Well the Remodeling Work is Finally Done! Part One, Outside

Here is a before of the outside of the house from a few years ago......

This photo was taken in 2007, before the dusty blue wooden trim around the garage door frame began to rot and fall off.  The dusty blue shutters were original to the house went it was built in the 1980's.
1986 called, it wants it's shutters back...... ;-)

Here is the house in September 2009 after we had the original  white roof replaced with a dark tan architectural shingled one.......still with the dusty blue shutters and trim.....

And here is the house today, with the new vents, trim and shutters.....

It might not look like much of a change in these photos, but up close in real life, it is a big difference.


Next up is the before/after of the inside work and the numbers on the cost.

Sluggy

Decluttering Porn

Just a bunch of stuff that finally left the house Sunday......

This weekend #2 Son's room gets cleaned so we'll start another donation to take in later this month.

Sluggy

On the Dining Table this Week

The "Some Weeks you Feel like a Horse's Rear End" Edition.......

This was the view as I left the furniture store last Sunday.
How fitting is that?!


Here's what was planned last week-- 

Sunday--Hubs had leftover Halushki, I didn't eat anything.
Monday--Leftover barbecue pork and coleslaw from our lunch stop on the way home Sunday
Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(balls in the freezer/pasta in the stockpile), Italian Green Beans(freezer)
Wednesday--Leftover Halushki, Quiche(freezer), Salad(using garden tomatoes)
Thursday--BLT sandwiches(tomatoes from garden), Fried Apples
Friday--Baked Fish and Crabcakes(freezer), Veggie Medley(freezer)
Saturday--Leftovers or something from the freezer

And here's what actually got eaten--

Sunday--Hubs had leftover Halushki, I didn't eat anything
Monday--Leftover barbecue pork and coleslaw from our lunch stop on the way home Sunday, watermelon
Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(balls in the freezer/pasta in the stockpile), Italian Green Beans(freezer), Strawberries
Wednesday--Quiche(freezer), Salad(using garden tomatoes)
Thursday--Leftovers-Hubs had spaghetti, I had a burger and watermelon
Friday--BLT sandwiches, applesauce
Saturday--Bob Evans-I had a BOGO meal coupon

I had a bad foot day on Thurs. so leftovers instead and the BLTs got moved to Friday, bumping the fish to next week.

As for food spending last week.....I spent $175.85 on $268.07 worth of groceries at 2 stores in 3 trips.
I stocked up last week on lunchmeat(so I don't need to purchase any this week because nothing I can have is on sale this week), dog kibble(2 large bags on sale), canned veg sale(corn, peas, beets and kraut), panko and bread crumbs(sale), bread(BOGO sale), local apples, OJ, Gatorade and frozen french fries(for #2), baking needs(sale), salad greens(sale), reduced muffins(#2), burritos and corn dogs(#2), bacon(sale), fruit, beans, some canned soup(reduced sodium), yogurt(sale), and seltzer(sale)accounts for most of it.

As for food waste, a couple of cukes last week. I was pickled out and nobody else wanted any cukes in salads or in vinegar for a couple of weeks so they went bad.  8-(

Leftovers going into this week--still picking tomatoes and there is leftover Spaghetti and leftover Halushki that has to go soon, either to the dogs or us. ;-)

Here's this week's meal plan---
Sunday--Leftovers-Hubs had Spaghetti and I had a roast beef sandwich
Monday--Hamburgers, mixed veggies, Cantaloupe
Tuesday--Baked Fish, Corn Pudding, leftover Green Beans
Wednesday--Out to eat, using a coupon
Thursday--Lobster, Rutabaga Casserole
Friday--Meatloaf, Roasted Potatoes, Beets
Saturday--Leftovers and Broccoli Cheddar Soup

On the shopping list......Lobsters(on sale again), hot dog rolls and lemon juice is it.  I have everything else here already.  These 3 things will run about $30 and I hope to stay out of the grocery stores except for those items this week to get my food budget back on track. 8-)

I might need some milk or some odd or end thing but I might do some stocking up the next 4 weeks or so, as the local independent market has begun their Thanksgiving Promo-get a $ amount reward toward your turkey meal dinner depending on how much you spend during the coming 5 weeks.  Since I don't spend as much on groceries per month, compared to their usual customer, this means I'll have to give up Weis PMITA Markets until Thanksgiving and only shop at this other market in my town to accumulate enough points to get a reward.  I won't go out of my way to buy stuff I won't need just to get a reward but I will buy stuff I'll need in the future to get to a $ amount to get a reward.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy.

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

For Judy-AN UPDATE

At Judy's request I have disabled the Go Fund Me site, as of Sunday, and I will no longer accept Paypal payments for the Fundraising we were doing for her.
She says what has been raised so far is more than enough and far greater than she ever imagined it would bring in.   8-)

There are some snail mailed payments on their way but here is what has been collected so far.....

The Go Fund Me site.....$775.00
After fees of $65.72, $709.28 will go to Judy.

The Paypal-ed donations tallied in at $1,381.50.
After fees(a couple folks didn't elect the "send to family or friends" method)of $1.37, Judy will receive $1,380.13.

There is $20 so far sent through the regular mail as well, which gives us a Grand Total at this point of.....

$2,176.50 raised and after fees of $67.12, the funds amount to $2,109.41.

So the goal was reached with a few more payments still on the way.  8-))

I am in the process of getting all the funds transferred into Judy's accounts as quickly as possible.
One Paypal payment is in progress and a second one was initiated yesterday.  This will clear out all monies received there.

