I should use the term "Laundrypalooza", as a friend of mine calls it. I was thinking of calling it Laundrystock, because like Woodstock 99, there were some problems. Let's start the day.
My mom came out to visit and to accompany me to the laundromat to try and tackle my laundry issues. Since we moved upstairs the laundry situation has improved, but there is a backlog. My building has 4 apartments and one washer and dryer. The dryer is around the back of the building. To get there when we lived in the basement, you had to haul everything up the stairs, out the door, down the steps, around the building and back down the steps into the basement area where the laundry facilities are. This basement area is not accesible from the basement apartment. I also had new tenants open my door and bring their laundry in thinking my apartment was where the laundry was. So, we got in the habit of only doing what laundry was neccesary, so a stockpile grew. So today was the day I took everything out and washed it and my mom offered to help me.
So we are at the laundromat doing my 17 loads of laundry (the washers were not very big there). We are folding dry stuff when we hear a crash and look up to see that someone has hit my mom's car. The car crossed the street and hit my mom's car in the driver side door. We call the police. They arrive and we find out that neither of the people in the car have valid driver's licenses, only the passenger has an insurance card and it is expired, the car belongs to a relative and the girl who was driving has warrants out for her arrest. Needless to say, my mom is pissed. The cops cuff the driver and put her in the car. We are asked by the cop if they went anywhere to drop something after the accident and before the arrival of the cops. I didn't think about it then, but the passenger went inside the laundromat and used the bathroom. I thought he went to use the phone, I didn't realize there was a bathroom in there. So, they may have gotten rid of something. Who knows?
I have to say this was the most exciting trip to the laundromat I have ever had.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Estate Sale Score!
A few weeks ago, my mom and I stopped at an estate sale. I got some things that I really like for an amazing price (tip: late in the day of the last day of an estate sale, things are cheaper but there is less to chose from.) So, following are pictures of 2 items that I got that I am really happy about.
First is my new artwork. They seem to be a printed line drawing with the color applied later. I have no idea what they are, but they are numbered x/200 and signed in pencil. They are dated 76 and are of 2 rather famous places in Quebec. One is the Chateau Frontenac and the other is the Rue Du Tresor. I think these are really cool and paid $1.50 for the pair. Now to have them framed, but for that I have a coupon. (Big surprise, eh?)
Second is a short, long bookcase. This is a perfect fit on a wall that isn't very large and if you place a deep bookcase on it, it will spill over into the doorway of Andrew's room. With a few pretty canvas bins, I think it will change that area from a toy eyesore to less of a toy eyesore. Since this is in our living room, I would like a slightly more adult solution to the toys than the current one we had. This works perfect and all for the bargain price of $2.00. That's right 2 bucks and it's not pressboard. It's not high quality wood, but it actual wood.
All in all, I am quite happy with these. With a little work and some good deals this summer, we may be able to upgrade the decor of our living quarters from early garage sale to upscale garage sale. The next project that I am starting is making some Roman shades for our living room.
First is my new artwork. They seem to be a printed line drawing with the color applied later. I have no idea what they are, but they are numbered x/200 and signed in pencil. They are dated 76 and are of 2 rather famous places in Quebec. One is the Chateau Frontenac and the other is the Rue Du Tresor. I think these are really cool and paid $1.50 for the pair. Now to have them framed, but for that I have a coupon. (Big surprise, eh?)
Second is a short, long bookcase. This is a perfect fit on a wall that isn't very large and if you place a deep bookcase on it, it will spill over into the doorway of Andrew's room. With a few pretty canvas bins, I think it will change that area from a toy eyesore to less of a toy eyesore. Since this is in our living room, I would like a slightly more adult solution to the toys than the current one we had. This works perfect and all for the bargain price of $2.00. That's right 2 bucks and it's not pressboard. It's not high quality wood, but it actual wood.
All in all, I am quite happy with these. With a little work and some good deals this summer, we may be able to upgrade the decor of our living quarters from early garage sale to upscale garage sale. The next project that I am starting is making some Roman shades for our living room.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Dude seriously, I need to start eating breakfast.
I have entirely too much cereal after today. Here is the lowdown.
Friday night @ Jewel
8 boxes (16 oz) of MultiGrain Cheerios
Total spent - $2.20 (that is 0.25/box + tax)
Today @ Jewel
6 boxes (18 oz) Oatmeal Crisp - Maple Brown Sugar
2 boxes of Hamburger Helper Singles
0.84# of green grapes
2.47# of bananas
5 single serve bags of Pringles Minis (these are nice when you want to eat the whole bag of chips)
Total spent - $0.92
It's a good thing we really like the MultiGrain Cheerios. I have no idea what to do with the Oatmeal Crisp, I will probably put it on the list or donate it. I only brought 5 boxes home though. I gave one to my favorite cashier.
Got milk?
