Sunday Insert Coupon Frustration....What is Going on Here?!?

I have complained ad nauseum about my geographic area's lack of good coupons in the Sunday newspaper so bear with me as I rant about that again. ;-)

Either we get lousy dollar values OR we don't get certain choice coupons at all...usually its the "not at all" option that we suffer through.
It really chaps my hide since we also don't have ANY major grocery retailers either, beyond our "smaller, not as good deals" regional ones.....and they don't take internet printed coupons at all, adding insult to the injury.

I guess it's just as well the advertisers/manufacturers don't supply us with the good coupons.....if we did get the good coupons, we wouldn't have anywhere to use them, where we could maximize our savings with them.
Sometimes it sucks to be us and live here.....

Anyway, I am noticing something even more disturbing lately with the coupon inserts here.
Hubs and I bought a total of 5 newspapers on Sunday.
Our "metro" area has 2 major publications(I'll call them #1 and #2), plus the town south of us has one publication as well(we'll refer to it as #3).
We bought paper #1 at the local convenience store/gas station.
I bought paper #2 & #3 at Rite-Aid.
We bought 2 more of paper #2 at the Dollar Store.

Now there were 3 different coupon inserts available this past Sunday.....a Smart Source, a Red Plum and a P& G.

Here is what I found in paper #1......

Just the Smart Source insert.

Here is what came in paper #2....

All 3 inserts.

Here is what came in paper #3.....

Just the P& G insert.

Rite-Aid-where I bought paper #2 & #3 had stacks of paper #1 also.  I checked 3 different papers randomly pulling them from the stack(not just from the top)of the #1s.  All of the #1s I checked ONLY had the Smart Source insert!

The Dollar Store carries paper #2.....the 2 I bought had these inserts....

All 3 that were release.

This seems to be a new development.  These 3 different papers have always carried ALL the available inserts for the week in the past.  This week only 1 of the publications carried the full complement of inserts.
I've heard of certain areas losing the Valassiss(RedPlum)inserts but papers in the same town/area losing different inserts from each other?

Is anybody else seeing loopy stuff like this going on in their area?
Or am I just paranoid OCDing here?!lol

Sluggy loosing her grip

Last Week's Harvest....No More Cucumbers Please!

After nagging for THREE DAYS I did finally get someone to pick some green beans before they grew to GINORMOUS proportions and we picked the 5th head of cauliflower for Kallaum's Thursday dinner plus I found 2 huge cukes hidden in the back garden bed....

This Harvest--
TOTAL....2lb. 8.8oz.

Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....36 lb. 1.02 oz.

I am actually scared to go check the front and side garden beds now.  Last week there were more beans, yellow squash, golden peppers and a bunch of tomatoes close to turning or otherwise being ready to pick.

I also have a request for the Garden gods....no more cukes please!  We are overrun and a person can only eat so many salads or pickles.  ;-)


Sluggy

I Just Don't Get It....The One Where I Rant

Sometimes I think I was born on this planet by mistake.
Or maybe I was just born in the wrong century or country or something!

I just don't get it.....
I just don't get people.

I have a refrigerator that works sometimes and other times it decides it would rather not work properly.
So, since it's only 5 yrs old and replacing it would be quite expensive AND not as good for the environment as repairing it(which might also be cheaper than replacing), I am trying to find a local appliance repair person to attempt to fix it.

Now you would think....maybe this is where I get into trouble, projecting rational thoughts onto other beings of the human race...lol...that if you are in business for yourself, and you make your living and earn your money by being an appliance repair person, that you would do things to get repair jobs so you can earn that money.
"Doing things" would include like returning telephone calls from potential customers.
People who WANT TO give you money for your skills.
ESPECIALLY in this sluggish economy where most everyone is complaining non-stop that business is so slow and they don't have enough work to make a decent living.

You would think.....huh?

I have had ONE whole repair person return my calls.  
And that call went like this.....

Ring ring ring....
Daughter-"Hello?"
THEM-"Yah, you called about your fridge?"
Daughter-"That was my mom, just a minute, I'll put her on the phone."
*Daughter hands me the phone.*
Me-"Hello?"
Silence on the other end.
Me-"Hello?"
More silence on the other end.
Me-"HELLO!?"
More silence on the other end....but I can tell the line is open and 'live' because I hear breathing...
Then 3 seconds later the line goes CLICK and disconnects.

So I hang the phone up and stand and wait for them to call back.....and I wait and wait some more.
And the next day comes & they have yet to call back.
Now you would think....uh oh....there I go again "thinking" lol....that if the connection on their end was bad that they would call back?