The Go Fund Me monies are now winging their way to my credit union and I'll cut Judy a check as soon as they arrive and either hand deliver that to her(along with an Money Orders/Cash sent)or snail mail it if we don't hook up in person soon.

Once all the Money Orders arrive/all funds are in Judy's hands,  I'll send one last update in a week or so.
Just trying to be transparent with the funds here.....

You all deserve a pat on the back and a "huzzah!", whether you were able to send money or sent good wishes/prayers or both.

Let's close this with a little bit of fun and dancing.....

Y'all did indeed help Judy tap away some of her troubles! ;-)



Sluggy

Chez Sluggy as a Vacation Destination--Part 2......Long but Picture Heavy

If you didn't read Part 1 of this saga, go HERE to check it out first.

On Friday....oh we had some fun on Friday!
The one activity I mentioned, among them all, that lit a spark in Tanner was the one with trains.

You know?........"chugga chugga, toot toot" type trains.
So we headed north to Steam Town National Historic Park in Scranton PA to go look at all things train.

Steam Town is an old rail yard with a train turntable and train houses/sheds that they've preserved.  They have exhibits in the train sheds as well as actual train engines from various periods of rail history there.  They also have a piece of the train line tracks still in place and they give train rides of various lengths during the day.
We made it there in time for the last short train ride of the day!

Since Tanner works in a train related industry, she really dug Steam Town.
I mean dug it like a 4 year old boy!   *Not that she IS a 4 year old boy..... 8-)
Seriously.
Loving.
Trains.

Me? I had enough of trains for a lifetime, having a train obsessed son who had every word to every Thomas the Tank Engine video or PBS tv show memorized and liked to recite them constantly one after another on a daily basis from the time he was 2 until 7 years old.
So.
Over.
Trains.

But even old jaded me found it thrilling to see the real thing up close and personal either sitting in a train car being pulled/pushed by an engine or watching an engine scoot by and being close enough to reach out and touch it.
And Tanner was a great companion to have along for this excursion.

Here's shot of an engine in the yard.  Old 514 is a diesel engine and it was to be the engine that pulled our cars on our little ride.

Here's a brief clip of the Park Ranger trying to talk over all the rude passengers who can't seem to keep their mouths shut long enough to LEARN SOMETHING.....ggggrrrrrr.....




Here's another quick video before the ride began.....


Here are some shots while we rode around the train yard at 5 or 15 mph.....

                               A really old steam engine.

                            More train cars.....

     T enthralled as we pass another train with a caboose sitting on another set of tracks.

After finally getting T's attention......lolz

                        Me trying to get a "selfie" shot.

Me again, take 2 of the "selfie" shot.  Gawd!  Throwing a peace sign and smiling gritting my teeth! lol

This is my *favorite shot*-note the high degree of sarcasm.  The set of tracks we took runs past the old Train Station which is now a Radisson Hotel.  It displays French Renaissance style architecture, having been finished in 1908.  Of course my shot is of a back employess parking lot and a big blue dumpster.....with the station/hotel in the distance.  8-P

A History of the Lackawanna Train Station is located HERE if you are interested in learning more about it and seeing much better pictures. lol

And here is what is written on the train car overhead as you exited the front car after our ride.....like I would even CONSIDER doing that......

I made a couple of short videos of one of the engines being taken to the turntable and being turned and then run back down the track to get it ready to hook up to some cars for the weekend longer ride to Moscow PA.

First up is the video were I thoroughly EMBARRASSED the hell outta myself.
As I was watching the engine come down the track onto the turntable I was looking through the camera's view finder so I didn't see the Conductor standing on the outside of the engine as it went by and I was being silly and cute and all and talking TO THE ENGINE and oh my!.....Open my mouth and insert a foot or FOUR!
Just watch it and you'll see how bad what I said sounded.....



I swear you can't take me anywhere!! 8-P

And here are the rest of the train videos......




And here is the video after T told me I had embarrassed myself propositioning the Conductor.....

  


And here is the last video, the one where I called the Engineer the Conductor.....doh!
I guess after 14 years, the time since my oldest son was gaga for trains, I haven't retained much of what I learned. lol



Then after the thrill of watching that big engine move about, we climbed up on the outdoor platform and took a couple of shots....

   They were bringing another engine back from the line, having switched it to the yard line.  The smallish building on the left is now the Gift Shop.

And a shot of  T with the turntable and sheds in the background.  I think she needs to blow this one up, frame it and put it on her desk at work!


Then we went inside and checked out the exhibits.....

Then we walked to another building and Tanner had to sit down and rest for a bit.  She wasted that pose since no dating prospects were around.....hehehehe

And then I got silly too....ha!, like I am NOT always silly.....

Sluggy the Eastern European peasant immigrant with her parents so happy to be in this brand new land....

And when I couldn't talk T. into sitting on the conductor mannequins lap and playing "nice" with him, I got fresh with a hunky porter.......

Funny but he was real standoff-ish and didn't cotton to my advances, even when I tickled his ear.
He was all business.
Some men......

After we closed down the Park(I think we were the last ones to leave that day!), we headed over to Friendly's for Lunch....Dinner....LINNER......

And of course, there was ice cream.

Hhhmmmm.....this seems to be a recurring theme for this visit.....

Gawd!  Look at the face.....it could melt ice cream......and it did!