Friday night @ Jewel
8 boxes (16 oz) of MultiGrain Cheerios
Total spent - $2.20 (that is 0.25/box + tax)
Today @ Jewel
6 boxes (18 oz) Oatmeal Crisp - Maple Brown Sugar
2 boxes of Hamburger Helper Singles
0.84# of green grapes
2.47# of bananas
5 single serve bags of Pringles Minis (these are nice when you want to eat the whole bag of chips)
Total spent - $0.92
It's a good thing we really like the MultiGrain Cheerios. I have no idea what to do with the Oatmeal Crisp, I will probably put it on the list or donate it. I only brought 5 boxes home though. I gave one to my favorite cashier.
Got milk?
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
w00t!!!!
We got Police tickets and they are not in Stevie Wonderland!!!!!
Presale began today and we were able to get our tickets. Prices are a little much, but it's better than a scalper. Ours were $94/each. The show is at Wrigley Field and if you want to sit on the field, the tickets are $254/ea. That is entirely too much for me, unless it came with a bonus that included Stewart Copeland and my house.
I am so happy that I am no longer upset about forgetting some of my coupons this morning.
Presale began today and we were able to get our tickets. Prices are a little much, but it's better than a scalper. Ours were $94/each. The show is at Wrigley Field and if you want to sit on the field, the tickets are $254/ea. That is entirely too much for me, unless it came with a bonus that included Stewart Copeland and my house.
I am so happy that I am no longer upset about forgetting some of my coupons this morning.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
It is the San Francisco treat after all.
So today's haul is:
26 boxes of Rice A Roni
Total spent $0.26
Recent brags:
Target
8 bottles of Sunsilk leave in creme
1 bag (3#) of Organic gala apples
Total spent $2.14
Dominicks
26 bottles (16 oz) of Ken's salad dressing
1 pk Capri Sun Roarin' waters
1 pk hot dog buns
1 slice of watermelon
1.19# of bananas
Total spent $5.46
Jewel
24 cans Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes (plain and seasoned)
4 boxes Frosted Flakes (14 oz)
2 boxes Pop Tarts (8ct)
Total spent $5.81
It has been a busy few weeks for us. I found out that Hilander grocery store in Rockford will double coupons up to 0.55. 2 like coupons per transaction. Since my in-laws are in Rockford, this is really good news. I plan to do some serious damage in the future. I have gotten some really great beef deals at Target lately. I got Diet Coke (ie my life blood) for $1 a 12 pk with the great coupons I traded for. Lots of great deals lately.
Andrew has become a major Blues Clues junkie. He sings along and really interacts with it. He now knows colors, shapes and lots of new words. Today's word was "another". Everyday is a new adventure and so much fun. Although his pronunciation is a little off. He pronounces circle as "hircle". We have to make sure any knives are far from the edge of the counter as he can now reach the edges. He stabbed some poor bananas to death today!
I got to babysit for The Moose this week. He is the son of The Princess. He slept for a good portion of the night and was so sweet when he was awake. He is such a cutie and I was totally happy to watch him. I also got to watch grown up TV while he slept which is a treat I rarely get to enjoy from 7-8 pm.
Basically, it has been a busy few weeks with lots of good stuff happening. Big movement on the financial scene. GI Bill has kicked in, this week is the last payment for my 401k loan that I took out last year, and now I think we can get down to setting and reaching my goal for this year. That goal is to become debt free. I plan to start using my credit card for expenses and to pay it off every month. I plan to up my 401k percentage and to put more into savings. I am not sure how much we can save up, but I think we can get a substantial amount saved up this year.
As you can probably guess from the beginning of this post, our grocery bills are going down. They don't call me Coupon Chris for nothing.
26 boxes of Rice A Roni
Total spent $0.26
Recent brags:
Target
8 bottles of Sunsilk leave in creme
1 bag (3#) of Organic gala apples
Total spent $2.14
Dominicks
26 bottles (16 oz) of Ken's salad dressing
1 pk Capri Sun Roarin' waters
1 pk hot dog buns
1 slice of watermelon
1.19# of bananas
Total spent $5.46
Jewel
24 cans Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes (plain and seasoned)
4 boxes Frosted Flakes (14 oz)
2 boxes Pop Tarts (8ct)
Total spent $5.81
It has been a busy few weeks for us. I found out that Hilander grocery store in Rockford will double coupons up to 0.55. 2 like coupons per transaction. Since my in-laws are in Rockford, this is really good news. I plan to do some serious damage in the future. I have gotten some really great beef deals at Target lately. I got Diet Coke (ie my life blood) for $1 a 12 pk with the great coupons I traded for. Lots of great deals lately.
Andrew has become a major Blues Clues junkie. He sings along and really interacts with it. He now knows colors, shapes and lots of new words. Today's word was "another". Everyday is a new adventure and so much fun. Although his pronunciation is a little off. He pronounces circle as "hircle". We have to make sure any knives are far from the edge of the counter as he can now reach the edges. He stabbed some poor bananas to death today!
I got to babysit for The Moose this week. He is the son of The Princess. He slept for a good portion of the night and was so sweet when he was awake. He is such a cutie and I was totally happy to watch him. I also got to watch grown up TV while he slept which is a treat I rarely get to enjoy from 7-8 pm.
