April 2nd, 2009

Subject: What I got for under $1 each this week..... Time: 12:03 am Current Mood: pleased

OUST DISINFECTANT: $4.49 Reduced to $3.99 $2/1 coupon $1 Rebate Final Price: $0.99 GLADE SENSE & SPRAY AIR FRESHENER: $9.99 Reduced $5.99 $4/1 coupon $1 CVS "Extra Buck" (earned from a previous purchase) Final Price: $0.99 This was a fun purchase. It's a little container with a sensor and after the sensor is blocked by shadow for a certain amount of time scented oil is sprayed into the air. Shuts off for 30 minutes afterward so it can't spray too much. I put it on top of the toilet. SCHICK RAZOR: $9.99 $4 Walgreens Coupon $4/1 Manufacturer coupon $1 Walgreens Credit (earned from previous purchase) Final Price: $0.99 (Had I used my $2 credit I could have gotten this for free, but I wanted to save it for later) KLEENEX (80 sheet box): $2.29 Buy One Get One Free $1/4 coupon Final Price: $0.89 SOYJOY BAR: $1.39 Sale 2/$1 (or $.50 each) Buy One Get One Free coupon Final Price: $0.25 (These taste good but are incredibly small, like the size of a finger. Too expensive for what you get, I won't buy these again unless I get another great coupon deal.) MENTOS SUGARFREE GUM: $1.69 Two for $2 sale $1/1 manufacturer coupon $0.55/1 manufacturer coupon Final Price: $0.22 Barilla Piccolini Mini Fusilli pasta: $1.59 - $0.50/1 coupon - $1.00 discount (Triple Coupon day at Harris Teeter so all coupons up to 99 cents are tripled in value) Final Price: $0.09 REYNOLDS WRAP (20 FT): $1.69 Reduced $0.89 $1/1 coupon Final Price: FREE! SOFTSOAP BODY WASH: $4.49 Manufacturer coupon for 1 free body wash product, received after buying one on sale this week. Final Price: FREE! I'm looking forward to the post-Easter sales so I can use some candy coupons (I need to stock up for sugar cravings during that special time of the month). Retail Price of Purchases: $47.56 Spent: $7.56 MuaHAHAHAHAaaaaa!

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March 29th, 2009

Tags: coupons Subject: Thank you coupons Time: 10:34 pm

I recently began coupon clipping (like a month ago) and..... I'm a little addicted. Is it weird that I get a natural high from finding good deals? It's like a game, but in the end I know I'm the one being played by the companies. I have been saving coupons, trying not to be impulsive, waiting for the day when a sale and coupon would match up. I had mainly been looking in the Safeway and Giant leaflets for savings ideas, and for some reason it didn't occur to me to look in the CVS/Walgreens/Rite Aid leaflets as well. So this week I did, the stars aligned, and I found some SWEET savings. If anyone cares, tonight I went to CVS and bought: SOFTSOAP LIQUID HAND SOAP: $3.29 Sale 3/$5 ($1.67 each), but no need to buy 3 for the discount used $1/2 coupon Final Price = $1.17 COLGATE TOTAL TOOTHPASTE: $2.99 Sale 2/$5 $1 Extra CVS Cash Buck $1/1 coupon Final Price = $1.50 (although, DANGIT, I just found another $1 coupon so I could have gotten the toothpaste for $1 each!!!) LADY SPEEDSTICK 24/7 DEODORANT: $2.99 Sale $1.99 $.75/1 coupon Final Price = $1.24 ENERGIZER BATTERIES (8 pack): $8.49 Sale $5.99 $1/1 coupon Final Price = $4.99 LISTERINE (500 mL): $4.19 50% off $1.50/2 hygiene items coupon (split with some dental floss) Final Price = $1.34 REACH DENTAL FLOSS: $1.99 $1.50/2 coupon (so really just $.75 savings) Final Price = $1.34 My total for these items was $15.15 but I SAVED $15.07. I basically got 50% off my whole purchase!!!! I'm awesome. More excitement awaits tomorrow at Walgreens. Alright look, I know that store sales and coupons "matching up" is no coincidence and it's all a marketing scheme, but I don't really care if it can result in saving money like this. Although I bought a little too much candy today because it was buy 1 get 1 free. Kevin's advice to me was this: "If you BUY things that you don't WANT, then you're STUPID." He's so helpful. :) I'll write that on the front of my coupon organizer.