Later on that night we sat out at the fire pit and started a fire.
And I learned that T has pyromaniac  tendencies.......
Yep, the girl likes fire!
And likes to catch small sticks a light and write in the air with them.
But then again who doesn't like to do that?? ;-)

On Saturday we had a nice picnic lunch and then had a surprise Birthday cake for T.  I know I shared it in August but here it is again if anyone missed it the first time around on the blog.....




And then a quick photo of just the two of us.....

And then, just like that, T was gone....

Thanks for the good times T.  And maybe it wasn't too too boring and you'll want to come back again sometime.  ;-)

Sluggy

Boring Blog Box Giveaway Winner

And the Winner is.....

Comment #47--
Rachel!

Rachel  September 18, 2013 at 7:01am
9/18
"I don't can, but I do freeze veggies for the winter, especially zucchini and peppers.  Here in central Ohio, we are still getting tomatoes, zucchini and peppers.  I am hoping to get to the apple orchard maybe this weekend to pick apples with the kids.
Have a great Wednesday!"

Congratulations Rachel!
Please email me privately your full mailing address so I can get this box of goodies out in the mail to you on Monday.
If I don't receive a response within 48 hours of this post going live, I'll have to draw another winner.

And thank you to everyone who played along and entered.  There were 106 valid entries this go around, which is awesome!

I might have one more Giveaway to do before Christmas/December so keep tuned to this blog for details.

Sluggy

Giveaway Reminder.....Friday is Last Day to Enter!

Just a quickie that today, October 4th is the LAST DAY to enter my Giveaway.  Entries close at 11:59pm this evening so hop to it!!

Link to entry page is HERE.

Sluggy
 

September $20K Savings Challenge Update

In our family we save money. It is important to us to put money aside for "rainy days".  You know.....those unexpected days when things happen in your life that you can't plan on, but that DO happen and they cost you money you didn't know you'd need to pay out.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.
Once the automatic savings, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision payments are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2013 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am going to keep the Goal amount at $20,000 again this year.

On to the September report.....

I have posted my September End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up September in the black but just barely!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of September with?.......$40.12

Income
We had -9.51 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Yeah, not such a great month here.
 

Other monies received in September totaled $49.63.  This brought us back into the black and our gain to $40.12 for September.

 

Outgo

As for the expenses this September, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  Evidently I over paid the long distance phone last month so our bill was only .60¢ in Sept.

*  The food/toiletries bill was about $84 less than my $400 budgeted amount.

* Cash withdrawals were $70 less than in August.

 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  The annual school taxes were due which ate up almost an entire paycheck.

*  The electric bill started going up, this month by only $7 but the trend will continue as the weather gets cooler.

*  Credit card bill was $700 higher than last month's bill which included the payment for the dog's surgery and a $600 car repair.

 

The Food Budget costs for September are in another post, which is located HERE.

We came in under budget by about $84 last month but with the taxes due that wasn't enough to give us more than $40 leftover at the end of the month.

The 2013 TOTAL so far.....
With 9 months behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2013 stands at $16,302.96.  Only $3,697.04 left to save and 3 months left to accomplish this.

That comes out to $1232.35 per month for the next 3 months to reach the goal.  It is going to be tight to get us to that goal but it's doable.  Especially since we still have a 3rd paycheck month left this year.  8-))
 

Looking ahead for October......
 

*  The heat will get turned on sometime in October so electric usage will increase.

*  No big annual or semi-annual bills come due in October(the next one is in February)so we can save a bit of money this month.

 

*  We have another short getaway trip this month, so those costs will come out of October's pay.  I usually take trip costs out of the last year's savings challenge pot, but with all the remodeling/heating and a/c costs and summer road trip costs so far in 2013, the 2012 savings have been depleted.  So all Oct. trip costs will be paid for out of this October's pay.

 

So how was your September financially?  It wasn't a great month for us.  If not for the dividend checks with received from some investments, we would have had to dip into our savings to cover our expenses in September.
  

Did you put ordinary living expenses on a credit card last month and not pay it off in full when due?
Did you spend less than the income you had in September?
Did you received any "extra" or unexpected money in September, a dividend or bonus at work, and what did you do with those funds?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out your progress too and celebrate with you!

Sluggy

Fundraising Update

Hey, if I haven't answered your email or acknowledged your contribution to the fundraising effort to help JUDY I am sorry for the delay.
Between this and my real life I am a tad overwhelmed at the moment.

I am getting to everyone as quickly as I am able.
So don't think I have forgotten you or am ignoring anyone.
I am working on it.

 

 

I sent over the Paypal money that was collected as of yesterday at 5pm to Judy's account and she about freaked out.....because it was more than she ever imagined!  And there is more coming in, plus the Go Fund Me site and some folks have money orders on the way too.

She also shared with me that today was the first day she's gotten up in the morning without a big old heaping of DREAD on her shoulders.
And every one of YOU GUYS DID THAT for her!!!

And I thought about something Kim over at Out My Window said on her blog on Wednesday this week in regard to Judy's situation but it rings true to me for many situations in my life......

"....and I just believe that prayers are answered through other people."

Kim is so right.  If you believe in a higher power(whatever you want to call it/him/her)this is how prayers/requests/wishes are answered, by that unknown/higher force placing people in your path through your life who can help you or are good for you in some way.

If I haven't said it yet, you guys are FANTASTIC PEOPLE drenched in AWESOME SAUCE!!

*And if you know me I don't rave all happy and perky like that at just anybody or anything..... ;-)

Now go carry on with your day and do some more good in the world. 8-))

Sluggy

 

TMI Thursday: How do you like......

