rooms, drawers in the vanity or under the sink doors, etc.)and here is what is left, which are mostly items in use.

We have containers, boxes and a basket of excess items strewn all around the bathroom.  Now it's all contained and tucked between the vanity and the ginormous bathtub.

I still have these items perched around the tub and this container of items I still need to sort through and decide on where it needs to go.  I'll call this a win and mission almost accomplished. ;-)

*  Go Through and try on all my Clothing  DONE

I tried on every stitch of clothing I own.  3 piles got donated as they were hopelessly too big and not worth altering.  The stuff hanging together in my closet(23 items)are clothing I hope to save and wear again.  A few only need hemming but some are big projects but I LOVE the fabric(rayon)and can't bear to toss them.  I hope to get 3 dresses hemmed/re-hemmed before the cruise.

*  Edit More Photos  DONE

Always doing this and filing them away afterwards.

*  Post About Old Trips  DONE

I posted 3 installments of the trip out West in February.

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE

I did a smattering of genealogy work that month.

*  Move Video Files to New Computer  FAIL

*  Contact Church Food Bank to Make a Donation  DONE  Boy i never thought I'd have the trouble finding a Food Bank like I've had down here!  I contacted one of the few I could find(that weren't affiliated with the state government-who only want cash).  Called and left a message as their website said they were only in the facility/church 2 days a week(Thursday, Sunday)so I waited until Thursday during the hours they listed they were there.  Again, my call went to voicemail.  Since they never returned my first voicemail I just said, "I left a message (date)and still have not received a reply about making a donation.  You people sure make it difficult for someone to be charitable.", and then hung up and crossed them off my list.

Hubs made a call to a different church and this one was overjoyed for anything we could donate!  BTW-not to bash a religious denomination, but the first unresponsive church was Baptist and the one that welcomed our donations was Methodist.  I don't know if this means anything but because there are so many Baptist churches around here(can't swing a dead without hitting one)I want to think it's that particular Baptist church that was the exception. 8-(

*  Finish Gathering Donation Items  DONE  

Like I said, we made a food bank donation to the church that responded they would happily take our stuff.

That's all that got accomplished in February that was on my To-Do List.

Sluggy