Friday, December 29, 2006

Chapped lips won't be a concern this winter.

I did something tonight that might seem crazy, but was actually an act of goodwill. I purchased 28 CVS brand Chapsticks. Yes, you read that right, 28. This is in addition to the 8 or so I have bought throughout the month. Now, you might be wondering how on earth this amounts to goodwill. Well, lemme explain.

Apparently my usual CVS store in Geneva is having a little contest to see who can sell the most CVS Chapsticks in December. Shannon is one of the nicest cashiers and never gives me any problems with coupons. This is a big deal because I use a LOT of coupons. Last Friday when she was ringing me up, I added 3 CVS Chapsticks to my order. This is what I have been getting when I need an additional item to bring either my subtotal or my item count up so I can use all of my coupons and ECBs. She was so happy that I bought 3. So I asked if they were having a contest and she said they were, but she was losing badly to another cashier. When I stopped in on Saturday, I found out from the Beauty Coordinator that only 2 cashiers were really competing and how it was funny that Shannon was losing because she really wants to win. Apparently she was behind by something like 30 and nobody thought she could catch up. So, I decided to be nice and blow 20 ECBs and a few coupons to help her catch up and at least have a chance. So tonight I purchased 28 of them. She was so excited and said I was her favorite customer ever. I figure it was worth the 20 ECBs because I appreciate good service. I only paid 0.73 in cash, so it's not like I am out real money.

So, don't be surprised when the Chapstick Fairy sends you a present.

I also had a rather good time shopping at Bath and Body Works. I got sucked into buying a cheesy denim tote because it came with coupons. It was only $5 with a $25 purchase. Well, I had a $25 gift card and they were having a shower gel sale. I got 3 regular shower gels, 1 CO Bigelow Body Cleanser (Lavender scent, smells awesome) 3 of the hand soap pumps, 1 2oz preview lotion in the new Midnight Pomengranate (smells great), and the denim tote w/ the coupons. Total was $33, so I only spent 8 oop. The coupons are mostly for free products in the coming year and some of them have no minimum purchase. The regular shower gels were on sale for $3 instead of 9.50 so that was a total score for me.

Target was good to me. They had some of the Glade scented oil candles (the ones with the holder that are usually 6.99) on holiday clearance for 2.49 and I had $3 off coupons. So I took the 3 they had. I love it when things cost me in negative amounts. You can get overage at Target as long as you have something to cover it. Meaning your total never goes negative. I got 2 of the Glade 4 oz candles in pumpkin pie, on sale for 1.39 and I had $1 off coupons. I got 2 turtleneck onesies for Andrew on clearance for 1.88/ea. So all told for the 5 candles and the 2 onesies I paid $4.03. Total savings of around $32.50 based on the original prices, or $11 off the sale prices.

I think it was a good day for me.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Collapsing like a flan in a cupboard.

It is finally over. The crazy mad dash of December, this year made worse by the addition of a new sport we call CVSing. Okay, so lets get this going with Andrew's birthday.

He turned 2 and we had a party. Everyone was packed into our apartment and we have realized that our apartment is not as big as we thought. Everything went well, the kids all played together with only one minor injury. I got to see friends and family and Andrew got tons of stuff. Like he really needs more stuff, he is not lacking for anything. He got a lot of books this year which is what I told anyone who asked me to get. He has tons of toys and with a birthday so close to Christmas, the toy glut is truly insane. He did get THE Tickle Me Elmo and I admit it is super cute. He actually opened presents this year and ran around screaming all day. He seemed to enjoy himself. I as usual obsessed about the amount of food and the fact that I ran out of Italian beef. I get a little whacked when entertaining, I just want everyone to have a great time.



























We went to the mall to see Santa. Andrew was very good, no crying. He is a pretty flexible kid and since he spends most of his time with Daddy, he is not afraid of men with beards. After Santa, we had "peepa" (pizza) for dinner and on the way out, he got to ride Scoop. All in all, it was a nice time.
































Christmas was the usual running around. The 23rd we went to Justin's grandmother's house. No real present opening there, just a nice evening spent with family. Then Christmas Eve was at my in-laws. We had some awesome prime rib for dinner and the boys seemed to really enjoy their presents. Then it was home and my mom came over to spend the night so she could be there early Christmas morning. The amount of stuff under the tree for Andrew was insane, and most of it was not purchased by me. We will be going through all of his toys soon because there is just not enough room in our house. He got a Power Wheels 4 wheeler from my Mom that he adores, except that he won't ride it without his helmet. That is a good thing, except that the helmet my mom got him is too small. So he puts it on and gets on the bike. Then he hits the button, goes a foot and the helmet falls off. He gets off, puts the helmet back on and tries again. It is pretty funny to watch. He also loves his Thomas pop up tent. This was a great Christmas, it really is a lot of fun when you have kids.



