TMI Thursday: How do you like….

How do you like_____?
1. Your coffee?

Don't like it and don't drink it except once in a blue moon.

2. Your sandwich cut? In half, square or diagonal? Crust or no crust?

Cut in half but a grilled cheese is ALWAYS cut on the diagonal.  Crusts left on baby!

3. Your tea?

Iced and when it's cold out, hot.  Luzianne because I am a GRITS and it's specially formulated/blended to make iced tea with.
Hot tea of choice is Chai.

4. Your alcoholic beverages?

Hard cider, wine(sparkling especially), mixed drinks or whisky(cinnamon infused or SoCo).  No beer.

5. Your ice-cream served: cup, cone, soft or hard?

HARD serve in a cone but I'll eat any kind of ice cream!

6. Your hair–long or short? Up or down? Straight or curly? Permed or natural?

Medium length and thinning.  It just hangs there....lol

7. Your cell phone?

An old dumb phone.  It's an LG model called "the Snapper".

8. Your computer?

Laptop-not a Mac

9. Your web browser?

Use to be Firefox until I got Windows 8(it sucks!), now I have IE  ppppfffffttt!

10. Your car?

A red Dodge Minivan.  Yes I am a mad mom in a minivan. lol

Now tell me what your TMIs are or post them on your blog.


Sluggy
 
 

Just Stuff & Nonsense

I went to the grocery store  yesterday for the first time since my blood clot adventure since I am now able to hobble around.
It only took me about 2.5 hours to do a medium shop in 1 store.
Ugh.
And then I couldn't get all the groceries in from the car when I got home as my feet just said "No!".
So I got in the produce and the fridge/freezer stuff and left the rest for Hubs to haul in when he got home from work.
Then I had to stay in the recliner with my foot up for 3 hours so he had to put dinner together in my stead.
Gosh, I do love that man sometimes! ;-)

So I am taking it easy today, even though I still need to get to the other store, to the bread outlet and to Kmart to return some clothes I bought that didn't "work for me".
I am just going to touch up the paint in the living/dining room after lunch and put the switch plates back on the outlets/light switches. 

Hubs needs to touch up some areas on the crown moulding where the guy had to caulk and then move the excess boxes of flooring out of the rooms so we can clean the floor.  But that all will have to wait until the Weekend to be finished.  Then I can get a photograph of the completed work to share.
And I will NOT share the completed/depleted savings challenge account from 2012, as it is almost bare from spending on all these home improvements/repairs/supplies. lolz

I really need to get a list together of what I need to get done this month and then prioritize it because everything can't possibly be accomplished during October.
And on that note, is anyone else having problems with Blogger and updating/changing their side bars in the Layout function??!!
I have tried for 4 days now to update my "TO DO" List on my side bar but the blasted Blogger won't let me save the changes I make.
Grrrrrr......

And can you believe I gained 7 pounds last weekend??!!  At least that is what my scale said to me Monday morning.  I just wanted to slap that thing......
Since I really didn't eat much more than I usually do, it has to be the sodium in what I ate that made me retain water.  I made pretty healthy choices with the food but it WAS restaurant type foods so overly salted/processed.
I've resumed my usual diet of foods w/out high sodium content and in 3 days I've dropped 3 pounds of that gain.  I should be back down that 7 by next week at this rate.

Ok, I am off to eat lunch, paint a bit, rest the foot, feed the puppies, take some quiche out of the freezer to thaw for dinner and then work on a blog post and answer some emails.

Project Runway tonight....woohoo!
I am so glad that drama queen Ken has been auf'd, aren't you?
I am thinking it's going to be Helen, Dom and Bradon at the Tents this time.....what do you think?

Sluggy

 

Let's Help a Gal Out! Important READ THIS!

My, or should I say our friend Judy has had a rough year so far because of the sudden death of her husband, Will.
And I wanted to do something for her so about a month or two ago I talked with her and she gave me the green light to get something rolling.

But then my Road Trip and Family Reunion Trip intervened......and then the health problem took hold of me so this all got delayed for a while.  And then coordinating with Judy during this trying time of her life put us behind schedule some as well because frankly, she's got more important stuff to deal with lately than me! ;-)
So forgive me for being a bit late in getting this all finished and ready to launch.

As her regular readers and followers know already, Judy over at That's udy with a J had her husband Will pass away earlier this year suddenly and unexpectedly.

 

Not only did it leave her and the family reeling emotionally, but it left them in dire straights financially.
You see, Will brought in 75% of their income.  With his death that income is no more and they are trying to live on the 25% that is still coming in from Judy's job.
Plus the life insurance Will had from his employment, which Judy thought was in place to get them over this stretch was not anywhere NEAR the amount that was needed.  So not only does she have to manage going forward on 1/4 of their old income, she didn't have that financial cushion of life insurance to see her to a point where they could get through the first 6 months or so monetarily, so she has been behind the 8 Ball ever since Will was taken.

Anyway, here's the deal.
I've set up a page on the Go Fund Me site to raise cash for Judy and her family to get specifically her car payments caught up.
Please go visit it HERE.

Excuse my lame video but it's the best one of 5 I tried to make and at least I didn't break down into sobs on it.
Sally Struthers I'll never be....lol

Please, if you can afford it, consider donating something....anything.  Even a few dollars would go a long way in helping Judy get caught up and continue to be able to get to her job.
I know many of us out here in cyper space are struggling with the finances but if everyone just gave $3, it could add up fast.

