This Week on the Dining Table

The  "Cook Once, Eat Three Times" Edition.......

 

A photo from something bizarre I saw this past weekend.
At first they had their backs to us waiting at the traffic light and then he turned around.
Hubs thought they were aliens.
I had to inform him that they were "Sweet Frog" mascots.
I love the look on the face of that guy in the black car as he was making the turn.....lolz


Here is what was planned last week--

Sunday--Leftovers
Monday--Bratwursts on rolls, baked beans, leftover potato salad
Tuesday--leftover Fajitas
Wednesday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sautee Cabbage, fried apples
Thursday--Leftover Lasagna, Green Beans
Friday--Tacos
Saturday--Leftovers or Fish

And here is what got cooked last week---

Sunday--Leftovers
Monday--Bratwursts on rolls, baked beans, leftover potato salad
Tuesday--leftover Fajitas
Wednesday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sautee Cabbage, fried apples
Thursday--Leftover Lasagna, Green Beans
Friday--Tacos
Saturday--Leftovers or FFY(Fend For Yourself)

Finally got to the Pork Chops and we finished up most of the leftover.
I only cooked the Brats(if you can call brats cooking!lol)and the pork chop meal last week.
The taco beef was already browned and onion-ed, and Hubs added the seasonings and threw together that meal so I can't even claim that as a meal I cooked.

Ya know, I could get use to not cooking so much!

 

As for the food spending update.....I spent a total of $19.84 on $34.83 reg. retail on groceries last week at the local independent grocer. 
 

 

Going into the new week, here are the leftovers we have.....some taco filling and some fajita fixings.

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Take-out
Monday--leftover Taco(salad) and Fajitas
Tuesday--Chicken Fried Steak, Veggie, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy(I'll have leftover Pork Chop and Cabbage.)
Wednesday--Burgers on Pretzel Rolls(freezer-Hubs not home for dinner)
Thursday--Duck Breast(freezer), Risotto, Veggie(from freezer)
Friday--Sausage Sandwiches, Veggie(from freezer)
Saturday--Pasta w/Meatballs, Salad

Most everything I am pulling out of the freezer this week....duck breast, cubed steak, burgers, sausage, meatballs plus all the veggies.  I'm defrosting a roaster chicken now too in the fridge so it should be ready to cook on Sunday.

Time to clean the freezer out.
 

 

For snacks I'm buying 2 watermelons and there are Baked Lay's Chips here.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......basically just salad greens and a few staples and fruit.
It's a skimpy food shopping week for me.  When I run out of lunchmeat for myself I'll make due with tuna fish, BLTs or a big salad for lunches this week.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy

This is Getting Fun!

You may have read about my car shopping adventure on Saturday HERE.

And the salesman gave us the hard pressure sell on Sonic the Hedgehog here.....

 I spent the rest of the weekend doing some research and reading reviews of the car I wanted to buy, the Chevy Spark.

And while it is a good car it turns out it isn't the car I should buy.
I want to take a lot of long distance trips in this and it's just not cut out for long haul high speed interstate jaunts about the country.....unless I want to invest in a race car drivers kidney belt and really good earplugs. lolz

So goodbye to this Grape Ice little beauty......

Which means I am now focusing on buying a Sonic, the next size Chevy car up.

And if I get one, of course, I'd prefer it be Deep Magenta, the Limited Edition color for Spring 2014.

Like Sonic the Hedgehog pictured above.

I had put feelers out with Chevy dealers within a 75 mile radius last Thursday.
So one particular dealer has been leaving me emails and phone messages since then.
They seem hot to make some money.

So I went to their website and lo and behold they have the exact same Sonic in the exact same color and option package as the one the guy in Wilkes-Barre wants to sell me.

So now I am going to play ball with these two dealers.
A little game of "I have a price of $X from the other guy, so can you beat him out for my business?"

I wasn't totally happy with the price the WB dealer gave me for a bottom line so let's see if I can get this price down by buying the car from the other dealer OR if WB dealer will match or beat the other dealer's price.

I see on CarGurus that this car has been sitting for almost a year on their lot so that gives me some edge.

Let's see how far under $18K I can get them.
I've got some leverage since I am NOT emotionally invested in throwing this kind of money on a car and I can totally just walk away.
And I will.

This gal can play with the big boys....
I may not have a penis but boy, do I have balls!

Sluggy

 

Is It Time Yet?

Not only is #2 Son anxious to bug out of this hellhole town we live in(hellhole according to him....I much prefer to call it provincial on my better days), but I may be a wee bit anxious to get him out of the house too.

I started writing out my hard copy of the "College List" last Friday.
You know.....The master list of "what every college kid might ever need when they leave home" List that Sonya Ann and friends came up with before her oldest went off to college 4 years ago.

So I started gathering supplies for #2 Son that I have already.......

The boy does like to do ALOT of laundry.
I got these Purex Complete 3 in 1 laundry sheets back when they were new on the market and when Couponing was in it's Salad Days-when there were awesome coupons and sales and few limits and you could get shit free or almost free.
You know, the good old days.

I have enough sheets here sitting in the linen closet for #2 Son to do 224 loads of laundry.
I hope it will last him all 4 years.

I just discovered that the dorms where he will be living have free laundry!  He won't even need quarters.
Sweet.
A quick calculation and I figure with the water and electricity he alone will be using to do laundry nonstop on their dime vs. on our dime, the housing costs we have to pay are a win for US!!!

So he is covered on detergent.
And also covered on toiletries-deodorant, shampoo, soap/bodywash, toothpaste, toothbrushes.
He has an electric razor so the hairy face stuff is taken care of too.

While we were on vacation in April and then when we got home a week or so ago, I hit the Winter clothing clearance sales at Kmart.  We just happened to be in a KMart in Shreveport and found men's winter clothing for $2.99 a piece.  Then the next week when we were home I went into the local KMart here and the clothing was down to $1.99 a piece.
So of course I picked up some clothes for #2 Son to take to college with him.

It doesn't look like much since I just heaped it up on the spare bed for these photos.

Everything was either $2.99 or $1.99, except for the black coat which was $7.99 marked down from $60.
Score!
I got him long sleeved knit shirts, fleece PJ pants, longish Joe Boxer boxers, 3 casual dress shirts, a minky lined flannel jacket(original price of $24.99) and 2 pair of thermal underwear.
It's even colder than here in the Winter where he's going to school.  8-)
They also had 6 packs of men's boxer briefs on sale for $5.99 in his size.  Somebody must have mis-ordered because they had hundreds of this size in this style/brand of undies.

