Can I Breathe Now?!?!...Transformers, the Czech Republic, Kid Social Life & Mangled Cars

No matter how much planning I do and simplifying and organizing and doing things ahead when I can, it never fails that I end up with one crisis after another at the Holidays.
Something unforeseen always throws a big ol' monkey wrench into the works and the metaphorical wheels come flying off the cart!

Is it just me or does this happen to all of y'all too?

I don't think I would know how to behave it everything went smoothly and nothing came up.

I've been like a Jack Russell Terrier chasing his tail for the last few days.
It's been one thing after another with no down time whatsoever......I am plum wore out!

Nothing major, just the usual day-to-day stuff with some psuedo-major complications thrown in and then a big heaping pile of Holiday time stuff on top.

Why is is that every danged group, team, club, class, society and organization that your kids are a part of feel the need to hold some special event at the Holidays?  My kids aren't way over scheduled like most of the kids in this country are.....you know, the kids who are on 3 kinds of sports teams per season, take some kind of physical activity lesssons, then take music/art/theatre lessons every week, then belong to scouts or 4H or some other group, belong to a band or choir or chorus or are in a play, etc, etc., etc.
And then there are the religious affiliation groups/clubs they participate in.  No wonder the kids in this country are burning out and developing ulcers at 10 yrs. old!

Why do every single one of these entities have to have something going on at the Holidays?....Some thing that you have to "do" something for?......bake for, organize for, fundraise for, sell tickets for, donate things for, give money to, haul kids around for.
And each kids has multiple groups/clubs that need you to do for them.....and times the number of committments by how many kids you have and the demand on your time, energy, resources and sanity is MIND NUMBING!
And then add on top of all that, the things YOU as a family want to partake in/do/fund/organize personally and you just need to give up sleeping for the entire month of December to find the hours to get it all accomplished.

Am I the only one who just feels squashed like this at the Holidays??
Tell me I am not......please!


*Friday we got hit with a very large "car maintenance" list of repairs for Hub's car.
*We are dealing with some financial issues with a relative....again after he totaled his car.
*Running ragged toting #2 son to rehearsals/practices.
*Trying to keep track of the comings and goings of Daughter.
*Delivering fruit and candy orders from fundraiser.
*Spending time putting Rite-Aid pillage items away.
*Going through things to donate to the Salvation Army and the Food Bank.
*Standing in the excruciatingly long lines at the PO because people show up CLUELESS about how to pack a box(or pack it right there at the counter!)and can't decide on WHICH RATE to ship it!argh!!! For gosh sakes, step out of line and figure out what the heck you are doing BEFORE you get to the counter!
*Digging through the storage unit to find things I sold and forgetting to bring my flashlight!
*Daughter wanting cookies for her French class party.
*#2 Son wanting brownies for his Band Xmas party.
*Band parents wanting baked goods to sell at the School play....that makes 3 different baking chores within a 3 day stretch!
*STILL trying to get the Xmas tree put up.....we are on Week #2 now.lol
*Trying to keep up with the eBay work.   I got hit with a massive amount of sales yesterday(ok, so this is a GOOD problem to have!)so I was up until 4:30 last night packing orders that had to go out today.
*If I am selling and shipping stuff, I also don't have time to list new stuff to replace what I sold....but trying to list stuff anyway.
*Driving relative around to do his errands because his car is totaled.
*Having to work in a Cookie Exchange and Giveaway during this insanely busy time.
*Trying to throw together & or order our Xmas gifts.
*Getting Hubs ready for a business trip this week.

And this is all on top the usual chores....like cooking, cleaning, laundry, pet care, grocery shopping, errands, and of course!....running to Rite-Aid!lolol

Just to tell you how improbable my life is sometimes, listen to what happened this weekend.....
I sold a Transformers toy to a guy in the Czech Republic.  Stood in line for a full 1/2 hr on Sat. morning to mail it off to him.
Saturday night I realize at 2am that I shipped him the WRONG TRANSFORMER!!!
(I had 2 different ones for sale on eBay.)
So even though I am going to loose money now because I have to send him the correct one on my own dime, I pack it up and get it ready to go Monday morning and I go to bed.
Sunday morning after I get up, I go online to end the listing for the toy I sent him by mistake(since I don't have it anymore to sell).
And guess what???
I find out that while I was sleeping SOMEBODY in SPAIN bought it!
Seriously.....I have had that toy for 8 years and NO ONE has even looked at the thing on eBay.....I send it to the Czech Republic and suddenly, someone in Spain buys it!LOLOLOLOL


Yes, this is my life......


Luckily(I think I mean luckily?!lol), I do have a 2nd of that toy I sold.  So Hubs and I go to the storage unit Sunday and after ONLY going through HALF of the boxes there, we find it.....well, "I" found it. ;-)
But the package is less than perfect.
So I have to email the guy in Spain and tell him the whole sordid tale, and that I have another one I can ship him but the package is not pristine, if he still wants this one....and I hope that he is fairly fluent in English and understands what exactly I am saying, because I KNOW that my writing is ESPECIALLY understandable after I haven't slept for 3 days!!lol
And I send him photos of the item's condition.
And now I sit and wait....and wait.....and wait some more until he decides if he still wants it or not.

Heck, I should have just canceled the transaction and let him leave me a negative.
But instead I invest even more precious time in this suck-hole situation in the name of  "doing the right thing".
Sometimes it pays to just be an unethical heathen instead.....lol

I've run the relative to do their errands, gone to the PO again to mail the international packages I can't pay for online, hit Rite-Aid, hit the grocery store, gotten Daughter's Birthday Ice Cream Cake, I've reconciled my bank statement and fed & put out the doggies.
I am now going to sit down and relaxing for the first time in 3 days.....well, I will after I finish writing this post.
I'm cooking an easy dinner(leftover shrimp I had boiled and I'll add them to a side dish package of Noodles and Alfredo Sauce and heat up a box of frozen veggies)and then I may go take a hot bath and go to bed before 7pm.

And I will come up for air and breathe.

Sluggy

The Year in Review 2010--Part 1.....Thanks for the Memories!

No, I am not celebrating the New Year yet!
Mimi over at LIVING IN FRANCE is doing a Linky Thingy...don't ya like my use of technical terms?

Anyway, you are suppose to post your life's highlights from the 1st three months of 2010.
Shall we start?....

JANUARY

January is a very special month as Chez Sluggy, due to the fact that the world celebrates my birth that month....er, at least I feel that they should celebrate it!
Who would all those disgruntled readers dump on or make fun of if I wasn't around, huh?

#1 son celebrated my Birthday by leaving home and going back to college in January.
I don't know who was happier to see him depart.....after having him laying around the house for most of the month, sleeping until 3pm, eating every scrap of food in the house and staying up, with the volume turned WAY up, watching movies that appeal to 19 yr. old boys/men(and thus do NOT appeal to 50 yr. old mothers of said boys/men).

January also saw a continuation of Dental Surgery here, as Daughter had Wisdom teeth yanked at the beginning of the month and #2 son had more teeth pulled at the end of the month.  I was running a regular surgical recovery hotel for half the month.  If I never  have to make another packet of Jello it will be too soon.

Add in to #1 son's throwing a monkey wrench into the well-oiled machine that my household is(ha!), various dental surgeries and the usual mayhem that permeates life here, that my SIL decided to come stay at our place for a week during January.  Now do you understand why every photo of me taken during this month can be mistaken for a photo of a lemur?

In blogland and in the couponing realm, I hit the ground running with completing tons of Mail-In Rebates.   And then I sat on my hands in Feb. and most of March waiting for the checks to fly, er....I mean crawl in.
   I also  sketched out my Financial Goals for 2010 and set up my Savings Challenge target for the year of $30,000.  A big hairy goal if you ask me!lol
January also saw the start of the BORING BOX GIVEAWAY idea.  That seemed to be well received....especially by Marilyn and Frances. 8-)

FEBRUARY

February brought about the beginning of Cabin Fever, though we didn't actually get much snow last winter.  It was cold as heck though and I seemed to feel it alot more than in years past.
I spent a good deal of February working on Decluttering projects....both in the house and in the garage.

#2 son celebrated his birthday and moved further into that no man's land of life called the Teen Years.
We crossed our fingers that he would emerge some day, a few years from now, on the other side....

In blogland and the couponing realm, I 'hearted' Rite-Aid even more when they began their GAME OF LIFE Promotion and a local business group sent me an awesome newsletter with a pdf coupon good at Rite-Aid for the entirety of 2010. ;-)
I did a fair amount of Catalina Coupon rolling at a couple of local grocery stores in February that stocked me up on pantry basics for months to come.

MARCH

March I had pretty much had it with those alien lifeforms that live here called teenagers.  Lots of teen drama and sibling rivalry.  Between that and not having had a vacation of any kind in over a year and I was ready for the funny farm bus to come cart me off.

Then horror of horrors, my magical printer died and I saw the end of extended prints of coupons in my life.
*sniff, sniff*....please bow your heads in silence.....
I did receive my very 1st Blog Award.  But as the old saying goes, "That and 4 bits will get you a cup of coffee." lol

March went out like a lion and NOT a lamb here, as I developed a raging case of Bursitis in my shoulder.  Pain, drs. and the ER, led to heavy drugs and sedation.
At least I didn't feel the pain any longer, nor the pain in the rear end that the teens were providing me that month.

So that's my 1st Quarter of 2010 in a nutshell.

What were your most memorable tales of  Jan.-Mar.?  I hope that most of it was good memories.
And go check out everyone else's post.



Sluggy

Stalking the Wild Pistachio......

Off Christmas shopping yesterday down by the downtown Rite-Aid so I stopped in to see if the elusive Pistachios had found their way to that store.
Success!

I found 2 forlorn bags shoved on a bottom shelf over by the nuts and jerky.
No signage at all....that's probably why they still had them because nobody could find them in the store.
Even the employees I asked who were stocking shelves had no clue if they had them or what they looked like.lol

Transaction #1....

1 x big honking bag of Pistachios on sale=$4.88
2 x Bic Pens w/wellness disc.=$3.82*these white bodied pens are MORE expensive than the clear body pens, I
wonder why?
2 x Mini Wheats Cereal on sale=$5.00
1 x Chloraseptic on sale=$3.59*my 20% discount was lower than the sale price.
2 x Revlon Nail Polish BOGO50%=$7.18
1 x Ajax Dish Soap on sale=$.77
SubTotal....$25.24

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Pistachios IPQ=$1.00
2 x $1.50/1 Mini Wheats Cereal IPQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Chloraseptic product ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $3/1 Revlon Nail product WellnessQ=$6.00
Coupon Total....$16.00


$25.24-$16.00=$9.24
I used $9 +Up Rewards and put the $.24+$.16 tax=$.40 on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $12 +Up Rewards back($4 Revlon,$2 Pistachios, $3 wyb2 Bic, $2 Mini Wheats, $1 Chloraspetic) & qualified for SCR #81(Chloraseptic drops)$2, so this transaction was a $5 moneymaker.


Transaction #2.....

1 x big honking bag of Pistachios on sale=$4.88
2 x Bic Pens w/wellness disc.=$3.82
1 x Bic Mechanical Pencils w/wellness disc.=$1.99
1 x Bic clear pens w/wellness disc.=$1.59
1 x Chloraseptic on sale=$3.59*20% discount was lower than sale price
2 x Revlon Nail Polish BOGO50%=$7.18
SubTotal....$23.05

Coupons Used

1 x $ off $20=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Pistachios IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Chloraseptic product ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $3/1 Revlon Nail product WellnessQ=$6.00
Coupon Total....$11.00

$23.05-$11.00=$12.05
I used $12+Up Rewards and put the $.05+$.31tax=$.36 OOP on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $13 in +Up Rewards back($2 Pistachios, 2x$3 Bic, $1 Chloraseptic, $4 Revlon) and qualified BIL for SCR#81(Chloraseptic)$2 making this transaction a $3 moneymaker.

So I am "up" $8 for Friday's transactions.

THESE TRIPS
Total Spent....$.76 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$70.67
SCR qualified for...$4.00(2xChloraseptic Drops)
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$25.00
+Up Rewards spent...$21.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$54.00

GRAND TOTALS--December Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......13
Total Spent....$4.92  put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$530.47
SCR qualified for....$14.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Gift of Savings Reward...$30.00*both me and BIL account*
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Dec. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 12/9.....$48.00
+Up Rewards spent....$87.00
+Up Rewards earned....$124.00
+Up Rewards left....$54.00

Sluggy

Official Word from Rite-Aid on Changes to The Gift of Savings Program

Here's the word directly from my Rite-Aid Corporate Mole's fingers.....

"We heard your feedback and we've changed our Gift of Savings coupon policy. To best reward you for shopping at Rite Aid, manufacturer coupons will not be subtracted from your total spend amount. Check your accounts within the next 48 hours to see your recalculated balance. We understand you have a choice of pharmacies and thank you for your continued support of Rite Aid."

That is all.....carry on......

Sluggy

The Pistaschio Nazi & Rite-Aid "Scrooge"is No More!

Ok, so she wasn't exactly the Pistaschio Nazi but I so like that episode of Seinfeld about the Soup Nazi and I just wanted to call her that.
Yes, I need a life.....

So I went to Rite-Aid last night to see if they put out the 1lb. bags of Pistaschios yet.
I heart pistachios.....

So the Asst. Manager was there and stocking the seasonal shelves.
Ugh.
Now, I KNOW she doesn't like me.......can you believe it?  Who could NOT like me?  Come on!...I am just so, so....likable! ;-)
But I like to think that it's not just me that she doesn't like...that she hates people in general!

Anyway, so I smiled real big and asked her ever so nicely if they put the "Extravaganza" bags of Pistaschios out yet.
She twisted up her face, glared at me and and snipped, "They're gone!"
And went right back to ripping a box open.....I bet she was imagining that box was my head all the while.

So because I didn't go in early on Thursday, I missed out on the Pistaschios.....*whimper, whimper*.
The Pistaschio Nazi, striking fear in my heart.
Heck, maybe I'll just refer to her as the Rite-Aid Nazi from now on. ;-)

I'll check out another R-A later today for them nuts, after I finish this post, get dressed, finish baking cookies for the band to sell at the high school play tonight and do about 15 other things first.

Here's what I bought instead at R-A last night....

3 x Dove Holiday Chocolates on sale=$8.97
2 x Hershey's Bliss Chocolates on sale=$5.98
2 x Bic Pens w/wellness disc.=$3.18
1 x Bob's Sweet Stripes  on sale=$2.88  *shhh, don't tell #2 son!*
2 x Tugaboo Diapers w/wellness disc.=$1.58
3 x John Frieda travel size w/wellness disc.=$3.57
SubTotal...$26.16

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
1 x $1/2 Dove Choc. AdPerks/VV Q=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Dove Choc. Flu Booklet Q=$1.00
1 x $2/3 Mars Choc. ManQ(12/6 inserts)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Bliss Choc. ManQ(12/6 inserts?)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Tugaboo diapers Q inside package=$2.00
Coupon Total...$13.00

$26.16-$13.00=$13.16
I used $13 in +Up Rewards and put the $.16 OOP on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $9 in +Up Rewards back(5 x $1 for each bag of chocolate, $1 for Bob's Sweet Stripes, $3 for buying 2 Bic products)
I also qualified for SCR #58($5 wyb 3 JFrieda items).
I spent $13 +Ups, got $9 +Ups back and a $5 SCR, so this transaction was a $1 moneymaker.

And in other developments....it seems Rite-Aid heard all of us customers grumbling about the way they were running the Gift Of Savings Promotion this year.
In years past, they counted any Manu Qs used as a form of payment, and thus all Qs counted toward your spending total to reach a Certificate Award of $5, $10, or $20.
This year, they were deducting all Qs you used to pay, so if you got your Out of Pocket down to pocket change after Qs, that pocket change was all that they were counting toward your Certificate Reward.
Big bummer!

I wake up this morning to find a bloggy friend & reader asking me if she should quick request her Certificate(since suddenly all her Qs in her transactions were showing in her GOS account now)before this apparition disappeared!lol

Then I checked my emails and saw that Rite-Aid had sent me an email that they went ahead and requested my GOS Certificate for me as a courtesy.
Well, thanks alot!, I thought, since the last time I looked I was barely to the $10 Certificate level.
I was hoping to try to get to $20 but heck, but not now if you've cashed me out already!!!

So I went to my account and saw my qualifying purchases had jumped from $69+ to over $340!LOLOL
Which meant I had topped out at the $20 level, so yah baby, bring on the cash out! 8-))

So if you are doing the Gift of Savings Certificate Promo, go check your account.  You might be pleasantly surprised that your Qs are qualifying now from previously Scroogey Rite-Aid.
Bless us all, everyone....

THIS TRIP
Total Spent....$.16 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$40.37
SCR qualified for...$5.00(John Frieda)
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$9.00
+Up Rewards spent...$13.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$48.00

GRAND TOTALS--December Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$4.16  put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$459.84
SCR qualified for....$10.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Gift of Savings Reward...$30.00*both me and BIL account*
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Dec. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 12/8.....$52.00
+Up Rewards spent....$66.00
+Up Rewards earned....$99.00
+Up Rewards left....$48.00

Sluggy