Basically, it has been a busy few weeks with lots of good stuff happening. Big movement on the financial scene. GI Bill has kicked in, this week is the last payment for my 401k loan that I took out last year, and now I think we can get down to setting and reaching my goal for this year. That goal is to become debt free. I plan to start using my credit card for expenses and to pay it off every month. I plan to up my 401k percentage and to put more into savings. I am not sure how much we can save up, but I think we can get a substantial amount saved up this year.
As you can probably guess from the beginning of this post, our grocery bills are going down. They don't call me Coupon Chris for nothing.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Sometimes people make me sick.
I frequent a number of message boards on sites dedicated to couponing. The people there are nice and friendly. I was reading a thread and one poster mentioned that he volunteers at a food pantry. He mentioned this in a post about how he is shocked at the amount of Peter Pan peanut butter with bad batch numbers has been donated this week. I am so appalled by this. I cannot begin to say how badly this sickens me.
For those of you who are not aware, ConAgra Foods has issued a recall on some batches of peanut butter due to a possible salmonella contamination. You can read the FDA release here:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01563.html
The idea that people would donate possibly contaminated food to a food pantry is reprehensible. The batches that were recalled still have a long way to go before they expire and probably would not have been donated if they had good batch number. Why do people suck? Can somebody just tell me why?
For those of you who are not aware, ConAgra Foods has issued a recall on some batches of peanut butter due to a possible salmonella contamination. You can read the FDA release here:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01563.html
The idea that people would donate possibly contaminated food to a food pantry is reprehensible. The batches that were recalled still have a long way to go before they expire and probably would not have been donated if they had good batch number. Why do people suck? Can somebody just tell me why?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Back to basics
Okay, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Deals!
Today was a great shopping day at Jewel. For those of you not familiar, I will explain the Avenu thing before I tell you of my awesome deal today. Jewel has this thing called the Avenu, it generates special savings offers based on your particular buying habits. It is tied to your preferred card, although if they go by what I have been buying, then my avenu should be full of toothpaste and soap offers. I don't know how they determine the offers exactly, but I check my offers online everyday. (Sometimes the deals are for organic products for those of you who are into that and think Jewel has nothing to offer you) Lately though, my Avenu offers have been crap and have stayed roughly the same for a week. So today I check my offers and I find that they have given me something to work with. The Avenu offers come off automatically, so you can use manufacturer's coupons too.
Today I had 3 offers in my Avenu that I wanted to take advantage of. $2 off Ken's Steakhouse salad dressing (limit 6), $1 off Barilla Plus pasta (limit 6) and $0.80 off Hot Pockets (limit 10). The Ken's dressing was on sale for $2 and I had $1 off coupons so each bottle was -$1.00, the pasta was on sale for $1.50 and I had $1/2 coupons so each box was free and the hot pockets were $2 each and I had $1/3 coupons, I bought 6 and each was roughly 0.87 ea. So my total was:
6 bottles Ken's Steakhouse dressing
-2 Lite Ranch
-2 Zesty Italian
-1 Lite Country french
-1 Honey Mustard
6 boxes of Barilla Plus Pasta
-2 rotini
-2 penne
-2 spaghetti
6 boxes of Hot Pockets
-various
1.25# of green grapes
Nestle Crunch w/ caramel (for Justin)
Total came to $1.62
It was a great trip and I saved a ton of money. The overage from the salad dressing paid for the hot pockets. I can't wait to see if there is anything good in my Avenu tomorrow. Although, I need to go to Dominick's more this week. They are having a great sale, but I will save that deal for another day.
Today was a great shopping day at Jewel. For those of you not familiar, I will explain the Avenu thing before I tell you of my awesome deal today. Jewel has this thing called the Avenu, it generates special savings offers based on your particular buying habits. It is tied to your preferred card, although if they go by what I have been buying, then my avenu should be full of toothpaste and soap offers. I don't know how they determine the offers exactly, but I check my offers online everyday. (Sometimes the deals are for organic products for those of you who are into that and think Jewel has nothing to offer you) Lately though, my Avenu offers have been crap and have stayed roughly the same for a week. So today I check my offers and I find that they have given me something to work with. The Avenu offers come off automatically, so you can use manufacturer's coupons too.
Today I had 3 offers in my Avenu that I wanted to take advantage of. $2 off Ken's Steakhouse salad dressing (limit 6), $1 off Barilla Plus pasta (limit 6) and $0.80 off Hot Pockets (limit 10). The Ken's dressing was on sale for $2 and I had $1 off coupons so each bottle was -$1.00, the pasta was on sale for $1.50 and I had $1/2 coupons so each box was free and the hot pockets were $2 each and I had $1/3 coupons, I bought 6 and each was roughly 0.87 ea. So my total was:
6 bottles Ken's Steakhouse dressing
-2 Lite Ranch
-2 Zesty Italian
-1 Lite Country french
-1 Honey Mustard
6 boxes of Barilla Plus Pasta
-2 rotini
-2 penne
-2 spaghetti
6 boxes of Hot Pockets
-various
1.25# of green grapes
Nestle Crunch w/ caramel (for Justin)
Total came to $1.62
It was a great trip and I saved a ton of money. The overage from the salad dressing paid for the hot pockets. I can't wait to see if there is anything good in my Avenu tomorrow. Although, I need to go to Dominick's more this week. They are having a great sale, but I will save that deal for another day.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Brain dump
Okay, it has been a while since I posted, so bear with me as this is just going to be a dump of random things from the past few weeks. Let me start with:
THE POLICE!!!!!!!! - I am so going to see them. I don't care if I have to pay scalper prices. I will see them and I will have decent seats. I will do whatever it takes, seriously.