You would think....
But no, I end up calling AGAIN and leaving my message again.

I swear, every time I have to find someone in the trade industries(construction or handyman repair, appliance repair, electrician)-the trades were people are self-employed, I run into these kinds of problems.
Problems like not returning calls, not showing up when they say they will, never showing up for appointments at all, and a whole host of little annoyances that you can overlook if they are good at their job and get it done.
I swear, if someone wanted to make a great living in this country and had a skill people would pay them decently for, all they would have to do to make a fortune would be to be halfway polite and actually show up and be ready to work!
Courtesy, integrity & showing up SOBER will make you a rich man!!

I am beginning to think that a lot of people who just don't want to work more than they have to, to support their lifestyles, go and buy a pick-up truck and have a sign put on the door that they are in *fill in the blank* business.  It sounds better than calling yourself an unemployed bum who doesn't WANT to work or can't handle working for someone else.  (I am NOT talking about unemployed people who get laid off due to the recession or something and who want to work but can't find a job.)

Oh....the one exception I have found in the trades are the plumbers.  For some reason the ONLY guys we have ever had work for us that were top notch in skills and in human decency were plumbers.

So I am being forced to buy a new fridge....it's either that or let our food spoil.
Or divorce my Hubs and find a new one that is handy....real quick!lol

All I want to know is this.....

 Where is NORM when I need him???!!!

Have you ever had any luck with hiring self-employed folks to work for you? 
Or have your interactions been unsatisfactory like mine?

Sluggy

I Finally Did It.....I Sewed Something in 2010!

One of my goals for 2010 was to get to my piles of sewing projects.
Well, I forgot to mention in my post about last week that I finally did sew something....woohoo!!

Of course, it wasn't anything exciting though and it wasn't anything from the pile of unfinished projects.
Just hemming #1 son's new jeans and patching up a rip in an older pair of pants for him.

But hey!....I'll add these to my project list so I can check something off !!lol

4 pairs of jeans hemmed....CHECK!
1 pair of jeans patched....CHECK!

There!
I feel a sense of accomplishment wafting over me....ahhhhhh!

Hubs also tried on 2 pair of pants that have been sitting in the closet for a couple of years so I could pin and hem them.....and they don't fit anymore!
I can send them to Salvation Army & mark those off my list of things to do too, right?lol
OK!...I am building momentum here now!! ;-)

Go me! ;-)

Sluggy

Monday's Rite-Aid Trip.....Pencils, Notebooks and Book Covers, OH MY!

 I drug my hot self out to Rite-Aid after dinner last night.  The place was a freaking zoo!  Hardly an empty parking space outside the store and jammed full of frantic moms inside on the school supplies aisles pawing through what was left on the shelves.....yes, a sure sign that today was the 1st day of school in my town.lol
After snapping up a portfolio for #2 son back in the regular school supplies aisle(I didn't even attempt diving into the mayhem on display in the seasonal school aisles!), I headed to the hair color section and then the baby section, before stopping at the drink cooler next to the registers.
Here is what I picked up....

3 x Garnier HerbaShine Hair Color on sale $5.99=$17.97
2 x Sobe Drinks on sale $.99=$1.98
1 x Butt Paste on sale=$3.99
1 x Portfolio(for #2 son)$1.83-with 20% wellness discount=$1.83 *not pictured*
SubTotal....$25.77

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$25 from Newsletter I signed up for in Jan. IPQ from PDF=$5.00
3 x $3/1 Garnier HerbaShine IPQ(coupons,dotcom)=$9.00
1 x $2/1 Garnier HerbaShine AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x BOGO Sobe IPQ(from Sobe Game)=$.99
1 x $3/1 Butt Paste AdPerks/VV IPQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Butt Paste ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$21.99

Also used....
1 x $1 +Ups(from Doritos)
1 x $2 +Ups(from Coke packs)
$3.00

$25.77-$21.99=$3.78-$3+Ups=$.78 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card so ZERO OOP



This Transaction....

Total Spent....$.78 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$39.73
SCR qualified for...$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$5.00(Garnier)


MONTHLY TOTALS-September Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......2
Total Spent....$9.45 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$81.10
SCR qualified for....$0 in cash and $0 in Gift Cards
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0
+Up Rewards spent....$11.00
+Up Rewards earned....$8.00

Total 'Spent'...$9.45 on gift cards
Total Cash I'm getting Back=$0
Total Gift Cards I'm getting=$0
+Up Rewards left to spend=$9.00


Sluggy