Even FREE CHOCOLATE has it's price....My Sanity!

Mr. T may have some nuts but Snickers parent company, the M&M MARS Company MADE ME NUTS this morning.

MARS had a great little marketing promotion, called the Real Chocolate Relief Act. They plan on giving away Candy Bars(or coupons redeemable for free candy bars actually)from a website they set up for this purpose, every Friday morning at 9 amET, until September.

Nice little idea but let me tell you, the first day, the execution SUCKED!

SUCKY SUCKED.

BIGTIME.

PISS YOU OFF SUCK

ED.

SERIOUSLY.

I'm sorry if this offends you or the Mars company or your pet 3-toed newt, but I hate wasting my time (53 minutes to be exact!) trying to fill out a website's form to get a single candy bar, only to have the website crash repeatedly on me.

How could the IT people working at Mars' websites NOT have planned for the site to be deluged with hits?

Maybe they need to NOT give away so much free merchandise, since they obviously really Need some extra revenue to pay for a bigger SERVER that can handle the online MONSTER they have created!!

Seriously, I feel like the biggest SMUCK for sitting at this machine waiting for pages to load, backing out of error message pages to try to get through to the last "we got your form & you get the chocolate in about 6 weeks from now" confirmation page.

No.

Such.

Luck.

After you finally got to the "congrats you got through, now fill this form out" page, you had 5 MINUTES to fill in the form and hit submit or you lost your place in line for chocolate and had to start over again. I got through TWICE but do you think I could get the form filled out and submitted in time?

That's a big honking NO.

I even changed computers and tried....got through on the other machine and STILL couldn't get the website to accept my submission.

If you had been in my yard this morning, peeping through the windows, you would have seen me flying through the house, shouting out near obscenities much like the Dad in A Christmas Story during one of his furnace rampages.

I am not a crazy person.....ok, maybe I am, but who isn't when driven there by things out of their control?....most things don't get to me like this did.

I wish Mr. T was here.....yah.....he'd give M&M/Mars what for!

He'd make sure those IT geeks at M&M/Mars had the kinks out before subjecting the chocolate addicted public to this Travesty of Candy!

"Pity the fool who comes between Sluggy and her Chocolate Bar!"

I hear ya Mr. T....

I calmed down about an hour later and sent M&M/Mars a nice email. Well, maybe nice isn't the correct descriptive word exactly....

I made it clear what I thought of their weakly executed idea.

And I further told them, come lunch time, I'd be heading out to my nearby store that sells Chocolate Candy to spend my money on a HERSHEY Bar!!!

As far as I'm concerned, M&M/Mars can stick that candy bar up Mr. T's A-Team, if ya get my drift....

Sluggy

Lena's Lemon Pepper Chicken RECIPE

One of the long awaited Recipes I promised to share on my blog.
The family loves this Chicken dish. Even the ones who don't like zuchinni will eat it, so that's saying something, right?lol
It's also a great dish to make if you are overrun with zukes in your garden this summer. Another plus is you make this on the stovetop and don't need to run the oven for it. I am for any dish in the summer that doesn't involve heating up the kitchen with the oven.

One tip I have is to use a good quality Lemon Pepper seasoning mixture, not one where the 1st ingredient is salt. The $ store stuff is mostly salt, spend more and buy the good stuff for this dish or it will turn out too salty.

Lena's Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients
1 cup Oil-olive or vegetable
8 chicken thighs
3 onions, chopped
8 zuchinni, sliced into small rounds
1 cup flour
3 Tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
1 large can diced or crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in skillet large enough to fit the chicken.
Mix lemon pepper seasoning with flour in baggy.
Pat chicken dry & drop into baggy of seasoned flour to coat.
When pan is hot, put chicken pieces in oil to fry.
When chicken is golden brown, turn chicken to fry other side.
Remove chicken from pan when done.
Pour off all but 3 Tablespoons of oil from pan.
Add chopped onion & zuchinni to pan & saute until onions are soft.
Add can of tomatoes.
Add 2 Tablespoons of the leftover seasoned flour into pan and stir.
Place cooked chicken pieces on top of tomato/zuke/onion mixture in pan.
Place lid on pan and reduce heat to simmer. This will stick and burn if you don't lower the temp. so watch it.
Simmer for about 40 mins. or until zuchinni is soft. **You may need to check the pan after 20 min. and see if it needs water-sometimes the moisture from the tomatoes cooks down. If so, add about 1/2 cup. water or more tomatoes.

Serve over rice.

Makes 8 portions.

If anyone makes this please let me know how it turns out for you!

Sluggy

Building a SCR for May at Rite-Aid MY PLAN for PART 2

So the last post about Building the Single Check Rebate at Rite-Aid had me here....

at the end of Day 1 here is where I stand.....

Rebates qualified for-
Skintimate $2.24
Salt-Aire $6.99
Mini Drops $6.49
Listerine Whitening $2.00
ProFoot $10.00
Claritin $3.00
Offer #50 $10-Highest level
Offer #500 $10-Need $12.54 more to get $25.00 Gift Card
Total of $50.72 in Rebates Total Out of Pocket $50.27=Everything free once the Rebates come in plus getting paid 45 cents.