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March 11th, 2009

Subject: I'm sad Time: 12:32 am

I got a pay cut of $2 per massage at work today. The amount I was being paid was barely worth my time anyways, but this is just not worth it now. Apparently I have one of the lowest request rates at work (10%). I feel like 10% is ok, considering I have only been working there shy of six months. Also, I only do about 10-12 massages per week, so I think having 1 or 2 requests is a fine number. According to The Boss, my percentage should be around 60. I am not performing at the level they thought I would when I was hired. I asked what the pay range was among employees, and he gave a very vague answer, but I believe I was one of the higest paid. Don't feel like talking about details yet, I'm too pissed off. But basically I feel like my boss is trying to cut costs, and my situation seemed like a good excuse to save $30 a week. There was no warning, other than "starting next pay period we are cutting your pay". Quite the opposite of a warning, he told me what was going to happen, then in 30 days we meet again to see if I am being requested more. If I am, then my pay goes back up.... but I have a feeling it will stay the same. I asked, how do I get requested more? The answer, explained very politely, was basically that I need to massage better. To my boss "money speaks" and if I'm not being requested by clients I massaged, then they didn't like the massage. I am supposed to "learn from my peer group" somehow and magically learn new skills over the next 30 days. What gets me is this..... #1. First of all, I KNOW that I give a good massage. I can't grade myself on it, because I have no idea how it feels! But I KNOW that clients like it.... yeah sometimes I'm not everybody's cup of tea, but that's fine! They are more than welcome to go to another therapist. Everybody has their own style. #2. Thanks for the fucking warning. #3. Learning a couple of new techniques, strokes, stretches, isn't going to magically get me more work. #4. I've given my boss a massage twice. I asked him to tell me what he thought I could have done differently, and he said he couldn't remember specifics. #5. What does it matter if I am requested or not???? These people have memberships, they are locked into a 12-month contract. I get a $2 bonus for requests (ironic it's the same amount I'm being cut!), so it's money out of his pocket. Clients are going to come back to the clinic no matter what, because they have a contract, and are being billed monthly, so who cares if they skip around to different therapists? #6. Do you know what it feels like to have someone tell you that you're not good enough, even when you're giving 100%? And you need to be better or your job is probably in jeopardy? But nobody tells you exactly WHAT you need to do!? Of course there is always something new to learn in the massage world (I would have find a class to take), but I don't understand how I can be "better" when I feel that I am doing my best already. What exactly do I need to change? What the HELL?!?!?! I feel inadequate...... and I feel like shit. There was a lot of other sketchyness in the meeting, but I'm too tired to elaborate. I am known to cry in confrontational situations, and surprisingly kept myself together during the meeting. However, the tears started flowing the second I left work and didn't stop for like 2 hours. Does anyone know of a spa that is hiring???? Please keep your eyes open for me.....

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March 5th, 2009

Subject: in the mood for grease (with a side of baked beans) Time: 06:24 pm

I am coming out of a cooking rut. For a while I haven't had the inclination to cook much of anything, and being the main dinner-maker at home, this resulted in another trip to Let's Dish. Assembling the meals is loads of fun, cooking them is easy as well, but I find that they taste "plain". Don't know how to describe it.... I suppose there is only so much that you can freeze in order to have no additional cooking required. Actually there have been a few meals that I loved, but most are eh. We decided to make "half meals" (giving us two meals that serve 3 instead of one meal for 6), but I can't find the motivation to eat some of them again. Anyways. Mom subscribed me to "Cuisine at Home", an awesome cooking magazine. I found and made their recipe for almond crusted turkey breast with a sherry gravy and mashed potatoes (amaaaazing gravy by the way, posting recipe soon), and like that the cooking bug bit me again. So I planned dinners for the whole week, and doing this made me realize how unsettled not knowing what's for dinner (the day of) makes me. I attempted menu planning once before but obviously didn't stick to it. Somebody got me Paula Deen's first cookbook (The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook) this Christmas (or last Christmas?) and I found a recipe for "Southern Baked Beans". Anyone who is familiar with Ms. Paula knows that she LOVES butter and grease. The beans are cooking in the oven as I type this, with 10 minutes to go. I never post recipes until I have tried and loved it, but I am prematurely posting this one because it has two of my favorite things in it: bacon, and onions cooked in bacon grease. Oh and REAL maple syrup, how can you not love that?! --------------------------- Southern Baked Beans serves 4 - 1/2 pound bacon - 1 large onion, diced - One 16-ounce can pork and beans - 3 tablespoons yellow mustard (Crap and poop sticks! Just realized I forgot to put this in!) - 5 tablespoons maple or pancake syrup - 4 tablespoons ketchup Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon until crisp; crumble. In bacon drippings, saute onion until brown. Mix bacon, onion, and drippings with remaining ingredients. Do not take a picture of yourself doing this; it is disorienting and dangerous! Pour into casserole dish and bake covered for 45-60 minutes. Then, realize that there's a smidgen of maple syrup left in the bottle! Pretend that the syrup is medicine and pour it into a spoon. If there is any more, waste not, and finish off the bottle. --------------------------- Ok I just ran back to the kitchen and drew a mustard sad face on the beans, then mixed it after I took a picture. Too bad the card wasn't in the camera! Dumbass! I commend you for making it to the end of this boring post. I'll let you know how the beans turned out!

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March 3rd, 2009

Time: 08:45 am

On the dinner menu for the week, in no particular order: - roasted herb pork chops (a Let's Dish meal) & mashed potatoes - Spam/Mac & Cheese, some sort of veggie - Waldorf Salad - Hot Dogs, Southern Baked Beans - Flank steak w/carmelized onions and balsamic glaze (another Let's Dish meal) - Cheese Fondue!!! (I bought some Swiss and Ementaler, we'll see how they taste together) We got a special Jackson Pollock "print" for the dining room from posters.com (so really it's just a poster). I think it looks nice. Oh, and a new light fixture!

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