I had picked up at Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!)a multipack of the socks he likes over the Winter for $2.99.
Between the Kmart score, the undies and sox, he is all set for going away to college clothing...unless of course, he wears out/grows out of his pants.

I wrote this and then went and read Sonya Ann's Post today.  Go read toward the middle of hers.
We really do think alike and lead lives in a parallel universe, don't we?  ;-)

We finally have a date now for when #2 Son will go sailing off into the sunset.
Freshman Check-In is August 21st.

I am synchronizing my watch as I type.

100 days and counting!!!
The countdown has begun.

Sluggy

 

Celebrate Your Mom Bad Self

I woke up to this today.......

A breakfast of French Toast and Bacon that I didn't have to make for a change!

 

And this.....

My oldest son called me on the phone and my youngest son gave me a card.
My daughter sent this and it arrived a few days ago.....

A Box!!!

Inside was.......

A miniature Gardenia Bush.
She remembered that Gardenias are one of my favorite flowers.

And the enclosed card read.....

This is a family joke.
You can read about it in this post HERE if you are interested.

Happy Mother's Day to all my women friends, and those guys too who've had to be the mother in their kids' lives.

Sluggy




 

I Need a Shower

Why?
Because we went car shopping today.
And I feel dirty. lolz

I may not have mentioned this but I HATE shopping for cars.

We went to see if I could fit my fat ass in drive a Chevy Spark.
I haven't driven a compact car in years!

My timeline of cars Hubs and I have owner so far in our lives......

Chevette(new), Dodge Omni(new), Ford Escort(used), Chevy Caprice(used), Chevy Lumina APV(new), Ford Tempo(used), Kia Spectra(used), Dodge Caravan(new), Chevy Malibu(used), Toyota Corolla(used), Buick Century(used), Hyundai Elantra(used).

My cars have been the Chevette(1981), Caprice(1991), Lumina APV(1995) and the Caravan(2003).
I haven't driven/owned a compact car since 1990.

So we hiked over to a local dealer.

The Good news-I can fit in the Spark and can reach the pedals and everything.
Rah.
The Bad news-they only have 2.....a pale yellow one with a manual tranny and a black one with a automatic tranny.
I am not doing manual tranny here in the mountains and I don't want a black car so both of those are out.

We found out that no, you can't order one in a different color(a color they make it in)and no, they don't do dealer trades(find a car at a different dealer and they trade it to your dealer for something else that dealer needs for a customer).

Now I don't know if he was handing us a line or if this is how they do things in 2014.
We haven't bought a new car since 2003 so we are unfamiliar with standard practices nowadays at dealerships.

So I can't get my "Grape Ice" Spark, at least not from them.

But this dealer does have the next car up(in size), a Chevy Sonic in stock in a limited release color of Magenta.
It's no Lavender but it's close to Purple but on the pink side.

So we look at that one.
A bit roomier inside(not much)but there are lots more features to adjust the driver's seat and steering column.  There is more room in the backseat and the hatchback trunk area.
Same size engine, same number of cylinders and the gas mileage is marginally less than the Spark.

I could drive this one too.
But it does have a sun roof, which I don't like.
Those are just another electronic thing to break and somewhere the car can leak(and with my luck, it WILL! lolz)

I crinkle my nose at the salesman as he goes on and on about the sunroof.
Get a clue guy....you are losing me the more you go on about this "feature".

Here is the Sonic in question.....I think I would have to name it "Hedgehog" even though it's not royal blue.....lol

Then they started the ol' hard sell back in the office.
2 trips out to "confer" with the manager and we get a bottom line price of $18,445 cash out the door with tax and tags.

We walked out of there without a new car.
I just wasn't sold on this one.
He kept saying it's the only one and they don't make this color anymore trying to get me to take the deal NOW.

Nope.

So we get home and I go on the dealers website and guess what I see?

A Grape Ice(lavender) Spark for $14,445(before t&t).

Either they lied about not having the car in the color I wanted or they seriously need to update their website.
It was too late to call them on it since they were closed for the day by the time we got home.

So I went on the Chevy dealers website in a city 45 minutes from here and they are showing a Grape Ice Spark for an internet special price of $14,070(before t&t-which should add another $1300 or so).

I'll be calling them tomorrow morning to see if this car is actually on their lot.
If so, we'll be riding down there to see what we can get it for.

Or I could just buy this little number I found in the model showroom at the local dealer.......

This Camaro Convertible just screams ME, doesn't it?
Not a very frugal price though at $36K+ and with horrible gas mileage........ouch.
But oh, wouldn't I look HAWT driving this thing?

Did I mention how I HATE buying cars yet?

Sluggy

 

I Broke Down & Went to the Store

After I said I'd get through this week without going to the grocery store at all I went and broke down today.
I spent $19.84.
We were out of bread and tomatoes and meat for my lunch sammies.
We needed a bag of cheese for the dinner I'm making tonight(tacos).
A bottle of Fresca, 2 new "energy" drinks(all together came to $3), and 2 bags of tortillas chips & a bag of frozen fries(BOGO sale on the chips, $2 for the cold spuds- for #2Son)somehow jumped into my cart when I wasn't looking.
$9.26 of wants(mostly for the kid)and $10.58 of needs.

I've only cooked 2 times so far this week and tonight makes 3 times.
When your 18 year old son decides NOT to eat what you cook and eat fast food on his own dime, it sure cuts down on your food bill(and the number of days you need to cook as well).

Tomorrow is leftovers and Who Knows what Mother's Day will be.
I don't like going out on the "artificial holidays" as I use to have to work them so I get kinda PTSD about those. lol
And I am NOT cooking this Sunday.
Hubs hasn't even thought about it I am sure......we'll probably end up getting Chinese take-out, which would be fine by me.

Speaking of Mother's Day, I shared this on Facebook the other day.
Truer words were never spoken......hehehe

Hope all you Mothers out there have a peaceful day and  receive the adulation you all so deserve!

Sluggy

Purple Car Talk

Well I have to say, if you want comments to fly on your blog, post something about cars. lolz

The car color is called "Grape Ice".
It's sort of lavender...ish.
But I will call it purple.