Now let me also say that this Go Fund Me thing does charge a total of 7.99% in fees from all monies collected to use their service.

So if anyone would prefer to use Paypal to send a donation that is also ok.  Paypal only charges about 3% in fees.  If you prefer to Paypal over some cash, just email that to my account which is under arcure@ptdprolog.net  Be sure to clip a note to any Paypal sent donation so I know it's for Judy because I also receive eBay payments at that account.

And if you don't want Paypal taking a cut, there is the option of snail mailing me a money order(money orders can be purchases for about $1 at many stores).  If you prefer to send a MO email me privately and I'll provide the mailing address/full name for you to send it off to.
I don't want to take personal checksd(or have Judy receive them directly) at this point as that opens me or Judy(depending on whom you make it out to)up to possible "bad checks" and having to pay hefty bank processing fees on them.  I know no one would send a bad check on purpose but if you don't have overdraft protection on your checking account and you have an OOPS!, it could happen inadvertently and cost one of us $30 or $40 in fines. 8-)

Now, no matter if you are in a place financially that you can or can't donate to Judy's cause, if you could SHARE THIS POST AND A LINK TO THE FUNDRAISING SITE that would help immensely to spread the word across the web!

You can also share the link to the Fundraising page via FACEBOOK and TWITTER.   If you have a large following/friend pool on either/both, Please share the link on those sites!  It amazes me sometimes how far things can travel on the net.

And if you have a blog, PLEASE be so kind as to blog about this effort to help Judy on your blog(with a link to the Fundraising site page please), or at least post something on your blog linking back to my blog post.

I have already had one of Judy's loyal readers email me privately with a nice sized donation for her.
I'd like to say THANK YOU to this individual(you KNOW who you are!)and tell you that she approached me privately before she even knew about what we were working on behind the scenes here.  This person has a good heart...... 8-)
And thanks for being the kick in the butt to finally get this finished..... 8-P

So that's it folks.
The gauntlet has been thrown down and the challenge started.
Let's get Judy a little pile of money love together, shall we?

I am sure I'll be bringing this all up again to nag everyone in the near future.

Again here is the link to the Fundraising Page..... http://www.gofundme.com/3u67fw


If you have any questions, thoughts or comments of your own, feel free to email me privately or leave a comment on this post.

Thank you for reading!

I know bloggers and blog readers are awesome people......don't prove me wrong now, ok?
8-)))

Sluggy

September 2013 Budget Results.....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2013.

I have posted September's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2013 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in September.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 5(3 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 17.
******************

FARM STAND

OOP  $22.40

Value  $64.45

Savings  65.24%

FOOD LION
OOP  $22.54
Value  $30.31
Savings  25.63%
 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $90.31

Qs/Ads  $111.71

Value  $202.02

Savings  55.30%

WALMART
OOP  $79.77
Qs/Ads  $37.03
Value  $116.80
Savings  31.70%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $71.55

Qs/Ads  $47.44

Value  $118.99

Savings  39.87%

I am no longer adding my rebates received into my food budget directly. I will use them on food on occasion and will note that when used.  I will keep track of rebates/gift cards/certs received here as before however.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN September.....$0.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES....$0

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$0.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were  at  the Farm Stand 65.24%,  at  the Shursave Market at 55.30% and at the Weis Markets  at 39.87%.  I food/toiletries shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$316.01

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$216.56

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$532.57

TOTAL Savings of...................................40.66%

This closes out the September food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into September with my usual $400 budgeted for food/toiletries purchases.
I stayed under budget by about $80.  It might have been by a wider margin had I not had a problem with my foot.  Having to send Hubs out for groceries was both good and bad.....good in that, I was more apt to use stuff we already had at home and bad in that, when something was needed he didn't care to shop around for the best price or buy it when it was on sale. sigh.....
We did end up taking food to the Reunion and we spend more on eating out while on the trip, but the eating out $ comes out of Entertainment not the grocery kitty.
 

I did NO Rite-Aid shopping last month again.  As we approach the holidays I will be going back to Rite-Aid a bit for their awesome Holiday specials, if they appear this season.  Though I don't need any toothpaste, soap or shampoo for at least another year, I'll take some home if it's free or drastically discounted when I am there.  8-)

 

Looking ahead to October---We have our annual Ocean City October Get-Away coming up.  #2 Son and whoever stays here with him will have to be fed so while a few days most of us won't be here to eat groceries will still need to be provided.  I also have a couple of restaurant discount/freebie coupons that expire this month so Hubs and I will be going out to eat at least twice in October besides the OC trip.  I really want to keep the OC trip food purchases low but that's a post for another day. ;-)

There are no birthdays or other activities going on in October that should make our food purchases rise above our $400 allotment.
I am going to work on using up some freezer goods this month to get ready to restock it with fresh meats.
 

And here is the run down of my Food & Toiletries Spending for 2013 so far this year--
 

2013 Total Saved $2,249.36

2013 Yearly Total Value of Items  $5,522.65

2013 Yearly Total Spent $3,273.29

2013 Yearly Savings Total of  40.73%

 

In September, total savings percentage for the year has gone DOWN .01% over August's year-to-date total of 40.74%, to 40.73%.  So we saw a VERY slight decrease in our savings rate on food/toiletries spending for the year.
We are holding steady in the 40%s.
Works for me! 8-)

 

How much did you spend on food in September?
 