Mini reunion - This Monday we are having a bit of a mini high school reunion. I will get the chance to see some great people that I haven't seen in years, some that I have recently reconnected with. I am so excited to see everyone and am putting my bargaining skills to work for this one. As you all know from reading this blog, I am the Queen of paying Nothing for Something as Alice so kindly put it.
Bargains - Well, there has been a lot of bargains lately. Jewel tried to kill us with another P&G promotion. I had to contact their corporate office twice due to problems, but each time I was taken care of and have no complaints. Other than the deals in my Avenu have been garbage lately. Meijer is also running some good promotions. There is a new deal starting up at Dominicks that should be awesome. Since it started on Thursday, I still need to get everything together to make it worthwhile. It involves General Mills products and I have to buy some of their stuff for a rebate, so combining the 2 should equal a profit for me. As usual there are things to be paid to buy at CVS. Not as many deals there this week, but that is okay. I needed a slow week.
Freezer - On Sunday we purchased a small chest freezer. I am so excited about this. I have been waiting for almost a year for this promotion to come back around. Jewel had a deal last year where you bought a freezer for $150 and you received $150 worth of coupons for free frozen food. So, when I saw the ad last weekend, I was ready to go. The coupons are decent, about half of them have to be redeemed at Jewel, but the rest can be redeemed anywhere. If I do this right and pair the coupons with buy 1 get 1 free sales, I should be able to maximize them. I will probably trade some of them too. We are going to set up the freezer this weekend, as I am going to need it for a few things that I am buying this week. This is good timing, since it is Girl Scout cookie season and I have no room in my regular freezer.
Andrew - Andrew has had a bad cold lately, so he hasn't been eating much. Except for last weekend when he somehow ate poop, yes I said poop. I was so grossed out and I scrubbed out his mouth with a toothbrush dipped in mouthwash to kill germs. Poor kid, as I really scrubbed out his mouth. He is now obsessed with Blues Clues. He sings along and does the moves, except that he is not that good at them yet, so it is really funny to watch him.
Happy Valentines Day to everyone out there. We don't really celebrate it since Justin's birthday is the next week and we would rather make a big deal out of that. We do have good plans for this weekend. We are going to see Winger at the House of Blues on Sunday. Woo Hoo!!! Yes, I said Winger. Kip Winger is a very entertaining and engaging guy and not to mention TOTALLY HOT!!!!!!!! So that will be fun and then I am off work on Monday for our mini reunion.
THE POLICE!!!!!!!! - I am so going to see them. I don't care if I have to pay scalper prices. I will see them and I will have decent seats. I will do whatever it takes, seriously.
Mini reunion - This Monday we are having a bit of a mini high school reunion. I will get the chance to see some great people that I haven't seen in years, some that I have recently reconnected with. I am so excited to see everyone and am putting my bargaining skills to work for this one. As you all know from reading this blog, I am the Queen of paying Nothing for Something as Alice so kindly put it.
Bargains - Well, there has been a lot of bargains lately. Jewel tried to kill us with another P&G promotion. I had to contact their corporate office twice due to problems, but each time I was taken care of and have no complaints. Other than the deals in my Avenu have been garbage lately. Meijer is also running some good promotions. There is a new deal starting up at Dominicks that should be awesome. Since it started on Thursday, I still need to get everything together to make it worthwhile. It involves General Mills products and I have to buy some of their stuff for a rebate, so combining the 2 should equal a profit for me. As usual there are things to be paid to buy at CVS. Not as many deals there this week, but that is okay. I needed a slow week.
Freezer - On Sunday we purchased a small chest freezer. I am so excited about this. I have been waiting for almost a year for this promotion to come back around. Jewel had a deal last year where you bought a freezer for $150 and you received $150 worth of coupons for free frozen food. So, when I saw the ad last weekend, I was ready to go. The coupons are decent, about half of them have to be redeemed at Jewel, but the rest can be redeemed anywhere. If I do this right and pair the coupons with buy 1 get 1 free sales, I should be able to maximize them. I will probably trade some of them too. We are going to set up the freezer this weekend, as I am going to need it for a few things that I am buying this week. This is good timing, since it is Girl Scout cookie season and I have no room in my regular freezer.