No automaker is doing a true purple car right now other than this one.
As far as used cars, the Chevy SSR came in true purple in 2004......

It's sort of like an El Camino but with rounder lines.  I call El Caminos the Mullets of the auto world.....car in front, truck in back. lolz

The PT Cruise was made in purple up to 2005 and the closest one to here for sale now is in Michigan.....

It's a 2002 and manual tranny with 60K miles on it and they are asking $6K.

I'd much rather have this one.....

It's a 2005, manual tranny with 53K miles on it for $9K and it's in California.
And it's a convertible!

Honda made the Fit in 2009/2010 in Blackberry Pear......

Sweet color but can't find one for sale in that color.

GMC also made the Sierra 150 SLT Truck in Purple, it was a custom color.....

Of course, if I could find this car and it wasn't a bazillion dollars I'd want it too.....

A 1970 Dodge Challenger muscle car.

Bad on gas mileage but if you were driving this bad boy, who cares!?!

I have located a Grape Ice 2014 Spark for $14K an hour's drive from my house.

Of course, if I could live with a lime green one(which I could)and didn't mind having a manual tranny(not when you live on a mountain! lol), I could get that one for just under $12K.

You would think that because I have the cash to just write a check and drive it home, I'd in a position power with negotiating for this one.
Unfortunately, the dealers WANT YOU to finance.
In truth, that is where they make their money on a new car......the nickels and dimes they get off of you in the in-house financing.
They make very little on folks who buy outright with cash.

So paying cash(and paying less)don't really go together in this situation.

I really detest this whole dickering process with car buying.
A car should have a price and that's what you pay.
No bargaining crap.

Bring back Saturn dealerships! lolz

This is one of the good things about buying used cars from used car lots.
Besides being less expensive than a new car, the price they ask is what you pay.
Sure we've bargained down a couple times on used cars if we turned up something mechanical but they don't give you the smarmy lines and lie to you like the new car dealerships do.
Bunch of jack wagons......

Sluggy
 

Found My Car

Someone asked what kind of car that was in the last post that I showed.

It's a Chevy Spark....it's one of their newer models.

I found one an hour away from here in this color......

Isn't that the prettiest car EVER! 8-)))

Must have.....must have......

Sluggy-who has NEVER lusted after a car before
 

The Car Repair Dilemma

If you haven't guessed, and you would have if you've been reading this blog for awhile, I have a terrible time making decisions sometimes.
I guess it's a fear of making the WRONG decision that causes my indecision usually.

I hate making a bad decision because that leads to even more decisions that I fear.
Sigh.

Yes, sometimes I am a big ball of all kinds of f**ked up-ness.....(that is TO a word! lolz)

After reading all the comments about this potentially $3K minivan repair I am still torn.

Yes, I don't want to throw more money after bad on repairing a 10+ year old vehicle but the one big stumbling block is this.....

My minivan doesn't even have 98K miles on it yet.
Potentially this motor and other major parts is good for another what?...52K miles at least?

On the flip side, it's 10+ years old, gets miserable gas mileage and I don't NEED a car that large since I don't have a business or kids I need to haul around anymore.

And if we use that $3K this vehicle may need to repair it toward a new used car, that amount doesn't buy much of a car, even used.....we'll have to pour more $ into a new used car purchase than $3K.

I went looking around at the local Chevy dealer's site.

Isn't this car cute?

I know....you don't base your car choice on "it's cute".
Besides I probably can't fit my fat ass in the thing, it's tiny!
But the local dealer has one and it's only $12K new.

Off to go window/internet shop........
Such a waste of money, cars are IMHO.

Sluggy

I Found It!

Ok, I found this set at a used furniture store.  I have an email in to get the dimensions of the pieces and am just hoping they deliver to my area....cross your fingers!

9 piece vintage Danish Modern set(table, 6 chairs(2 w/arms), sideboard and buffet w/hutch.
In good shape....the chair seats need reupholstering but I can do that myself.
$500

It's the best I can do not being in CA or KY.
I'd prefer an oval table but this ticks off most, if not all, my boxes!

Sluggy
 

$24K Savings Challenge.....April Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.
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, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums 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, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2014 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $24,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the April report.....

I have posted my April End of Month $24K $AVING$ 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 $2,000.

I have to report that we finished up April with a smaller than needed amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of April with?.......$1,313.40.

Income
We had $1224.68 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
 

Other monies received in April totaled $88.72.  This included interest made on accounts and a per diem from Hub's work.

This brought us to our gain of $1313.40.
Since we have no debt anymore, this goes into savings.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  The electric bill went down $62 from March's bill.

 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We owed state taxes this year and paid them in April.

*  The c/c bill was $182 more than March's bill.
*  The water bill went up $2.
*  $770 MORE in cash withdrawals than in March.  A lot of this was for vacation spending.
*  We have a $76 Vet bill for the dog.
*  We had Prom related expenses of $200.
*  The food bill went up $125.94 from March's food spending.
 

 

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

The 2014 GRAND TOTAL.....
With 4 months accounted for, our Savings Grand Total for 2014 is $6,070.60
$1,929.40 short at this point of the $8,000.00 I should have put aside after 4 months.
I've fallen approx. $700 further behind with April's total compared to March's total.
bleh.
 

 

Looking ahead for May......

*  I will continue to do this Savings Challenge and report in each month on how it is going.

*  The expenses from our road trip to Louisiana we put on the credit card will be paid off in May, which will raise our spending this month.

*  May is a 3rd paycheck month, so this pay will go toward paying off the trip expenses from April and I am hoping it covers it ALL.  This will go a long way to get us to our savings goal of $2K for May.

*  The electric bill should continue to go down as the weather warms and we turn off the heat in May.

*  There are no trips or events planned for May, so no expected extra spending....unless I break down and buy some furniture.

*  I am going to try to reign in the food budget for May and keep it at or below $300.
 

 

So how was your April financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in March?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings in an emergency fund or a retirement account?

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

Procuring Furniture on the Cheap

In an effort to keep costs down I've been looking on eBay for used furniture.
Craigslist locally has turned up nothing in my budget and in my style sense.

I have very specific ideas about what my dining room table set needs to look like and how much it needs to cost(not much).
And I don't want something "cookie cutter" I see in every furniture store.