Sluggy

Whats on the Dining Table This Week

The "Almost Well but Still Not Up to Real Grocery Shopping" Edition......

 

 

A shot of a tree across the street from my house that's really starting to show it's fall colors.  Happy October everyone!

 Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Pork Chops(freezer), Green Beans(garden), leftover Stuffing, Applesauce(from stockpile)
Monday--Dinner at TGIFridays(I had an appetizer and water, Hubs had a burger and iced tea.)
Tuesday--Roast Chicken(freezer), Brussel Sprouts(freezer), leftover Applesauce
Wednesday--Halushki(noodles from stockpile, cabbage from farm stand) with Bacon(freezer)
Thursday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce(meat from freezer/pasta from stockpile/sauce made from stockpile ingredients), some veggie from the freezer OR Fend for Yourself-not sure which yet
Friday--No plan yet, eating out
Saturday--My brother will probably want to eat at a pizza joint so not sure what I'll get there.

And here's what actually got eaten--

Sunday--Pork Chops(freezer), Green Beans(garden), leftover Stuffing, Applesauce(from stockpile)
Monday--Dinner at TGIFridays(I had an appetizer and water, Hubs had a burger and iced tea.)
Tuesday--Roast Chicken(freezer), Brussel Sprouts(freezer), leftover Applesauce
Wednesday--Hubs was away on business, son at work, so I had a grilled cheese sandwich
Thursday--Halushki(nnodles from stockpile, cabbage from farm stand)with Bacon(freezer)
Friday--I had Seafood platter at motel restaurant(ate about half of it), Hubs had BBQ platter
Saturday--Italian restaurant near motel, I had eggplant parm, Hubs had seafood ravioli

Everything as planned the first part of the week, except I just made a grilled cheese sammie on Wed since no one else was home.  2 dinners out while away from home for the Reunion.

 

As for food spending last week.....I spent $109.68 on $157.64 worth of groceries at 3 stores.  We spent under $8 for the week and then spent over $100 total at Walmart on Friday on the way down and at Food Lion Sunday on the way home from the Reunion.  Some of that $ was for party supplies but most of it was for soda and wine stock ups for home so it's coming out of the food budget.

As for food waste, nothing last week. 8-))

Leftovers going into this week--still picking tomatoes and there is leftover Halushki from last Thursday.

Here's this week's meal plan---
 

Sunday--Hubs had leftover Halushki, I didn't eat anything
Monday--Leftover barbecue pork and coleslaw from our lunch stop on the way home Sunday
Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(balls in the freezer/pasta in the stockpile), Italian Green Beans(freezer)
Wednesday--Leftover Halushki, Quiche(freezer), Salad(using garden tomatoes)
Thursday--BLT sandwiches(tomatoes from garden), Fried Apples
Friday--Baked Fish and Crabcakes(freezer), Veggie Medley(freezer)
Saturday--Leftovers or something from the freezer

On the shopping list......some turkey lunchmeat for me, some salad greens, milk, oj, cantaloupe, yogurt, burritos(for #2 son) and some specials like sugar, bread, celery, etc.
I'll try to keep it under $50 this week.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy. 
  

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

I'm Back from The Middle of Nowhere!

I am finally back folks.
I know you all missed me terribly. 8-))

The trip went well and a good time was had by all.
I wish we had more time there since 2 of the 3 days was an all-day drive.
The fun part in the middle went by much too quickly.

The weather was great all 3 days.....sunny and warm-ish but not too hot.
Which is a good thing since the Reunion is held outside on the house grounds.

And my foot/leg suddenly felt much better by Saturday.  We stopped a few times on the way down Friday to break up the car ride, and for awhile I sat on the back bench seat with my leg elevated.  I walked through Walmart on Friday as we needed to pick up a few things and I felt the foot was better then(though it wore me out for the day)but by Saturday morning the foot was feeling 80% well.  My brother and sister in-law had brought a wheelchair they have for me to use on Saturday but it turned out I did aok without it.  Besides the small cement patio area they would have had a hard time pushing me around on the grass as it's not exactly flat there, so it's a good thing I was able to walk some.  I navigated ok with my cane and the folding chairs were fine for me to use plus they had the 5 large wooden rocking(and a small table I could put my foot up on)that are usually on the back porch out for folks to use and I parked myself in one of those for awhile.
Heck, I even walked up to the second floor to take a peek around at the work that they've done upstairs in the house(and the rooms that still need work).  I hadn't been inside the house since my great grandmother moved out of there in the mid 1960's. 

The Reunion day went way too fast.  I connected with a few folks but there were so many more there that I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself to.  Many of them left after only a couple of hours so the die-hards(us and a few of my mother's cousins)sat until about 4:30pm just visiting.
I didn't get nearly as many photos has I had wanted to at the Reunion or of the entire trip.  sigh.
And I didn't take a single horrendous video either.....I know, some of you out there are relieved about that one. lolz

I didn't get as many photos taken as I wanted to overall.
My brother took my camera with him when he went off on Saturday afternoon to my mom's property to get some photos there for me.  It's a long walk from the road and heavily forested so there was no way I was going to be able to get back there myself by foot(and nobody would have been able to wheelchair me back there either).  So I gave him the camera which meant I didn't have it to take photos from about 2pm on.

We had dinner after the Reunion with my mother's cousin and her husband from her Harper/Tucker side of the family at the pizza/Italian joint down the road from the motel.  That was a good visit too, plus mom's cousin helped me ID those mystery people in the photos I have which I had posted about in August of 2012 HERE.
This information also helped me break down a brick wall this morning on my Tucker ancestral line.