Andrew - Andrew has had a bad cold lately, so he hasn't been eating much. Except for last weekend when he somehow ate poop, yes I said poop. I was so grossed out and I scrubbed out his mouth with a toothbrush dipped in mouthwash to kill germs. Poor kid, as I really scrubbed out his mouth. He is now obsessed with Blues Clues. He sings along and does the moves, except that he is not that good at them yet, so it is really funny to watch him.
Happy Valentines Day to everyone out there. We don't really celebrate it since Justin's birthday is the next week and we would rather make a big deal out of that. We do have good plans for this weekend. We are going to see Winger at the House of Blues on Sunday. Woo Hoo!!! Yes, I said Winger. Kip Winger is a very entertaining and engaging guy and not to mention TOTALLY HOT!!!!!!!! So that will be fun and then I am off work on Monday for our mini reunion.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
SCORE!!
I got a deal tonight that will make even my green friends jealous.
I bought 9 pkgs (10 oz ea.) of Cascadian Farms frozen organic blueberries for $4.54 at Super Target. They were on clearance for $1.48 ea and I had $1 off coupons. Woohoo!
I think we will be having blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!
I bought 9 pkgs (10 oz ea.) of Cascadian Farms frozen organic blueberries for $4.54 at Super Target. They were on clearance for $1.48 ea and I had $1 off coupons. Woohoo!
I think we will be having blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Location, location, location
If anyone needs me over the next 2 weeks, you can probably find me at the Jewel. They are doing another P&G deal and I have an obscene amount of coupons.
That is all.
That is all.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Got Breakfast?
Because I do! It has been a little while since I posted a Deal, so I thought I would let you in on what I have been getting this week. This is the 19 Bisquick Shake n Pours I picked up.
These were all basically free between coupons and store promos. I think I may have spent $0.50 total.
This is actually a CD rack that we are not using at the moment. It has become a temporary staging place for some things that I haven't figure out a place for yet. I need to get a pantry of some sort. Some of the items here are Oatmeal to Go, Lipton teabags, Jif and Skippy peanut butter and Smuckers jelly.
The tea bags were actually almost free, the Jif and Smuckers made me money after rebate and the Oatmeal to Go were 0.50 a box and I have rebate forms for some of them too.
Lastly, Quaker Instant oatmeal, this does not include the 4 boxes I sold, the 2 I gave to my mom and the one box that is open in my cabinet. So add another 7 boxes to this.
Most of this cost me between 0.05 - 0.30 a box. Total score.
Now, I know you think I am nuts. That's okay. I see you over there, Princess Consuela Bananahammock, shaking your head and making a list of who to call. Just grant me one favor, let me know when my intervention will be so I can make Oatmeal cookies.
These were all basically free between coupons and store promos. I think I may have spent $0.50 total.
This is actually a CD rack that we are not using at the moment. It has become a temporary staging place for some things that I haven't figure out a place for yet. I need to get a pantry of some sort. Some of the items here are Oatmeal to Go, Lipton teabags, Jif and Skippy peanut butter and Smuckers jelly.
The tea bags were actually almost free, the Jif and Smuckers made me money after rebate and the Oatmeal to Go were 0.50 a box and I have rebate forms for some of them too.
Lastly, Quaker Instant oatmeal, this does not include the 4 boxes I sold, the 2 I gave to my mom and the one box that is open in my cabinet. So add another 7 boxes to this.
Most of this cost me between 0.05 - 0.30 a box. Total score.
Now, I know you think I am nuts. That's okay. I see you over there, Princess Consuela Bananahammock, shaking your head and making a list of who to call. Just grant me one favor, let me know when my intervention will be so I can make Oatmeal cookies.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
They grow up so fast.....
Seems like yesterday that I had Gene Simmons of newborns. Now I have a little boy who goes to school. Yesterday was Andrew's first day of preschool. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Justin is in classes. The preschool is at the community college.
My kid has no real issues with us leaving him with strangers. At least he doesn't if it is with a pretty girl who shows him trains. They arrived yesterday, washed Andrew's hands and put his stuff in his cubby. Andrew got a little clingy when other kids started to arrive, but Miss Emily asked if he liked trains and that was all it took. He said yes (actually he says Eee Eee, kinda like a dolphin and that means yes) and they took off to play with toy trains. He didn't even care that Justin was leaving. The teachers said he did well, except for not wanting to nap. Miss Emily sat down and rubbed his back and he went to sleep. (Such a little operator)
He is the youngest in the class. They start at 2 and he just turned 2 a few weeks ago. I think this will be good for him. He needs more interaction with kids, but I just can't help wondering where the last 2 years went.
My kid has no real issues with us leaving him with strangers. At least he doesn't if it is with a pretty girl who shows him trains. They arrived yesterday, washed Andrew's hands and put his stuff in his cubby. Andrew got a little clingy when other kids started to arrive, but Miss Emily asked if he liked trains and that was all it took. He said yes (actually he says Eee Eee, kinda like a dolphin and that means yes) and they took off to play with toy trains. He didn't even care that Justin was leaving. The teachers said he did well, except for not wanting to nap. Miss Emily sat down and rubbed his back and he went to sleep. (Such a little operator)
He is the youngest in the class. They start at 2 and he just turned 2 a few weeks ago. I think this will be good for him. He needs more interaction with kids, but I just can't help wondering where the last 2 years went.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
New friends and new hobbies.