I found this used set for $350, but it's in Southern CA and local pick-up only.

Gosh, I LOVE this!

By the time I pay someone to haul it to PA, I could have ordered something similar new from Italy!lol
Fat chance I'm going to find something as awesome as this around here.....

I found a few sets that would work but they seem to be in Illinois or someplace to far to rent a truck and go get it.  sigh.

I am tempted to buy these chairs, aren't they cool?!........

And then find a metal chromed leg birch or glass topped modernistic table to go with them and use it all for a dining room set.
It's a small room so many of the sets I see are just too massive and big.
I want something fun that will be able to go with us to the next house.

Oh decisions, decisions.

I may have to break down and go on an excursion to Ikea down Philly to window shop some furniture and kitchen cabinets.
Can you believe I have never set foot in an Ikea before?  8-0
I've got my eye on a leather loveseat there.....

I hear both good and bad things about Ikea furniture.  What's your opinion and/or experience with them?

What kind of furniture do you have in your dining room?


Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Well THAT Was Easy, Let's Eat Leftovers!" Edition.......

 

 

I saw this apron on vacation in World Market.  That's a fun store to poke around in so why don't they have any of them here?
Oh right.....where I live isn't fun....lol

Here is what was planned last week--

Sunday--Burger on fresh rolls w/tomato, Potato Salad
Monday--Meatloaf, Green Beans(freezer), Rutabaga
Tuesday--Salmon(freezer), Carrots, Coleslaw(make my own)
Wednesday--Lasagna, Salad
Thursday--Fajitas
Friday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sauted Cabbage, leftover Potato Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

And here is what got cooked last week---

Sunday--Burger on fresh rolls w/tomato, Potato Salad
Monday--Meatloaf, Green Beans(freezer)
Tuesday--Lasagna, Salad
Wednesday--Leftovers
Thursday--Salmon(freezer), Rutabaga, Coleslaw(make my own)
Friday--Fajitas(chicken in freezer)
Saturday--Leftovers

Meals got moved around to different days and the Pork Chops didn't happen so that gets moved to this week.

 

As for the food spending update.....I spent a total of $89.54 on $145.28 reg. retail on groceries last week at Weis(PMITA)Markets.  Saved 38% over regular retail in all. This was my first food spending for May.  April's food spending topped out at $470.57 if you are interested.   8-(
 

 

Going into the new week, here are the leftovers we have......3 servings of lasagna(and I even made a SMALL pan this time!), some meatloaf and some fajita fixings.

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Leftovers
Monday--Bratwursts on rolls, baked beans, leftover potato salad
Tuesday--leftover Fajitas
Wednesday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sauted Cabbage, fried apples
Thursday--Leftover Lasagna, Green Beans
Friday--Tacos
Saturday--Leftovers or Fish

 

For snacks there are assorted baked goods(Danish, donuts, muffins, bagels)from #2 Son's job and fruit.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......since most of it's leftover foods from last week, not much.
I've got some long in the tooth apples to use up so I'll make fried apples to go with the pork.
I need some fresh fruit so I'll probably pick up a watermelon and strawberries(my favorites since nobody else around here eats much fruit).
If we finish up ALL the leftovers by Saturday I have battered fish and frozen veggies I can pull out of the freezer instead.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy

What's New at Chez Sluggy?

Just some Random Stuff going on around here......

*  I just added up the credit card expensed from our road trip to Louisiana and I am not happy.
$2985.58 on the card.
Bleh.
Between that and having just finished our Net Worth Statement for MAY I am not a happy camper right now.  Retirement Funds were up only $4,500 from March(last month these were up $11,500) and the cash funds were down $2,100....plus now a big chunk of our liquid money is tied up in a Personal Loan to our daughter.
I am feeling rather poorer right now.

*  After almost 2 months of looking for a new part time job, #2 Son found one!
Guess where he is working?

If you guessed the new local bakery that opened up recently in  teeny tiny town, you are correct!

#2 Son had quit his demanding restaurant kitchen job back in February.  Not only was it a hostile work environment but he was working basically fulltime hours around his school and activities schedule and since he was a kid they were not paying him commensurate with his duties and work.
And he had college auditions coming up to prepare for so he gave his notice in late January.

I figured at this point in the year no one around here would hire him when they found out he'd be leaving to go away to college in August.
why spent the time and energy(not to mention the money!)to train someone who will leave in less than 4 months.

But someone DID hire him!
And he is loving the people and the work.  And it seems they are loving him since they have him working the doughnut filling station and the register and have put him on the schedule for weekend mornings(their busy times).

While he is enjoying a better work environment I am not enjoying that he bring bags, BAGS I SAY!, of pastries, doughnuts and bread home every day he works til closing time.
I guess the 50% off rack at Weis and the Bread Outlet will see a lot less(if not any)of my money any longer.

All I can say about the photo above is......Must Resist Eating This!......
8-)

And the restaurant where he was taken advantage of?
Here's what happened to it March 17th......

 

If you knew what went on in that kitchen, you'd never have wanted to eat there again......I'm just sayin'......

*  Wednesday night was a last for us.
The last High School Band/Chorus Concert we ever need to attend(outside of any for grandchildren, some day).
And I am OVERJOYED!
Not that I don't love going to see my kids perform.....but I am so sick and tired of the ignorant, uncivilized behavior of the audience members.
Ok, the fellow students and siblings of the kids performing I can understand--they are young and haven't learned you don't get up in the middle of a concert while a number is being performed to walk the aisles, you don't talk through the entire number and you don't play on your PHONE during it!

But what GETS ME are the PARENTS of these kids who do all this!!!  When their kid is not performing, they chat, bring coffees into the auditorium and slurp it, text on their phones and I have to listen to phone sounds and they get up during numbers and go back and forth to their seats.
Its. Maddening!!!

I thought for sure Hubs was going to get into a knife fight Wednesday when he turned around and yelled at the assholes sitting behind us.
Gawd, these people here are so ignorant....but I am sure it's in all parts of the country.

The teachers use to tell the audience(parents)not to leave after their student performs....this was common a few years ago, as a kid finished their bit, they and their parents and friends would leave and by the time the Jazz Band(which was always last to perform)went on, the only folks in the audience were family and friends of those performers.