Now that it is all over, it seems my body is in the process of mutiny. I have pushed myself to the limit this holiday and it seems I am paying for it. It is either my IBS acting up badly or perhaps my appendix. I have taken a large dose of fiber, so we will see. Anyone out there missing their appendix and want to share? I will keep you posted.

Monday, December 18, 2006

I can now Kitchener!!!!!

For non-knitting people this post will mean nothing, but last night I completed my first sock type object. I have a sock that is mostly made, but I have never finished the toe before. The stitch used to close the toe is the Kitchener stitch. I now know how to Kitchener.

Now to finish the mate.

Seriously, can we add on 4 hours of time in the middle of the night this week so I can get some sleep. I still have the tree to get and decorate, my Christmas boxes to find, fudge making and baking to do and finish my shopping. Plus it is a good CVS week and we have discussed how the deals never sleep. Seriously, how can I not turn $6 into $40 if things go as planned.

If I am not a drooling moron by the time this week is done it will be a miracle. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we are doing Christmas 3 times this year. The 23rd at Justin's grandmas, Christmas eve with my in-laws and Christmas at my house. Ladies and gentlemen, I have just lost a day.

On the upside, Andrew's birthday party was a good time. Stay tuned for a post and pics.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Such a busy time of year.

Wow, I feel like the 2 weeks have just flown by. I feel like I am walking around in a fog some days. Trying to keep all of the current deals straight in addition to planning Andrew's 2nd birthday party and Christmas is proving a bit of a challenge. I think that Jewel, Meijer and CVS have formed an alliance bent on my destruction. What is a girl to do when the deals are just so great? She orders a ton of coupons and starts the Great Potato and Charmin Freshmates campaign. That's what.

CVS is doing some decent deals, including one that is working for diapers. So total score there. If anyone out there would like some Cover Girl Advanced Raidiance Foundation in Ivory, let me know. I have 4 and will probably never use it.

At Meijer, I am currently getting microwavable pouches of Betty Crocker potatoes for $2.65 for 15 pouches and I get a coupon for a $10 gift certificate, redeemable next week. So, using the $20 gift card I had been saving, I am buying lots of potatoes. (I goofed my coupon order and over ordered). I will probably have 78 pouches of potatoes, 1 box of Bisquick, 4 bags of Chex Mix and 7 Jenos pizza. I will have spent $33.36 (20 of that on a gift card, not from checking) and I will redeem $60 worth of gift cards next week. Woo Hoo!

Jewel is running the catalina deal again. Charmin freshmates (grown up wipes) are on sale for 2/$4, I have $1 off coupons for these and I get a $10 off my next order coupon when I purchase 5. So, I spend $5 on the first batch and after that I will buy 5 Freshmates and $5 worth of groceries, use my $10 off coupon and keep repeating until I run out. I ordered 55 coupons by the way. Did I mention that? Those cost me about $5. I think this will return a tidy little profit. I will buy Dawn and Puffs tissues when I run out of Charmin coupons. I have until the 17th, so watch out.

Speaking of Dawn, it would have come in handy if the commercial with the penguin in it is to be believed. We discovered a couple of interesting things this week.
We discovered that even after a bath, Vicks will remain in the hair. It may not smell, but it is still there.
We discovered that Andrew can unscrew caps.
We learned that he is clever and knows when he is in trouble. It is cute to hear him say "Sorry Daddy"

Our wonderful little boy took his little chair, dragged it over to his changing table, climbed up on the chair, opened the drawer, got the Vicks out, unscrewed the cap, smeared it all over the changing table, his chair and himself. Then he goes into the living room and climbs onto the couch next to Daddy. Daddy asks him why he smells like Vicks and goes into Andrew's room to investigate. He is nearly knocked unconscious by the overwhelming smell of eucalyptus. Needless to say, everyone had clear sinuses and a headache that day. When Justin asked Andrew "what did you do?" Andrew replied "Sorry Daddy". Boy gets a bath, Vicks gets cleaned up, which is harder than it looks. He is definitely a determined young man, it was quite a string of tasks for a 2 yr old to perform. Justin called me at work to tell me about it and I just could not stop laughing. I ended up washing his hair with dish soap to get all the grease out. Good Times!

Andrew's party is coming up and I have no idea how I am going to get everything done, but I will manage it somehow. Still have Christmas cards to do, still don't have a tree. Can't find the Christmas boxes. I think most of this will get done this weekend. Hopefully. Maybe.