Okay, so my new friend isn't exactly new, but Monday was the first time we met in person. We have been corresponding via email for a while, since we traded coupons a few months ago. We have been talking about getting together after the holidays for the past few weeks and we finally did. We got together to enjoy our new favorite hobby.......Dumpster Diving for coupons.
Okay, now do you have a good image of me in your head? For those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I am how shall we put it, a big girl. I am not small, even though I am short. I am working on that, but that is for another place entirely. So, think Oompa Loompa but less orange and more round. Got it, good.
Now, picture me next to a recycling dumpster that is almost as tall as I am. Now picture me standing on a plastic recycling bin, one foot wedged into a hole in the side that is there so the trucks can lift and dump it, and hauling myself into the dumpster. Getting out of the dumpster was another challenge because we did not think to bring the recycling bin into the dumpster. To get out, we piled a bunch of papers in the corner and I stood on them. They then collapsed so I am hanging onto the side of the dumpster while my feet slide out from under me. We make a new pile and I use it and a spot on the dumpster to kind of boost myself onto the lip of the dumpster. I get out and use a clever system (plastic bag w/ one end tied to a snow shovel and the other to the recycling bin) to send the recycling bin in for my pal so she has a slightly easier time and we can get the recycling bin back when she is out.
We sorted through the newpapers for coupon inserts and got quite a few. This is so cool because I hate buying a ton of papers. For those of you who don't know, this past Sunday was the biggest coupon insert weekend of the year. Over 250 coupons and some of them are really good ones. Since it was a newpaper recycling bin only, it's really clean inside. It was pretty empty so going through everything was pretty easy. We had a blast and plan to go again tomorrow. Hopefully the dumpster will have filled up. I will be bringing my papers with to recycle there and my stepladder to make getting in easier.
Wish us luck!
Okay, now do you have a good image of me in your head? For those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I am how shall we put it, a big girl. I am not small, even though I am short. I am working on that, but that is for another place entirely. So, think Oompa Loompa but less orange and more round. Got it, good.
Now, picture me next to a recycling dumpster that is almost as tall as I am. Now picture me standing on a plastic recycling bin, one foot wedged into a hole in the side that is there so the trucks can lift and dump it, and hauling myself into the dumpster. Getting out of the dumpster was another challenge because we did not think to bring the recycling bin into the dumpster. To get out, we piled a bunch of papers in the corner and I stood on them. They then collapsed so I am hanging onto the side of the dumpster while my feet slide out from under me. We make a new pile and I use it and a spot on the dumpster to kind of boost myself onto the lip of the dumpster. I get out and use a clever system (plastic bag w/ one end tied to a snow shovel and the other to the recycling bin) to send the recycling bin in for my pal so she has a slightly easier time and we can get the recycling bin back when she is out.
We sorted through the newpapers for coupon inserts and got quite a few. This is so cool because I hate buying a ton of papers. For those of you who don't know, this past Sunday was the biggest coupon insert weekend of the year. Over 250 coupons and some of them are really good ones. Since it was a newpaper recycling bin only, it's really clean inside. It was pretty empty so going through everything was pretty easy. We had a blast and plan to go again tomorrow. Hopefully the dumpster will have filled up. I will be bringing my papers with to recycle there and my stepladder to make getting in easier.
Wish us luck!
Friday, January 05, 2007
I heart Target.
Tonight I had fun cleaning out the Target clearance. The Target on my way home from work finally went to 90% off. WoooHooo!!!! The big deal about this is that I have been waiting for this particular store to drop. They have a ton of air freshener products in the regular area that are part of the Christmas clearance. I have especially been waiting for the Airwick Freshmatic refills. They are regularly 3.74. That is entirely too expensive for me. So, I want to stock up if I can while they are cheap. So here is what I bought today:
6 Airwick Freshmatic Refills in Harvest Spice (0.37/ea)
3 Airwick Decospheres in Harvest Spice (0.28/ea)
2 Airwick Scented Oil Refill 2 pk in Harvest spice (0.39/ea)
1 Glade Scented Oil Fan in Apple Cinnamon (0.66/ea)
1 Glade Scented Oil refill 2 pk in Glistening Snow (0.46/ea)
3 Glade Scented Oil 4oz Candles in Apple Cinnamon and French Vanilla (0.27/ea)
4 Febreeze Noticeables in Vanillas (0.79/ea)
5 Night Before Christmas board books (0.10/ea)
1 Bag of Assorted Gift Bows (0.49)
1 Lionel Richie Sounds of the Season CD (0.69/ea)
1 John Legend Sounds of the Season CD (0.69/ea)
1 Stocking Holder (0.99)
1 2pk of Gift boxes (0.19/ea)
Used 1 $1 off Febreeze Noticeables coupon and 1 $5 gift card
Total oop: $7.38
Looks like we will be smelling of Harvest Spice for a while.