I sure wish these asshole parents would go back to leaving after their kids were done.  At least the rest of us behaved audience members would get to ENJOY the last few numbers of the evening. 8-(

I got #2 Son's last high school band performances on film, albeit shaky film. lol

*  On the medical front.......

I received a package in the mail earlier this week with a small plastic piece, a prepaid padded envelope and instructions on how to remove the modem from my Bi-PAP machine from my current DME supplier.
Ok.....

The only problem is, they picked up the Bi-PAP April 10th, as I returned it to them since I have one already. And the modem was attached to aforementioned Bi-PAP that no longer lives here.
So what exactly do they want me to return?!? lolz

So I had to call them and tell them all this, at which point the CS agent made a "note" in my file.
A rep from the DME company called me back and said to just pitch the small plastic piece(it's a cover to plug up the hole in the Bi-PAP(that isn't here)and ignore the instructions.
Well yah......nothing here to return so darn right I'm ignoring the instructions.

Then I called the Dr. in Pittsburgh that is billing my son for 2 visits and tests he had done the end of December.
His work-sponsored insurance didn't kick in until Jan. 1st of this year so he had no medical insurance last December, as he was no longer on our family plan.

I called them to get some kind of "uninsured patient" discount on these bills since it has to be covered totally out of pocket and my son has limited funds and can't really afford this now.

Well the DICKHEADS at Premier Medical Associates PC out of Pittsburgh PA "don't do that" I was told twice before I hung up on them.
If you have financial hardship you have to apply to Medicaid and send them a copy of the determination that Medicaid sends you back on your case.
Hey, I don't want to get the government involved in this, I just want to help my kid pay his bill.

Oh, they will set up a payment plan for you....for the full amount.
I have always asked for and gotten a discount for paying cash when I had work done that wasn't covered by our insurance.

I ask, is it fair that folks with medical insurance get a discount(as the medical suppliers give the insurance companies a discounted rate for services, which it turn means the insured pay less)and those without coverage pay the full freight?!
I think not.

The woman on the phone was NOT helpful in the least and I told her, "I guess you people don't want to get paid, do you?", to which she had no reply.

I think I will send them $5 a month until it's paid off.  Better yet, maybe I'll send it in cash....$5 worth of pennies via Priority mail each month.
I know that will cost me far more than he owes but did I mention that Premier Medical Associates PC are DICKHEADS yet?!?

Oh you DO NOT want to get on a post-menopausal women's bad side.......

*  I spent a good part of the weekend reorganizing my fabric hoarded stash inventory. I pulled some things to donate since they don't seem to be "salesworthy" and started getting ALL of it listed or relisted on Etsy(except for the Fall/Winter fabrics). 
If you are in need of nice vintage fabrics for your sewing needs, be sure and stop by my store on Etsy "Slugmama's".  There is a link on the right sidebar.

And I STILL don't get this "favoriting" thing they have over on that site.
I really don't CARE if you "Like" one of my fabrics.
I just care if you BUY the blasted stuff! lolz
WTF?!.....shaking my head......

Not quite done but I do have 104 listings on Etsy up as of right now.

*  I have a wild hair up my ass about my kitchen lately.
I have always detested it.....hated the layout(so bad!).....hated the cabinets(cheap and so boring).....hated the tile backsplash color(so dated).
I got rid of the duck wallpaper(ewww!)years ago and painted the walls.  I am tired of those walls now too.  I also replaced the sink, countertops, even the cabinet hardware and the appliances over time.
The only thing we haven't replaced is the backsplash and the cabinets.

I can repaint the walls but that still doesn't fix the layout and the old fake oak cabinets.
I am thinking drastic measures need to be taken.

We are moving and selling this house in approx. 4 years.  We will NOT get top dollar with this kitchen.
So I am considering a major gut of the kitchen.
Remove Everything, change the layout and start from scratch.
Maybe keep the floor because that is tile(which we also had redone)and the only thing I like in this kitchen.
Redo and update the kitchen soon so I at least get a new kitchen for a few years before we move and sell this place seems like a good thing to do rather than wait 3 years and just redo it all to sell.

What do y'all think about this idea?
And if anyone has remodeled their kitchen, tell me how much it cost in the end please.
I am scared of getting started with this and getting carried away and spending way more than I feel comfortable with.  8-0


*  Now that the Band Concert and the Prom are over with for this year, we are down to 3 more Events and we can put High School in our rearview mirror forever!
We have the French National Honor Society in 2 weeks, Class/Awards Night early June and Graduation on June 13th(yes Friday the 13th LOL).
Then I get my "survived High School" parenting badge and we just have 1 more to get through College and our days of Active Parenting are DONE!
Woohoo!
And then it's on to the next phase of life here at Chez Sluggy.......

Sluggy


 

The Car Gods are Angry Again

The Car Woes of 2014 continues here at Chez Sluggy.

When we got my minivan inspected in March the auto shop said we needed body work done(a rust/corrosion issue underbody)sooner rather than later.
Said issue would definitely fail our annual inspection next year and take the minivan off the road.

So we bit the bullet and took the car up to our "Auto Body Shop Guy" on Friday.
The news is bad and badder.

IF once he gets it up on the lift and can bang around under there AND he only has to patch the ends of whatever he is repairing, it's going to run $1500.
IF once he gets it up on the lift and can bang around under there and AND the "whatever" can't be patched and the middle has to be replaced, it's going to run $3000.

bleh.

I would have no problem sinking that kind of money into the van since it only has 98K miles on it and it's a 2003.
But it's a 2003 and only worth about $3500 anyway.
Can I justify putting $3K into a car only worth $3500 after it's fixed?
*sigh*

So we have 1 car that needs potentially $3K in repairs, 1 car that has major issues to repair(but keeping the oil and transmission fluids checked and capped is working to keep it on the road w/out sinking the $3K it needs to fix those issues)we have to address eventually and 1 car that is aok right now and needs no work.
The only car without issues is the one #2 Son drives.......our kid has a better car than both his parents at this point. lolz

Once #2 Son goes away to college, we were going to get rid of a car....not the one he drives.
Hubs was going to get rid of his "leaking too expensive to repair mess of a car" vehicle and take over the third car. 
But now my van is on the table for discussion too.....so do we ditch the van instead, since Hubs car is drivable for the foreseeable future with the tweaking he does on it?
Or do we ditch 2 cars come August and become a 1 car family?

