Weekend Hijinks....Not Very Hijinky

Is hijinky even a word? lol


My weekend has been low key and not fully what I had planned it to be.
Saturday was filled and we had ourselves an adventure, Hubs and I.

First off, we went to the Annual Church Auction down the road from us.  We go to this every year.
Besides the items you see(well you can see about 75% of the items)that people donate for this event, they auction off business donated gift certificates.  The gift certs. are mostly what I go for.  I bid on(and hopefully win!)certs. for local eateries & entertainment we go to, and services we use anyway(like car oil changes, pet boarding, etc.).  Spending some money now on gift certificates at less than full price, instead of paying full retail when we obtain the goods and services later, saves us a big chunk of change in the long run.

Here's a little video I made with all the certificates I won on Saturday.  I got quite a lot more certs this year than I usually win the bids on.
And forgive me when I keep saying this was FREE in the video.....I KNOW they weren't free as I did pay for them.  I just paid less now than I would have to pay otherwise at the store/business.
And the money goes to the church which makes me feel good.



I had a savings rate of 43% overall on what I spent vs. what I got.

*I really wanted that lamp in the photo for my new living room, but it went for something like $50(still less than retail at that)which was way over what I was willing to shell out of my pocket. ;-)

Then we headed over to KMart.
I had bought a folding camping table Saturday morning online before we left for the auction.
I need one for my shipping HQ(my online packages for eBay/Etsy) and for sewing(to cut fabric on)
since I no longer have a dining room table to do these things on.  And once I get a dining room table, we can always use a good portable banquet type table.
So I waited to get one that didn't fold in the middle at a sale price.

It was $39.99, $10 off.
I bought it online because I had a Get $5 off a $40 order coupon code so if I bought $45 in goods I got $5 off.
So I needed to add $5.01 in goods, which ended up being FREE with the coupon code.
I got diet fruity sodas for me and grape sodas for #2 Son.

Then we hit Weis PMITA Markets for some chicken deli meat for lunch sandwiches for me for the coming week and 2 Di Giorno's pizzas on sale for $5 and I had a $2/2 IPQ, making the pies $4 each.
Hubs made one for dinner Saturday and the other is for #2 Son to have some time this coming week for dinner or lunch, depending on his schedule.

Sunday isn't going nearly as well or as planned.
Judy and I were suppose to meet for lunch but she is too sick to make the trip to her sister's this weekend.
I guess it's all for the best since I woke up to my foot.....the good foot that didn't have the blood clot....very sore and not being able to put much weight on it.
Ugh.
If it isn't one thing, it's another, isn't it? 8-(

So we'll do the meet up/lunch date in a couple of weeks.
And no Judy, I am not bringing the giant zebra's ass with me to Denny's, just my own giant ass......

I think I strained a muscle on the right side of my foot because while the pizza was heating up Saturday evening, I went out into the yard to pick broccoli so I could make more Broccoli Soup.  The yard is sloped where I had to stand to cut the broccoli and I must have hurt my foot standing on that uneven ground.
Ugh again.
So there was no way I was getting into the car and driving to meet Judy today.
I've been hobbling around the house today trying to make that blasted Broccoli Soup and straighten things up a bit.  I've got to be well enough tomorrow since I have a 4 month checkup with my primary doctor Monday morning.  So after the soup is finished I am off the foot for the rest of the day.

So that's my thrilling weekend.
How has yours been?

Sluggy

Guess Who Went to Rite-Aid?

Yup, yours truly did.
I know all you Rite-Aid fanatics were wondering when I'd jump back into Rite-Aid pillaging! lol
Not quite a pillage since I have no +Up Rewards to roll and I DID spend actual money this trip.....but here is what I bought.

3 x Purex Laundry Detergent  on sale Buy 1, Get 2 Free=$6.49
2 x Palmolive Dish Soap on sale .88¢=$1.76
2 x R-A brand Facial Tissue on sale .88¢ but my 20% discount makes it .80¢ ea.=$1.60
1 x R-A brand Paper Napkins on sale .88¢ but my 20% discount makes it .80¢=.80¢

Subtotal.....$10.65

Coupons
1 x Free Purex Laundry Detergent ManQ(won in a giveaway earlier this year-max. value $6)=$6.00
1 x $1/2 Palmolive Dish Soap any size ManQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$7.00

$10.65-$7.00=$3.65 + .22¢tax=$3.87 Out of Pocket(I have no +Up Rewards so spend)

And I received back a $1 +UP for buying 5 Palmolive/Simplify Brand items in 1 transaction.