6 Airwick Freshmatic Refills in Harvest Spice (0.37/ea)
3 Airwick Decospheres in Harvest Spice (0.28/ea)
2 Airwick Scented Oil Refill 2 pk in Harvest spice (0.39/ea)
1 Glade Scented Oil Fan in Apple Cinnamon (0.66/ea)
1 Glade Scented Oil refill 2 pk in Glistening Snow (0.46/ea)
3 Glade Scented Oil 4oz Candles in Apple Cinnamon and French Vanilla (0.27/ea)
4 Febreeze Noticeables in Vanillas (0.79/ea)
5 Night Before Christmas board books (0.10/ea)
1 Bag of Assorted Gift Bows (0.49)
1 Lionel Richie Sounds of the Season CD (0.69/ea)
1 John Legend Sounds of the Season CD (0.69/ea)
1 Stocking Holder (0.99)
1 2pk of Gift boxes (0.19/ea)
Used 1 $1 off Febreeze Noticeables coupon and 1 $5 gift card
Total oop: $7.38
Looks like we will be smelling of Harvest Spice for a while.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Deal of the year!!!!
I recently had a procedure done, but I am doing okay with no real recovery problems so far. The procedure I am speaking of is the dreaded "Cashendectomy". The process of removing a large sum of money from my checking account that is spent on an uneccessary item. I have spoken of this before.
The item this year is the XBox 360 Platinum bundle. At a retail of $399.99, this a major expenditure. But come on, you do see the title of the post and knowing me as you do, dear readers, you must realize that there is no way I am paying that much. We purchased 2 items, The Xbox and a Vonage phone adapter. Our out of pocket was $280. We have $150 in rebates to submit, bringing our total down to $130. I know that you are wondering how we did that. Well, I will tell you. Microcenter (Disneyland for Geeks) was having a special where if you buy a 360 you get a $100 rebate, they also had a promo that if you sign up for Vonage, you get $200 off your purchase of $199 or more, and there are 2 rebates for the phone adapter making it free.
I generally will not sign up for a service in order to get a discount. You end up spending more for the service than the discount and this is true with the Vonage service, it is a year contract. The only reason I agreed was because we were planning to sign up for Vonage in January. We have a cable modem already and we do not have a home phone. We are strictly cell, but wanted to finally get a house line again. So, why not jump on it now and get the $200. Halo 3 will be coming out soon and when that happens Justin will be climbing the walls to get one. So this way we save a bunch of money on something we would eventually be buying.
I was tempted to make him wait to open it until Christmas. While the thought of torturing him that way is mildly appealing, it is just too mean. So, I will be wrapping the box for under the tree and he has promised to act surprised for photos. Luckily, I still have a few little surprises for him this year.
The item this year is the XBox 360 Platinum bundle. At a retail of $399.99, this a major expenditure. But come on, you do see the title of the post and knowing me as you do, dear readers, you must realize that there is no way I am paying that much. We purchased 2 items, The Xbox and a Vonage phone adapter. Our out of pocket was $280. We have $150 in rebates to submit, bringing our total down to $130. I know that you are wondering how we did that. Well, I will tell you. Microcenter (Disneyland for Geeks) was having a special where if you buy a 360 you get a $100 rebate, they also had a promo that if you sign up for Vonage, you get $200 off your purchase of $199 or more, and there are 2 rebates for the phone adapter making it free.
I generally will not sign up for a service in order to get a discount. You end up spending more for the service than the discount and this is true with the Vonage service, it is a year contract. The only reason I agreed was because we were planning to sign up for Vonage in January. We have a cable modem already and we do not have a home phone. We are strictly cell, but wanted to finally get a house line again. So, why not jump on it now and get the $200. Halo 3 will be coming out soon and when that happens Justin will be climbing the walls to get one. So this way we save a bunch of money on something we would eventually be buying.
I was tempted to make him wait to open it until Christmas. While the thought of torturing him that way is mildly appealing, it is just too mean. So, I will be wrapping the box for under the tree and he has promised to act surprised for photos. Luckily, I still have a few little surprises for him this year.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Pooped!
Well friends, I am pooped. I think that the hectic schedule of the last few months has finally caught up with me. After shopping on Friday, I just kinda felt tired. I know that some of you are not surprised and neither am I. It has been a crazy couple of months.
So for the recap, Thanksgiving was at my in-laws. It was a fun time, but it usually is. I spent most of my time going through the ads. Andrew was a good eater and especially enjoyed the sweet potatos. We went home and my mom came over to spend the night so we can get up early and do our shopping.
Black Friday. Wow, you would think that they were giving stuff away with the lines of people. Walmart was a circus. I only needed a few things there, so my mom waited with the cart and I waded in and got the stuff I wanted. We headed to the grocery side for a cinnamon roll, got those and headed for the checkout. We didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes in line. That side of the store was dead. The lines at the registers down at the other end were huge, but the grocery side was empty. Sometimes I really wonder about people.