I don't need a car except for errands-going to the grocery store, gas station, bank and post office.  I don't commute to a job.  All these can be done when he gets home in the evening and/or on weekends.  It becomes a little inconvenient with the bank and PO, but still doable.
The problem would arise if I had a medical appointment or emergency.

So what would you do in this situation?

I hate these blasted machines' associated costs!

Sluggy


 

Rite-Aid Update

Here is what I bought at Rite-Aid since we went away on vacation April 12th.....

Yes, I went to Rite-Aid while on vacation.
This was bought the morning we left Fairhope Alabama.
I had 2 Coupons expiring that day I wanted to use with 2 AdPerk Rite-Aid Qs and a rain check I had and I KNOW once we got on the road Hubs wouldn't want to stop for me to do this transaction. lolz

After Qs and rain check these large bottles of dish soap cost me .50 each.
The baby food was free after rain check(there had been a +Ups Reward Deal for them).
In total with Alabama sales tax on the dish soap, I paid $1.09 for everything pictured.


Then last Saturday, before my $3 +Ups expired I did this.....

2 x select cookies on sale 2/$3=$3.00
I used my $3 +Ups to pay so $0.00 out of pocket.
And I received $1 +Up Rewards for buying these cookies.

Nice.

I spent a total of $3.46 on $102.42 worth of food/toiletries at Rite-Aid in April.

I'll be laying off Rite-Aid(once I spend that $1 +Ups)for the next few months.  Heading into Summer we are good on the stockpile of most toiletries for now.

Sluggy

I Need Your Help

Hey I don't ask for favors often but could everybody, do me a favor please?

My son's band, Docile Sponge, is trying to win a chance to play at a local music fest this Summer called JAM AT THE DAM.

Could you go to the website, http://www.thejamatthedam.com/ and scroll down to the voting for Week 6 and vote for Docile Sponge.

You can vote once per email/computer.
The band just found out  about this opportunity and REALLY want it.

Voting ends May 7th I think.
Much appreciated!

Sluggy

Food & Toiletries Spending.....April Update

 Onward to April's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2014.

I have posted April's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2014 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in April.  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 4(3 at home this month)& 1 dog. No kids under 18.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $13.98
Value  $44.56
Savings   68.63%

BROOKSHIRE'S
OOP  $23.94
Qs/Ads  $11.35
Value  $35.29
Savings  32.16%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $62.34
Qs/Ads  $44.02
Value  $106.36
Savings  41.58%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $91.77
QsAds  $60.89
Value  $152.66
Savings    39.88%
 

RITE-AID
OOP  $3.46
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $98.73
Value  $102.42
Savings  96.40%

SAM'S CLUB
OOP  $42.77
Value  $68.37
Savings  37.44%
 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $75.47

Qs/Ads  $65.41

Value  $140.88

Savings  29.44%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $156.84

Qs/Ads  $56.80

Value  $213.64

Savings  26.59%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 96.40%,  the Bread Outlet at 68.63% and the local Grocer at 46.43%.  My WORST savings rate was Weis(PMITA)Markets at 26.59%.
I shopped at 8 different stores this past month. (2 of them new ones while on vacation.)

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$470.57

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$393.61

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$864.18

TOTAL Savings of...................................45.52%

Without counting the Rite-Aid shopping, my savings rate was 38.39%.

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into April with no expectations, which was a good thing since we spent well over $400 this month.  We did a bit of stocking up on loss leaders and took some food/toiletries to my daughter in Louisiana. I shoot for a monthly savings rate over regular retail of 40% and we surpassed that with the Rite-Aid spending included.
While I get good value for what I spend(my OOP vs. the regular retail price)I am finding it difficult to keep the actual spending low.
I sucked at being frugal on food/toiletries in April.
bleh.



LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY......

After a runaway food spending month in April plus the road trip expenses I'll be trying to reign in the outgoing cash in May.  I want to try to keep food spending to $300 or so.
We don't have any celebrations with food related costs for May so let's see if I can keep the spending down.

Of course after saying all this, I went out and spent $89.54 at the grocer store this week.
I suck.

 

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

Total spend on food/toiletries so far this year.....$1,511.46

The average monthly food/toiletries spending this year so far is $377.87.

 

How much did you spend on food/toiletries in April?
Do you track your yearly food spending?
 

Sluggy

Hidden Savings When Sending a Kid off to College

I can't wait for August to get here!

The reason is that #2 Son leaves for college that month.
In a way I am sad to see him go(ok, stop laughing Sonya Ann!) but our budget will draw a modest sigh of relief.

The bulk of the expenses he generates will transfer from our regular monthly income onto his college fund money(except for those times he is home on breaks).

Ok, so while in college he probably won't cost us less, at least we have college money set aside for his expenses once he hits the dorms so our day to day expenses here will go down.
His expenses will be drawn from a source other than our monthly income.

 I guess if you don't have money put aside for your kids' college like us, there really is no savings when your offspring head off to those hallowed halls of higher learning(and partying). ;-)


I've been doing a quick calculation of possible savings on our monthly budget once he leaves home.

*  No longer paying for his long, lingering hot showers(multiples per day sometimes), savings on the water bill of at least $10 per mo.

*  No longer paying for the computer upstairs to be on 24/7, running the a/c 24/7 in his room from June to September, lights left on, and running the dryer to "fluff" the outfit he wants to put on, savings on the electric bill of anywhere from $50-$75 per mo.

*  No longer paying for private music lessons(will be included in the tuition we pay from college fund), savings of between $120-$200 a mo.

*  No longer paying to feed him, savings of between $50-$75 on the food bill per mo. AT LEAST!

*  No longer paying for fast food or his eating out,  savings of $20 per mo.  WAAAY UNDERESTIMATED! lolz

*  No longer paying for gas in the car to get him to school, savings of $35 per mo.

*  No longer paying for car insurance, inspections, registration or repairs for a 3rd car, since we'll ditch it when he leaves.  Savings there but no way to tell yet how much we'll save on this score.
If he needs to go somewhere while on break or during the Summer, he can use my car since I don't need it much.
Once we ditch the car, we save $36 in registration fees, $75 in yearly inspection fees, about $300 in insurance, so $411 before you figure in repairs(which exceeded $3K on this car last year!).