If I had gone to one of the Rite-Aids in a surrounding town the Purex would have only been $5.99 and all 3 jugs would have cost me ZERO instead of .49¢.  Yes, we are the "wealthy" town in this part of the Armpit of PA....lolz

In the end, the dish soap cost me .38¢ a bottle, 3 jugs of laundry detergent cost me .49¢ for all and the paper products were .80¢ each and I get $1 worth of free goodies next time I go to Rite-Aid.

And I am finally 26 points($s)away from getting to the Gold discount level for 2013, which means I'll retain that 20% discount on all non-sale items in 2014 too.
Usually, when I was big into Rite-Aid shopping, I would get to the Gold level by March of the year but since I haven't shopped hardly at all in Rite-Aid in 2013 I am way behind in getting to the Gold level.  The only thing that has gotten me almost there is all the prescriptions I've had to have filled in 2013, first with my heart issue and now with the blood clot in addition to all my usual maintenance meds.

I do plan on doing some Rite-Aid shopping this Holiday season if the deals are there like they have been in past years.  But I am still overloaded with toiletries/HBA from previous years so there isn't much I need, so I'll only be going for the things we are out of or low on.

Sluggy

 

Part Two of Remodeling Work is Done & the Numbers...Yikes!

And here is the inside of the living room on June 27th,  BEFORE we began the renovations.......

And here is the only photo I can find at the moment of my dining room in the BEFORE state.  This is from a previous pre-Christmas season when I was heavily into decluttering via eBay and my dining room is "shipping central"........

And here are the in progress shots, first with the walls/ceilings painted.....

Then with the new flooring......

And now with the heating and a/c sytem in place, the mouldings done and all the thresholds and outlet/switch plates back on the walls.....

The only thing left to do is to change out the dining room chandelier and put furniture, rugs, lamps and décor into the rooms.

And to figure out how to arrange the furniture in the living room part as it's a tricky L shaped deal.


The original estimate by the Handyman Co. for all BUT the heating/air system and flooring supplies was $9,640.00.

We did the painting ourselves and didn't do the entire downstairs and the upstairs hallway/stairwell, saving the $3185.00 the Handyman Co. wanted to do that.  (The amount of painting we did in reality saved us about $1200.00 since we didn't do every room the Handyman Co. would have done.)
We got the flooring job(labor)down from the $3010.00 they initially quoted us to $1,875.00(which was lower than Lowe's wanted to lay the flooring).
In total, the Handyman Co. costs came in at $5,793.00 which was $3,847 lower than their initial estimate.



As for the money........sigh.......

We went into this escapade with the 2012 Savings Challenge monies I had saved last year as our funding source.
That amounted to $28,907.08.

Here is where the money was spent........

A/C & Heating System Total.....$12,616.15

All other Repairs/Renovations......$6,862.32
 Handyman......$5,793.00 (includes labor and some supplies)
 Flooring...........$710.03
 Paint.................$108.10
 Moulding.........$224.72
 Misc. Supplies...$26.47

*Total Spent...........$19,478.47

Supplies Paid on Gift Cards......$279.78
Total Paid from Savings Challenge 2012.....$19,198.69

Monies left in 2012 Savings Challenge fund....$9,708.39

The Great Summer Road Trip of 2013 will also be drawing $ from this fund(and I'll reveal all about that during the coming weeks after I post about the Road Trip of 2013 Saga), but I am hopeful that after the Road Trip cash is moved out of that fund we will be able to keep our hands off what is left in that fund until the end of 2013, when it will become permanent savings and transferred into the Permanent Savings Account.

Yes I am going to try to decorate and furnish these rooms out of normal paycheck monies as they come into our checking account instead of continuing to deplete that Savings Challenge fund.
So it might take me awhile to finish furnishing those rooms.

We completed this project a bit frugally by--
Using gift cards bought last year for some supplies.
Doing the painting ourselves.
Waiting for a great deal on paint.
Shopping around for mouldings to get the best price and then painting it ourselves.
Making the Handyman Co. compete on price with Lowe's to lay the flooring.



The rooms are ready to decorate and furnish now and I can close the books on the Great Renovation of 2013.  8-))

Sluggy
 

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