At Walmart, I realized that my debit card was in my other pants, so after we left Walmart, we stopped at my place to get it, then off to Target. The line there was insane. I mean, down the building and around the corner. We waited in the car and at 6 am, just walked in without waiting. Got what we wanted and were off. This was the way the day worked out. No real waiting in line.
We went to Elder Beerman (think JC Penny), Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, and Kohls. It was fun, I spent like $250 and got a lot accomplished. I got a ton of stuff, but still am not finished. I would list everything, but some family members read this and I don't want to give anything away. The best thing was I made my Mom a believer in my crazy CVS stuff. She bought a bunch of stuff and only paid $12. I use her card to get stuff and let her spend the ECBs. She was amazed. I got $177 worth of stuff at CVS for $6 after ECBs and coupons ($97 in ECBs spent) I also got $16 back in ECBs from stuff bought that day. So, I think that was a good trip. It was mostly toys.
The lady at Walgreens messed up one of my coupons so I had to ask for it back. It was for a free box of Tampax. I have 8 of them and need to use the ones that expire in Dec., so I thought I would use one while I was there. She scanned the coupon, but never entered the amount, so it didn't credit me the 4.29. So, I asked for the coupon back. She looked at me like I had 2 heads, but after explaining it twice she did give it back. So, I paid 4.29 for a box of Tampons I really don't need. I will be keeping them, since I have 2 rebate items on that receipt and have to send it in. I chalk it up to the cost of the game. Not that I am happy about it. I might still return them, I just don't want to screw up the $15 in rebates. (Sometimes Walgreens will reject a receipt if there is a return attached to it.)
I did get Andrew a Christmas romper that says HO HO HO on it and his holiday outfit. It is a cute red sweater vest with a moose on it, with a plaid shirt and brown cords. Trust me, it is so cute. I bought a couple of bras for myself. They were on sale for 13.97 and had a buy 2, get one free coupon. So 3 Vanity Fair bras for $28.
Saturday, I mainly sat around and read a book. I just really needed to unwind. Sunday, we went to my in-laws to see some relatives that were in town. Had a good time. When we left Andrew said goodbye to everyone including the pizza. Bye, Bye Peepa.
So for the recap, Thanksgiving was at my in-laws. It was a fun time, but it usually is. I spent most of my time going through the ads. Andrew was a good eater and especially enjoyed the sweet potatos. We went home and my mom came over to spend the night so we can get up early and do our shopping.
Black Friday. Wow, you would think that they were giving stuff away with the lines of people. Walmart was a circus. I only needed a few things there, so my mom waited with the cart and I waded in and got the stuff I wanted. We headed to the grocery side for a cinnamon roll, got those and headed for the checkout. We didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes in line. That side of the store was dead. The lines at the registers down at the other end were huge, but the grocery side was empty. Sometimes I really wonder about people.
At Walmart, I realized that my debit card was in my other pants, so after we left Walmart, we stopped at my place to get it, then off to Target. The line there was insane. I mean, down the building and around the corner. We waited in the car and at 6 am, just walked in without waiting. Got what we wanted and were off. This was the way the day worked out. No real waiting in line.
We went to Elder Beerman (think JC Penny), Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, and Kohls. It was fun, I spent like $250 and got a lot accomplished. I got a ton of stuff, but still am not finished. I would list everything, but some family members read this and I don't want to give anything away. The best thing was I made my Mom a believer in my crazy CVS stuff. She bought a bunch of stuff and only paid $12. I use her card to get stuff and let her spend the ECBs. She was amazed. I got $177 worth of stuff at CVS for $6 after ECBs and coupons ($97 in ECBs spent) I also got $16 back in ECBs from stuff bought that day. So, I think that was a good trip. It was mostly toys.
The lady at Walgreens messed up one of my coupons so I had to ask for it back. It was for a free box of Tampax. I have 8 of them and need to use the ones that expire in Dec., so I thought I would use one while I was there. She scanned the coupon, but never entered the amount, so it didn't credit me the 4.29. So, I asked for the coupon back. She looked at me like I had 2 heads, but after explaining it twice she did give it back. So, I paid 4.29 for a box of Tampons I really don't need. I will be keeping them, since I have 2 rebate items on that receipt and have to send it in. I chalk it up to the cost of the game. Not that I am happy about it. I might still return them, I just don't want to screw up the $15 in rebates. (Sometimes Walgreens will reject a receipt if there is a return attached to it.)
I did get Andrew a Christmas romper that says HO HO HO on it and his holiday outfit. It is a cute red sweater vest with a moose on it, with a plaid shirt and brown cords. Trust me, it is so cute. I bought a couple of bras for myself. They were on sale for 13.97 and had a buy 2, get one free coupon. So 3 Vanity Fair bras for $28.
Saturday, I mainly sat around and read a book. I just really needed to unwind. Sunday, we went to my in-laws to see some relatives that were in town. Had a good time. When we left Andrew said goodbye to everyone including the pizza. Bye, Bye Peepa.
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