I figure once he leaves for college we'll realize at least a $435 a month savings on our monthly day-to-day living expenses. (With a monthly estimate for car repair bill costs.)

That doesn't even begin to cover all the odds and ends we spend on him.....costs associated with school, like Prom tickets, Band costs(new band shoes and clothes, trips and fundraising), etc.
We'll still be covering the cost for new clothing & shoes(but he'll have to get use to buying "not name brand"), toiletries(I still have quite the stockpile of freebies on most items)and rxs and doctor visits out of our regular budget.

Of course not having him home means our trip taking gets curtailed(because no one is here to watch the dog)or trip costs go up(if we have to kennel the dog).

Aw well.....everything in life is a trade-off, ain't it?

But keeping that extra $5,200 or more a year from our budget and kicking it into savings will be grand!

Now to find a way to send him packing before late August.....hmmmmm...... ;-)

Sluggy



 

The Battle of Old Men & Young Boys

My oldest son, the history nut, will be coming home for a visit at the end of June and to take part in a high school friend's wedding ceremony.

It's too bad he won't have more time as I wanted to take him on a short trip to Virginia, to where many of our ancestors lived.  Hubs isn't interested in going as he isn't "into" family history/genealogy, even his own family's! 

June 25th of this year marks the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Staunton River Bridge.
This was a crucial win for the Confederates at that time, as the successful defense of that bridge and the railroad line there, kept the supply line open to the Confederacy and troops in Richmond and Petersburg and delayed the end of the War of Northern Aggression.

This battle was part of the Wilson-Kautz Raid by the Union to try to destroy supply lines. 
After 3 days of Union raiding forces tearing up the Confederate rail lines, they were stopped in their "tracks"(pardon the pun)by the forces assembled at the Staunton River Bridge near Randolph VA, over the Staunton River.
You can read more about this specific battle HERE.


Captain Benjamin Lyons Farinholt and 296 Confederate reserved troops were warned of the approving Union forces to Charlotte County VA.  Fairnholt sent out couriers into the adjoining counties to muster up volunteers to come aid the troops in holding the bridge.
Fairnholt also ran trains non-stop on the rail line there so it appeared to Union spies in the area that reinforcements were amassing in great number to confront the advancing Yankees.  In reality only 642 reinforcements arrived-150 regular army and the rest were comprised of old men and young boys from the surrounding communities.
They successfully held off 4 attacks of Union forces that were 4 times their size.

Benjamin Lyons Farinholt, born 1839 in Virginia, he attended Randolph-Macon College. Farinholt, enlisted July 1861 as a 2nd Lt., 53rd VA Infantry Regiment.  He saw action during the Peninsula and Maryland Campaigns, at 2nd Manassas, and was captured at Gettysburg (July 3, 1863).  He spent 7 months in the POW prison on Johnson's Island, Ohio before escaping and making his way back to Richmond to reenter the war in May 1864. He was regimental Captain by June 1864 of the 53rd VA, when he defended the Richmond & Danville Railroad at Staunton Bridge with a troop of wounded veterans, reservists and old men and boys from the area.  At wars end, he was a 26 year old Colonel, C.S.A.  He died 24 Dec. 1919 and is buried in West Point, VA

This Battle was the only one fought during the Battle Between the States in Charlotte County VA and it was fought near where many of my mother's family's ancestors lived in the 1860's.

Unless your ancestor was a regular Confederate soldiers it's very hard to find or prove they took part in this battle, other than oral history or written personal journal entries of participants or their family members.

So far in my digging, I have only found 1 ancestor that is proved to have been at the battle that June day in 1864. (Though in the partial list of the regular troop roster there are 4 or 5 men with my family's surnames who I may be related to as well, but is not proved yet.)

I found a memoir written by my 5th Cousin 1 x removed.  In it he recounted that his Great Grandfather, Lafayette Hale Mason, Sr. was among the defenders of the Staunton River Bridge the day of the battle.  The story was handed down in his family's line.

Lafayette Hale Mason, Sr. is my 2nd Cousin 4 x removed. Lafayette Mason was born sometime between 1816-1820(according to census records) and died in 1890.  At the time of this battle, he was in his mid to late 40's.
In the 1860 Census he is shown living in Charlotte County Virginia with his wife Judith Irvin(Irvine) and their children John, Susan and Lafayette Jr.  He was a farmer.


Confederate Patriot Lafayette Mason, my 5th Cousin & I share an ancestor, John Mason III, born 1741 in Surry County, VA. (Many genealogists show him as being born in Sussex County, VA, though up until 1753 this county was part of Surry County, VA.  Pre 1652 Surry County had been part of James City(or Citie) County as well.  John Mason's birth predates the formation of Sussex County.)

At any rate, this June, the weekend of the 21st and 22nd there is to be a commemoration of the Battle of The "Old Men & Young Boys" in Staunton River Battlefield State Park.  I would have liked to have gone to the descendants medal ceremony to be present as the service my ancestor(and probably more ancestors that I am unaware of at this time)performed for Virginia and the South was recognized and acknowledged.
And watching the re-enactors and the cannons being fired would have been cool too.

And I think my son would have gotten a charge out of attending as well.

Sluggy




 

About the Current Retirement Plan & Moving Away

First off, I grew up in the South so it's a place I feel more comfortable as a general rule.  I understand the Southern mindset.
Though I've lived in Yankee land since 1984, most of my married life, I had hoped to return
below the Mason-Dixon Line at some point.
Retirement might just be that point and Louisiana just might be that location.

No matter where we move to I'll be fine.  I am a master at being alone.  Big difference between being lonely and being alone and many people don't understand that.  I am comfortable with myself enough to enjoy lots of alone time.  I am good company. ;-)  I have always been most productive when left alone.  If the community we end up living in is unfriendly, I can deal with it, because I've dealt with it for many years already.

I HATED living in northeastern NJ the almost 3 years we were forced to be there.  I met some
lovely people while there but mostly it was a horrible experience......too many pushy people, too noisy, too polluted, crazy drivers, too expensive and full of pretentious *A*holes.  You get the idea.

When we moved into our first house in the Pocono Mountains. of PA, by comparison,  it was heaven.  A community with few year round residents at the beginning, natural beauty and
unspoiled vistas.  A serene place to live and much cheaper.  The drawback was how far we
were to services, stores and having utilities go out in the winter.  AND the winters.......averages
of 100 inches per Winter Season(in a light precipitation year).  Hard to dig out(especially with
just shovels)and hard to get to a job.