I'll post more about my trip later this week.  #2 Son has my camera cord so I can't even download my photos until I get that back from him.

Gary the workman is here from the handyman company and working on the baseboard and the crown mouldings.  I am hoping he can finish this up today so we can get moving on these rooms to get them inhabitable asap.

I'm off to go work on the end of the month budget/bills accounting now.  September will NOT be pretty...... 8-(

Sluggy


 

Saturay Night Party!

Here's something fun for a Saturday night.

So who do you think won the lip sync off?

We're partying our a$$es off here in Keysville, VA tonight!
Woohoo......

Sluggy

Week 4 of the Boring Blog Box Giveaway.....Last Week to Enter!

Here's how it works if you are new here.......

 

I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today............something for your pitts, your hair, your nails,  your tummy & your décor......

 

 

1.  1 small Dove Deodorant stick

2.  1 bottle of Magnetix nail polish

3.  1 small bottole of Pantene conditioner

4.  1 bag of Brach's Fall Harvest Mix(candy corn and such)
5.  1 winged Gargoyle figurine for your Halloween decorating

 

 

 

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I close this post to entries.
This is the last post for this Giveaway.  You have until Friday, October 4th, at 11:59pm to enter.  The Giveaway will be closed at that time and a winner selected from all the valid entries received by that date/time.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email address and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week I want to hear about if/how you celebrate Halloween.  Do you dress up on Oct. 31st whether or not you are going to a party?
And if you give out candy/treats on Halloween, what do you like to give?

I use to get those full sized candy bars for a good price at the restaurant supply store so my house use to be very popular for Trick or Treaters.  This year I think we'll scale back but I am not sure what we will give out yet.....I still have a few weeks to work that out.
 

 

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post besides the daily comment.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.

 

Two more weeks/posts after this and the box will be full and ready to pick a winner.

Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

Going Back to the Old Home Place

It hasn't been the best of days here lately.
Nothing earth shattering just the blasted foot not healing.  Actually on Wednesday it was worse again so I was scared of having to go back to the hospital so I babied it extra and Thursday it was better.
But I am still nowhere near being able to do anything I use to do.

Hubs was out of town for 2 days so even less got done around here.  And little things were blowing up while he was gone and I just couldn't physically take care of things.
Sigh.

And now the Chihuahua is sick.  I noticed her eye was closed today and a bit swollen and then pus started coming out of it.
And we are going to the reunion tomorrow so she's going to have to wait until Monday to go to the vet.  If it gets worse while we are gone, #2 Son can take her to the ER vet down the road but still, that's another worry on my mind.

We had trouble booking a motel room for this reunion.
The location is so off the beaten path that there is not a chain motel/hotel for 50 miles in any direction.  The only motel is an old family run one in the next town over which has been there from before I was on this Earth.  If they had a listing, words like "old" and "dumpy" would be the highlights for it. lol

With my foot condition I put off making a reservation until last week as I still wasn't convinced we'd be going.
In between the time I first found their website and 800-number and last week, they stopped paying for the website and it disappeared.  And the 800-number was disconnected.
Great.

But we found the local number and yes, they are still in business so if I don't get back online(of course there is no WI-FI there!)by next Monday, someone please come looking for me in Keysville, VA.  Hopefully the motel clerk is not a chap named Norman with a penchant for bird taxidermy.....

I am thinking I'll need a wheelchair at the reunion since it's outside and I can't stand for long periods of time and they'll probably just have folding chairs strewn about the place. 

Trying to find a loan or rental of a wheelchair has proven difficult.  The place that loans them out for free for short periods of time never returned the message I left(figures)and the one place that rents them is all the way on the other side of Wilkes-Barre and while I could have driven myself there, I couldn't have gotten myself from the car into the store and back again.

But luckily, my sister in-law has one for her mother, who won't be needing it this weekend, so they are bringing it for me to use on Saturday.  Bless there little old hearts......

I also had to make a dish to bring to this shindig.  Having to stay over on Friday night meant I had to make something today that would keep with possibly not being refrigerated the full time beforehand.
So I settled on my mother's Pineapple Salsa recipe and Tortilla Chips.  The salsa will stay cold enough for the ride down in a small cooler and if there is no dorm sized fridge in the motel room, we can pack ice from the motel into the cooler and keep it chilled overnight.  Hubs can run into a local grocery store on the way down tomorrow or Saturday morning for the tortilla chips and I can take a big plastic bowl to put them in.
This dish got selected also because it was something I could make while seated at the kitchen table after I had Hubs gather all the ingredients.

Now I just have to pack and get to bed.  Tomorrow I'll attempt a shower as I don't want to offend Hubs on the ride down.

I'm nervous as hell because besides my brother and his wife, I am not going to know a soul at this thing.  I had hoped to bring the computer and be able to get online to access my Ancestry files and tree while there so I can engage whomever is interested in the family genealogy, but I doubt that they have broadband or dial-up at the plantation house and I don't have satellite internet.

So I am bringing a photo album of pictures and I'll take my camera, a pen and a notebook and hopefully will make some meaningful family connections.

I am nervous and sort of depressed at the moment so I have to try to get my spirits up before we get to this party so I am not a downer when I arrive......I am sure there will be plenty of time to BECOME a downer once the festivities get going. lolz

At least I have my painkillers and I'll take a little bit of "adult beverage" since if I remember correctly this county is semi-dry(meaning restaurants can sell liquor by the drink, but not stores by the bottle)and so, so backwards and still dwelling in the early 1900's.
I hope my Time Machine begins me back to 2013 by Monday.....