*********************************

There are 2 Rebate Offers I want to do but they need to be done between 5/17-5/23.

Offer #2 Bayer Aspirin Quick Crystals($3.99) & #31 Alaway Eye Drops($7.99).

#2 Bayer looks like a full rebate of the purchase price plus I have a Q for $1.00 off. The #31 Alaway has a $4 Q and might be a full purchase price rebate too. So for these 2 I'll spend $6.98, after using the $5 in coupons and get back $11.98 in the rebate check.

The Alaway ALSO qualifies for Offer #500-the Allergy Rebate check. (Remember I need $12.54 more spent there to get the $25.00 Gift Card.)If I also purchase a package of Sudafed(for at least $5.99-$1 coupon=$4.99)this will give me another $13.98 in purchased toward #500, so I'll get the $25 gc having spent $8.98 oop.

Now the cost of all 3 items(Alaway, Sudafed & Bayer)comes to $17.97 before Qs or tax. To use another $5 off Rite-Aid Q I need to purchase $25 worth of products.

This is where the Centrum Cardio comes in. Not sure on the price(I think it's $9.99 or $10.99)but if I add this, I will have at least $27.96 in my purchase. The Centrum also has a $1 rebate Offer #58 AND there is a MIR to Centrum for up to $10 on the Cardio product.

Take the $27.96 purchase price for all 4 items, subtract all Qs....$4 Alaway, $1 Sudafed, $1 Bayer, $2 Cardio Centrum & $5 Rite-Aid Q and I pay $14.96 Out of Pocket + tax for these.

New Rebates I qualify for with this purchase.....Alaway $7.99, Bayer $3.99, Allergy $15 more on that Offer and 'maybe' another $1 on the Centrum Cardio-the size bottle for the Rite-Aid offer & the MIR to Centrum offer may be different....if so, I'll get the size bottle for the MIR offer.

PLUS I can send for a $10 check from Centrum.

So I added $36.98 in refunds(possibly $37.98) to my total.

Total of Rebate now $87.70(SCR $77.70/Centrum $10), might be $88.70.

Total Out of Pocket until rebates come in $65.23(estimate)+tax.

This Plan now has me getting $87.70 worth of products for free PLUS I'll get paid over $20 cash to take them.

So by letting Rite-Aid hold my $65.23 for a month I get paid with all this stuff, my original $65.23 back and $20+ MORE cash. A profit of approx. $107 over my $65.23.

What's not to love about this?lol

Sluggy

The Magic of KMart Super Double Coupons Sale

So Tuesday I had some spare time, so I grabbed another couple $5/$25 Kmart Coupons & the trusty coupon binder and headed down the mountain for some more Super Double Coupon fun.

2x Pop-Tarts @$2.50=$5.00
1x Lyson Neutra Air Spray @$3.29
4x Capri Sun @$2.69=$10.76
4x Vitamin Water @$1.00=$4.00
4x Good Life Cat Treats @$2.00=$8.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.79=$7.16
6x Huggies Travel Wipes @$1.09=$6.54
2x Marcal Small Steps Toilet Paper @$2.89=$5.78

Subtotal-$50.53
Tax-$.95

Coupons Used....
2x Pop-Tarts @$1.00 doubled=$4.00
1x Lyson Neutra Air Spray @$1.50 doubled=$3.00
4x Capri Sun @$1.00 doubled=$8.00(only 3 pictured, 1 got smashed open)
4x Vitamin Water @$.50 doubled=$4.00
4x Good Life Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$8.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$7.16
3x Huggies Travel Wipes @$1/2 doubled=$6.00
2x Marcal Small Steps Toilet Paper @$1.00 doubled=$4.00
KMart $5/$50 coupon=$5.00
Coupon Total- $49.16

$51.48-$49.16=$2.32 Out of Pocket

Oh yeah!
So I went back in and got more......

2x Lyson Kitchen Disinfectant @$2.99=$5.98
1x Lyson Neutra Air Spray @$3.29
3x All Detergent @$4.79=$14.37
4x Capri Sun @$2.69=$10.76
4x Vitamin Water @$1.00=$4.00
4x Good Life Cat Treats @$2.00=$8.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.79=$7.16

Subtotal-$53.56
Tax-$1.51

Coupons Used....
2x Lyson Kitchen Disinfectant @$2.00 doubled=$5.98
1x Lyson Neutra Air Spray @$1.50 doubled=$3.00
3x All Detergent @$2.00 doubled=$12.00
4x Capri Sun @$1.00 doubled=$8.00
4x Vitamin Water @$.50 doubled=$4.00
4x Good Life Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$8.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$7.16
KMart $5/$50 coupon=$5.00

Coupon Total- $53.14

$55.07-$53.14=$1.93 Out of Pocket
If I don't say so myself, this one was AWESOME!!!!!!! Basically I paid 42 cents plus tax for this load!

