Catching Up...

Huzzah! The busiest work week of the year is past me. W00T! I might actually be able to post and read blogs again on a regular basis. Imagine that. Here's a quick peek into my brain today:


1. Thanks to those of you who gave me such fabulous suggestions for my day off this coming Monday. I decided, since the weather is so BLAZING hot and thus would prevent any outdoor activities, that I would spend some time at a day spa. I will be the recipient of a fabulous 90 minute massage. Yes. 90 minutes. That should be sheer heaven. Also on the menu is a much needed mani/pedi. Can't wait!!


2. Could this weather be a little more miserable, please? *insert sarcasm here* It's been 95 degrees F or higher with insanely high dew points... pretty much feels like you're walking around in a steam room.


3. We finally bought a new fridge. The old one was somewhat broken... it kept food cold, but mostly froze everything on the bottom shelves. Ever had a frozen head of lettuce? Yikes. Oh, and it leaked a lot, too. Yay. Old and busted fridge is gone. New fridge is in. So, the Farm Boy insisted we take a picture of it. (Sometimes, he scares me.) He even made me pose like an idiot in front of the new fridge. Trust me, under that purple blockhead is the cheesiest grin I can manage. It's a pretty cool (no pun intended) fridge. I would have preferred stainless steel, but that wouldn't match the rest of the kitchen. Oh, well.

4. I'm extremely depressed about my reading progress. Usually by this time of year, I've finished about 25-30 books. So far this year: 15. A stinking 15! It took me 6 weeks to finish my last book, mostly because I rarely had more than 5 minutes or so to devote to reading on any given day. How am I going to read 35 more books by the end of the year? Yeah. It's probably not going to happen. Gah. So depressing.

5. Daughter #1 learned yesterday that she will actually get to live on campus! Super W00T! We'd been told all spring and summer that housing was unavailable-- that she was on a huge waiting list and wouldn't be able to get a room. I was worried that she'd have to live at home and would have a tougher time getting involved in campus life. However, a room opened up yesterday, and she's in. She moves in a couple of weeks. Talk about last minute, but I'm not going to complain. She thinks I want to kick her out of my house; I just want her to be able to experience college life to the fullest. If she lived at home, it would be too much like going to high school... with a longer drive. I think I'm more excited for her new housing than she is. :-)

6. Daughter #2 and I went to Target tonight for the annual back-to-school purchasing. She starts on Monday. BUT... we couldn't find a "cute" book bag. I found several really cool book bags that would be sturdy enough... tons of pockets and cool features. Nope. Not "cute" enough. Gah. I'll be so glad when we're not 14 anymore. So, we purchased everything but a "cute" book bag, AND... I spent less than $100. I have to note these times (for posterity or something), because we rarely ever get out of Target for under $100. In fact, lately we're lucky to get out of there under $300. I love Target. So. Much.

Probably should stop with six list items... but I can't.

7. The Farm Boy and I went to Chipotle this week. It's been a loooooooooooooong time since we've gone. I got that little nervous, giddy feeling in my stomach right before we walked in. Can one have a crush on a burrito? I think "yes." One can, and one does. It was so superly tasty-licious! Of course, I couldn't finish my whole burrito (and I even asked for half the rice), but it was so worth it! I do have to mention, however, that this particular franchise is on my naughty list. This was only my second Chipotle venture in a matter of months, and both times this particular franchise had an "Out of Order" note on the Diet Coke. No other diet soda available. Boo. One cannot enjoy one's burrito with a cup of water... or lemonade. Blech. If it happens again, I might have to get cranky with them. (Or maybe just bring my own bottle of DC with me. )

Okay. Seven list items is a good place to stop. Happy Weekend!

Never Enough Until You've Got All The Stuff...

The Farm Boys often tells me that I am a marketing department's dream. A true delight. In fact, I know they literally salivate, just thinking about what a sucker I am.

Picture a team sitting down to compose their company's latest ad campaign, thinking, "What would get that Grumpy Frump person in the store to spend all her money?"

Well, since you asked...

• Buy One, Get One Free
  ... that seems pretty fair. If I want or need the item, I'm going for that 100% of the time. If I don't need or want it, I'll still go for it about 50-75% of the time.

• Buy One, Get a Second for 50%
  ... not as good as the second item for free, but still a pretty good deal. I bought six pairs of pants the other day for the price of four and half pairs. I'm still ahead in that deal, plus I desperately needed the pants.
  

