Fun Stuff

The days of our vacation are slipping away. Before you know it we're going to be on the road back to North Carolina, back to reality. Booooo.

Yesterday, Stephen, Jennifer Kl. and I drove from Kennesaw to Chamblee to see my side of the family that lives in Georgia. We met up with everyone at Piccadilly - our classic dinner restaurant. I always get way too much food but it's sooo good. I got to hold Claire some during dinner since Bri was in a high chair. Claire is going through this phase where she squeals at an opera pitch. I LOVE it! I think it's great but I guess I can see how it could happen at inopportune times like during church or if you were on a work call from home. But really, who cares? Before long she won't be doing it anymore and we'll all be saying, "Remember how she used to just squeal at the top of her lungs? That was so cute!" Brianna never did anything like that so it just makes me giggle to hear Claire.

After dinner we went back to Grandpa's house for our annual Christmas party. Our family doesn't exchange a lot of gifts but we got some cool stuff. For my birthday mom and dad got me a Blockbuster gift card and a Lowe's Food gift card. I can't wait to use those! We don't ever, ever rent movies unless we have a gift card so that will be really nice. I got a Chick Fil-A gift card from the Coles (yes!) and they gave Brianna two great books and a pretty wall hanging for the nursery. It's a hand-me-down from Brantley and has a "B" on it. Then some of our family friends gave Brianna a really cute piggy bank and a doll. Bri played with the doll for a long time. It says "I love you" when you press a button and she smiled every time it said that. Buddy gave me a whole collection of his favorite opera arias on CDs. He gives the best presents!! We listened to one CD on the way home last night and I'll listen to the rest on my own probably. Not many people appreciate opera but I definitely love it. And I trust Buddy's taste. We also got cash from Grandpa and Buddy which is always good.

The other day we hit Target, HomeGoods and World Market. I can't remember if I already blogged about that or not. Anyway, today we went to Mellow Mushroom and we were close to a different Target so we ran in there to see what different items they had on sale and to see if they had marked it down to 75% off yet. They hadn't but I asked a salesperson who said it should be marked down soon. I love the fact that they have price scanners. I had about a dozen items in my cart but after I scanned all of them I was down to three - two which cost $0.99 and one that was $0.79. But then I figured I didn't really need any of those so I put them back. If they're there when it's 75% off I'll get them but I won't be perturbed if they're gone.

It's sleeting here! Off and on. I wish it would snow.

Okay, so I did a Rite Aid trip and Walgreens trip the other day (the show must go on, even on vacation) and got a few good deals. You may not be able to tell by the prices but I got stuff I really needed and the stuff I didn't need was really cheap. Without further ado:

Rite Aid:

Crest toothpaste
RP $3.49. SP $2.49. Minus $1.50 rebate. Minus $0.75 coupon. FP - $0.24

Nyquil
RP $6.99. SP $4.99. Minus $2.00 rebate. Minus $1.50 coupon. FP - $1.49

Kotex pads
RP $3.99. SP $2.99. Minus $2.00 rebate. Minus $1.00 coupon. FP - Free

Gillette Fusion razor
RP $10.99. SP $7.99. Minus $2.00 rebate. Minus $4.00 coupon. FP - $1.99

L'Oreal mascara
RP $13.49. SP $3.37. Minus $2.00 coupon. FP - $1.37

Scott wipes
RP $2.79. SP $1.99. Minus $0.50 coupon. FP - $1.49

Cover Girl brow maker
RP $2.89. SP $0.72. Minus $1.00 coupon. FP - Free

NYC brow and liner pencils
RP $1.99. Minus $1.00 rebate. Minus $1.00 coupon. FP - Free

L'Oreal eye shadow
RP $4.49. SP $1.12. Minus $2.00 coupon. FP - Free

SoyJoy bars
RP $1.39. SP $0.60. Minus $3.00 rebate on 5. FP - Free

Final shopping total: Spent $22.19. Saved $13.75. Will receive $11.50 in rebates. And I'll sell the makeup on eBay. So not too bad.

Actually, I'm not gonna write about the Walgreens trip because it was all pretty boring stuff. But I spent $11.13 and saved $20.27 and got back $1 in RR. Again I got several things I needed so it was a good run.

Tomorrow we're hitting the mall and then the next day we're hitting Target and HomeGoods again to see if they've cut the clearance items down to 75% yet. I don't remember it taking them this long other years to mark stuff down. Oh yeah, I did get Brianna some CUTE mittens today from Target for next Christmas. They were marked down to 50 cents. They are awesome!! Her little hands get so cold from being in her mouth and everything.

Okay this post is LONG. So I'll get off now.