Wish me luck!

Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Still Hobbling Around" Edition......

 

Look at all those ripe tomatoes still on my plants!  I wish I could get out there and pick them so I can can them.....sigh.....

 Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Leftovers (I had my leftover Chinese Food.)
Monday--Leftover London Broil cut thin for beef hoagies(with caramelized onions and melted provolone cheese), stir fried Green Beans
Tuesday--Roasted Chicken with Onions & Carrots, Stuffing(for the menfolk), Cranberry "Glop"
Wednesday--Frozen Pizzas(I can have a small piece), Caprese Salad
Thursday--Broccoli Casserole, maybe Pork chops if I can dig them out, Applesauce
Friday--no clue but will probably involve tomatoes and/or green beans lolz
Saturday--ditto

And here's what actually got eaten--

Sunday--Leftovers (I had my leftover Chinese Food.)
Monday--Leftover London Broil cut thin for beef hoagies(with caramelized onions and melted provolone cheese), stir fried Green Beans
Tuesday--Roasted Chicken with Onions & Carrots, Stuffing(for the menfolk), Cranberry "Glop"
Wednesday--Frozen Pizzas(I can have a small piece)
Thursday--I was the only one home for dinner so I made a piece of fish, and green beans.
Friday--BLTs, yet again....lol and Broccoli Casserole
Saturday--Hubs had leftover chicken and broccoli casserole, I had a turkey sandwich and salad.

Through Wednesday was on plan and then the wheels flew off the bus. lol  We didn't get take-out or spend on more groceries at that point, deciding instead to work on eating some leftover and surplus tomatoes and beans and going to the freezer/stockpile to see what we could find.   It all worked out for the best. 8-)

  

As for food spending last week.....I spent $100.86 on $197.03 worth of groceries at 2 stores and the farm stand.  Actually Hubs spent the $ as I was in no shape to go shopping(except for riding out to the farm).  I have $193.67 remaining of my $400 September food budget with 6 days to go in the month.

As for food waste, nothing last week. 8-))

Leftovers going into this week--still more green beans and tomatoes from the garden.

Here's this week's meal plan---
 

Sunday--Pork Chops(freezer), Green Beans(garden), leftover Stuffing, Applesauce(from stockpile)
Monday--Dinner at TGIFridays(I had an appetizer and water, Hubs had a burger and iced tea.)
Tuesday--Roast Chicken(freezer), Brussel Sprouts(freezer), leftover Applesauce
Wednesday--Halushki(noodles from stockpile, cabbage from farm stand) with Bacon(freezer)
Thursday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce(meat from freezer/pasta from stockpile/sauce made from stockpile ingredients), some veggie from the freezer OR Fend for Yourself-not sure which yet
Friday--No plan yet, eating out
Saturday--My brother will probably want to eat at a pizza joint so not sure what I'll get there.

On the shopping list......I cooked a chicken breast for lunchmeat so no deli meat will be bought this week.  What I need to buy to prepare the meals above are a head of cabbage(picked up already at the farm stand).  That's it as I have everything else either in the stockpile or freezer.  I do need to pick up some staples we are out of like cornstarch, vinegar(on sale this week), yogurts for me(on sale this week), milk and a bag of dog kibble.  I'm still in no position to do a full-on grocery shop so I don't foresee spending more than $25 at the grocery store this week.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy. 
  

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

Online Shopping.....Got Me Some Deals!

Last weekend, while I was stuck sitting or laying around the house due to my foot I did some online shopping.

#2 Son needed new clothes as I hadn't bought him any since getting him some cargo shorts in the Spring.  He hadn't grown much but all his duds were wearing out.
So I sat him down last weekend on the edge of my bed and made him pick out stuff.  I must say that this method is much easier than trying to take him to the store and wait for him to point at something and grunt at me.  8-)

So we shopped and I added a couple of items in the old shopping basket for myself and I checked out virtually.

Here's what we got.....

3 x Cargo Pants  Reg. $52.00 pr.  on sale $29.99 pr.
2 x Band T-Shirts  Reg. $20.00 ea.  on sale $14.99 ea.
1 x Henley thermal Shirt  Reg. $25.00  on sale $14.99
2 x L/S T-Shirt  Reg. $20.00 ea.  on sale $9.99 ea.
1 x Women's Nightgown Reg. $36.00  on sale $20.99
1 x Women's Sweater  Reg. $40.00  on sale $28.00

Regular retail total was $337.00
Sale subtotal was $203.91

I had a code for an additional 25% off which brought the total down another $50.98 so my total was $152.93.  (The total for #2's stuff was $116.19.)

I got free shipping because the total was over $75 AND I got $30 in Kohl's Cash, so I'll get another $30 worth of clothing for free.

Then #2 Son couldn't wait for these clothes to arrive so he went up to Kohl's and spent another $120 something on 2 more pairs of pants, 3 more shirts and a jacket.  He got some good deals but he didn't get the 25% off I got online....sigh.
And he earned another $20 in Kohl's Cash so now I have $50 in that script to get him some more garments.  I'll probably pick up some underwear and socks and who know what else for him.

So around $236 for a complete wardrobe for the teen.
Not too bad for things he needed.
And we are good now on clothes for him until Summer weather 2014.

Sluggy