• Spend $X or more and receive FREE SHIPPING!
  This is the one that always gets me. I get all excited -Free Shipping? Score! W00T!! A couple of weeks ago, this was the offer at Sephora. All I wanted was some new lip gloss (trying some of whoorl's suggestions). My total was about $50. It I searched around for more items to purchase to tip me over the $75 mark Sephora had set (like THAT would be difficult). After a while, it dawned on me that I was about to spend $25 more for things I didn't really need, just to avoid a shipping fee that would be less than $10. I didn't take the offer this time. But I was this close.
  

• 2-For $X, 3-For $X...
  If you make the math easy for me, I'll buy it. Items that are usually 10.99 each, but are now an amazing "2 for $20," color me SOLD. CheezIts- 3 for $5? Oh yeah. They're in the cart. This is the main reason I rarely leave Target without spending at least $100-200.
  

• Spend $X, and we'll throw in a FREE [nice, but usually very inexpensive item]!
  I'm a goner for this ad strategy. Food, makeup, perfume... it doesn't matter. Vickie S usually does this to me. I need VS lotion, but I will inevitably bring home lotion, perfume, and a cute little bag. Meals delivered to my door... buy at least two, and get an extra FREE meal. You got it. I look at it as savings, but sometimes I'll spend more just to get the free stuff. Obviously, this is not resulting in any savings at all.
  

Email and online ordering have only compounded the problem for me. If I have to drag my butt out to the mall, I might not grab the bait every time. But if the ad comes in an email? And it only takes me 5 minutes to browse, click "Add to My Cart", and hit "Submit My Order" online? SOLD!

Does anyone else do this? The Farm Boy thinks I have a sickness.

If I only purchased items when they were on sale, I don't think it would be that big of a deal. But I buy things even when they're not involved in some special offer. So, my "sale" purchases are in addition to all the other things I just have to have.

Hello. My name is Grumpy F., and I am a compulsive shopper.

The Fever Has Broken...

We were finally able to get out of the house today. Huzzah!

Again, being trapped in a house for two days is not such a bad thing, especially if you have heat, food, cable, and internet access. But Cabin Fever was definitely a problem in the last 48 hours.

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I was talking with my parents today about the last blizzard in which we were trapped in the house. We couldn't get out for over a week. At that time, we lived in a very small, two-bedroom home... possibly less than 1000 square feet for the whole house. My aunt and grandfather had been stranded in a car about a mile away, and they hiked through strong gusts of wind and dangerous sub-zero temperatures to get to our house. Seven people were trapped together in that house, three of them were under the age of 7. We had enough food. We had heat. We were fine.

As I kept talking about it today, I pointed out to my youngest teenage daughter that we didn't have cable TV back then, nor did we have video games, VCRs, DVDs. My sister and I listened to our stereo/record player a lot, I guess... but that was really our only entertainment outside of the TV. It was a long time ago, and I don't remember a lot about it, but I'm guessing we played a lot of board games and just waited out the storm. And the thing is... I don't remember feeling trapped. It was kind of like a party for us, because my dad didn't have to go to work, and my grandpa and aunt were there to play with us, too!

Today, our first trek out of the house was to fast food. We only had about 40 minutes to get something to eat before dropping Daughter #1 off at school for a rehearsal, so fast food would have to do (not my preference, but what can you do?). As they stepped out of the car in the fast food parking lot, Daughters #1 and #2 jumped up and down with glee, screaming and laughing, "We're FREE! We're FREE!!"

What a couple of goobers.

BUT... my happy-time was just around the corner, because we made a quick trip to Target. AND... I spent less than $100. Woot!

Life is good. :-)

How Long Have We Been Married?

We went to Target tonight. Yes, that place also known as Nirvana II (Chipotle is Nirvana I).

The Farm Boy needed printer paper, a filter for the furnace, and some packing tape. They were out of our filters. So, he got the printer paper and the tape.

I needed... a few other things.


At the checkout, the amount was just a bit over $200.


Or as Farm Boy said bellowed,

"$242.37! I came for printer paper and tape, and it cost me $242.37!!!"

The conversation continued something like this--

ME: "Ummm, duh. It's Target. What did you expect?"

FB: "I didn't expect to buy makeup and hair stuff and socks and kitchen utensils and chopsticks and and other girlie crap!"

[since when are chopsticks "girlie crap?"]

ME: But we didn't make you buy tampons.

FB: True. [pause] Please just kill me.*

Silly boy... he should know better.

*The Farm Boy grew up in California with 5 brothers and one sister. He is desperately trying to combat the inevitable estrogen-creep that is slowly invading his manly persona.