The cashier did a double-take and checked to make sure she rang everything up. She just couldn't believe what the register was telling her I owed. And 2 of the customers behind me in line made comments(nice ones, not bitching because the coupons took too long.lol)and wanted to know how I did that. I just pointed to my head and then showed them the binder of coupons, saying, "You can all do what I just did, using coupons. It just takes a little organization."

Total for the Day....
Value of Items purchased...$104.09
Coupons Used.....$102.30
Out of Pocket...$4.25
Savings Percentage....just under 96%!

I can't wait until I get another couple of free hours to head back down to this week's favorite store. ;-)) I doubt I have enough coupons for things I need/want to get this low an OOP again this week, but there are some good buys still if I can get a $50 order together.
But I need to go roll some Register Rewards first at Wags. Just too too much to do this week....

Sluggy

KMART Super Doubles Redux....Here we go Again!

Guess What??

He's BAAAAAACK!

Yes, Mr. Blue Light is taunting me once again, doing his seductive SUPER DOUBLES Savings Dance.

My Kmart store near Teeny Tiny Town is once again having a Double Coupons Sale! Guess who couldn't resist riding down the mountain to KMart late Sunday?

I held off for what?......a good 7 hours, before I gave in, grabbed the keys and headed to KMart. And I am sick over the ENORMOUS amount of money I spent....
Yuck!
A whole......cover your eyes.....

$25+ DOLLARS!!!

I know.....it's such an outrageous amount of money for me to spend out of pocket.

But my good doubling coupon stock has been depleted somewhat, with the last Super Doubles at KMart, that ended a mere WEEK AGO!

Oh KMart's Mr. Blue Light.....you are a harsh Task Master.

I printed up another couple $5/$50 coupons from online, grabbed the trusty coupon binder and here's what I came up with....



1x Pedigree Marrobone Treats @$2.99
1x Johnson's Baby Shampoo @$4.29
4x Glad Bags & Containers @$2.50=$10.00
2x Daisy/Sensor Razors @$6.00=$12.00
2x Good Life Cat Treats @$2.00=$4.00 (not pictured-the dog got them!lol)
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.79=$7.16
1x Marcal Small Steps Toilet Paper @$5.78
2x Heath Bar Candy Bags @$2.50=$5.00
2x Hershey's Kisses Dark @$2.50=$5.00
Subtotal-$56.22

Tax-$1.32

Coupons Used....
1x Pedigree Marrobone Treats @$1.00 doubled=$2.00
1x Johnson's Baby Shampoo @$2.00 doubled-$4.00
2x Glad Bags & Containers @$1.00/2 doubled=$4.00
2x Daisy/Sensor Razors @$2.00 doubled=$8.00
2x Good Life Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$4.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$7.16
1x Marcal Small Steps Toilet Paper @$1.00 doubled=$2.00
2x Hershey's Kisses Dark @$1.00 doubled=$4.00
KMart $5/$50 coupon=$5.00
Coupon Total- $40.16

$57.54-$40.16=$17.38 Out of Pocket

Plus I got a printout for a FREE MOVIE Ticket(from buying the 4 bags of candy), a $7 value. So you can say my Value of items for this batch of goodies is really $64.54.


Not satisfied with that OOP, I unloaded my cart into the car and went back in and got....

2x Pedigree Dry Dog Food @$5.19=$10.38
6x Pedigree canned Dog Food @$1.00=$6.00
4x Huggies Baby Wipes @$1.09=$4.36
1x Huggies Baby Wipe @$2.49=$2.49
2x Benadryl Allergy Pills @$3.99=$7.98
4x Vitamin Water @$1.00=$4.00
2x Hall's Cough Drops @3/$4=$2.67
2x Good Life Cat Treats @$2.00=$4.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.79=$7.16
1x Marcal Small Steps Toilet Paper @$2.89

Subtotal-$51.93

Tax-$1.29

Coupons Used....
2x Pedigree Dry Dog Food @$1.50 doubled=$6.00
1x Pedigree buy 6 canned Dog Food @$1.00 doubled=$2.00
2x Huggies Baby Wipes @$1.00/2 doubled=$4.00
1x Huggies Baby Wipe @$1.00 doubled=$2.00
2x Benadryl Allergy Pills @$1.50 doubled=$6.00
4x Vitamin Water @$.50 doubled=$4.00
2x Hall's Cough Drops @3/$4=$2.67
2x Good Life Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$4.00
4x Hartz Cat Treats @$1.00 doubled=$7.16
1x Marcal Small Steps Toilet Paper @$1.00 doubled=$2.00
KMart $5/$50 coupon=$5.00

Coupon Total- $44.83

$53.22-$44.83=$8.39 Out of Pocket
Much better OOP this time.

Total for the Day....
Value of Items purchased...$117.76
Coupons Used.....$84.99
Out of Pocket...$25.77
Savings Percentage....just over 78%

A kind of low percentage for me and KMart but I did buy some things I needed, even though I knew they wouldn't be free or under $1 after the coupons. I even bought some stuff that I didn't have coupons for....the horrors!lolol

Sluggy