In a way I loved the isolation at that time in my life(this was before the internet too)but was also
able to make a few friends.....until they either died(the older people I was friends with) or left to go back to the Metro NY/NJ area because they missed living there so much(which I just can't even imagine! lol)

Then that place changed as we were invaded en masse by New York City-ites and eastern New
Jersey-ites, looking to relocate their families to an area away from crime and expensive living,
while they toiled away at their NYC jobs with large salaries.  The employed in these families
would stay in the city during the week and come home on weekends.

There were nice families among these newer transplants but the migration also brought the big
 city problems of crime, drugs, noise, et cetera with them.  I didn't mind going to the community
pool and never hearing English spoken the whole time(lolz) but some of these new residents thought themselves above the PA laws and because our sleepy little town had little police protection all
kinds of shenanigans made itself known and disrupted our lives on a daily basis.
These transplants brought their big city problems and big city ways along with them.

Wild parties into the wee hours every weekend in good weather and new or unlicensed hunters
with no gun learning using our development to take pot shots at wildlife, which brought up the number of "accidental" gunshot victims.  Then there were the "Summertime only" residents
from NYC and Metro NJ who would invade our hometowns and as many folks on vacation are
known to do, leave their brains at home.
Hey, I grew up in a Tourist town so I know this type of behavior well. lolz

It all got to be too much for our little growing family(who wants to worry about letting their
young kids go outside in a private community-not in a game lands area, in the Fall even with
wearing Orange so some idiot doesn't mistake them for a deer and kill them?!).
Plus Hubs wanted a shorter commute to work so we moved further into PA.  While this put
distance between us and the obnoxious/entitled metro NY/NJ behavior folks, we moved right
into the midst of provincial small town PA behavior.

We've lived here almost 14 years now and I STILL don't fit in.
That's what happens when you move into a small close knit town where everyone has lived
here for 5 generations(at least).
These folks keep to their "own kind" and after 14 years I am still not accepted.
Lord knows how I tried, at least for the sake of my kids so they'd have friends.
I have extended invitations and put myself out numerous times just to be rebuffed.
But I refused to be miserable, so I kept to myself and threw myself into my family and some online activities/groups and had a happy little life.  Well, except for the overspending and hoarding phase...lol

I joined stuff here like the PTA, I was a room mom(what a disaster THAT was! lolz), I volun-
teered for things,  I let them have those kid birthday parties and pool parties, whatever I could do so they would "fit in".
I hope the little shits appreciated the crap I went through...... ;-)

And I tried NOT to influence the kids with my very negative view about the folks I interacted
with in this town.
Even with all I did, the funny thing is.....all 3 of my kids couldn't WAIT to move away from
this town. 
Two did and as soon as he's out of college, the third will be joining them.
They all have maintained very few, if any, friendships with the kids they grew up with.

As my kids left home I have had less need to interact with the people who live around me.
And that suits me fine.  I don't need anybody here to be happy.  With my 3rd kid almost
graduated high school, besides the cashiers at the stores and the bank tellers I'll have no need to
interact with anybody around here anymore. 

I may have been a hermit in a previous life, as that type of living arrangement suits me fine for the most part. 

4 more years and I am out of here!  I am sure we can find a friendlier corner of the country
to live in.
If I could survive in Metro NY/NJ and then here for 14 years(and counting)I am sure I can adapt
and get along most anywhere. 
I don't need a grand house, or even a large house.  Just leave me be, to be who I am.

So even though we are looking at houses/properties in a part of the country we have little
experience in, I am sure we can be happy there, whether or not it's a welcoming community
or not.  I'll patch together some sort of support system and be perfectly content being left alone
by the folks in that town/area.
As long as I have all my long distance friends......

Sluggy

 

The Spring Boring Blog Box Giveaway Reveal

And the winner of this box of goodies........

Is.......

"Longtime Wife"!

Congratulations Longtime Wife.
Please email me within the next 48 hours of posting this message to claim your prize(and provide me your full name and mailing address).
If you fail to reach me within this time limit I'll draw a new winner.

And thanks to everyone else for playing along.

Sluggy


 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Back to Cooking Dinner, Wish I was Still on Vacation" Edition.......

 

 

And here is what got cooked last week---

 

Nothing since we were on vacation, though I DID cook breakfast once.  ;-)

 

 

As for the food spending update.....I spent a total of $84.42 on $156.44 reg. retail on groceries last weekend between the Bread Outlet, Maine Source(restaurant supply store)and the local Grocer.  Saved 46.04% over regular retail in all. Not a bad savings rate.

I have spent a total of $446.46 in April so far.  This week I have about $15 more food spending planned to close out the month.  I'm hoping I don't hit $500 for food spending for April.

Being so high with the food budget this month is not so good since Hubs and I weren't even HERE for 11 days of April to eat.  But then again, I did buy most of the food daughter prepared for Easter Dinner and Sat. morning's breakfast, so that expense came out of my food budget for April.

 

May just has to be all about tightening the money belt where food spending is concerned!  I'll be digging back into the freezer to get rid of some old dogs laying around in there and watching the food spending like a ravenously hungry hawk.  ;-)

 

And since #2 Son lived on pizzas, nachos and burritos the whole time we were gone, we had some big time food waste.  I had to pitch out not-so-fresh produce(asparagus, celery, cauliflower)and leftover chicken and zuke when we got home.

Sigh

 

Going into the new week here are the leftovers we have......2 servings of spaghetti and meatballs.

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Burger on fresh rolls w/tomato, Potato Salad
Monday--Meatloaf, Green Beans(freezer), Rutabaga
Tuesday--Salmon(freezer), Carrots, Coleslaw(make my own)
Wednesday--Lasagna, Salad
Thursday--Fajitas
Friday--Pork Chop(freezer), Sauted Cabbage, leftover Potato Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

 

For snacks I made fresh pickles and a brownie, and bought and cubed a watermelon--1st one of the season!

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......the ground beef and all the fresh produce was bought on Friday for this week's plan.  I need to pick up mushrooms(fajitas), cottage cheese and noodles for the Lasagna this week.

After perusing the sales ads I'll pick up any loss leaders we use that I see for a great price too.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy