Photos – Page 25 – Not Content to Crawl

Shop Til You Drop

Posted onMarch 14, 2015

Today was a busy errand-filled day.

Aldi – Bought oats for the rats.

Savers – Donated the jeans I no longer wear.

Kohl’s – Went to look for a new bra, but couldn’t find any I liked. I did buy three new long-sleeved shirts which were on sale for only $4.80 each. I made sure to get some colors I don’t otherwise own too.

Payless – Went looking for white sandals and actually found some I like. They were on sale for $25 (normally $30) and I had a 20% off coupon so they were only $20. I checked their return policy which is 90 days. That gives me time to wear them around the house and determine if they really are comfortable. I have this problem where most sandals tend to cause irritation on the back of my foot and rub the skin raw, but I am not giving up finding a good pair since I have a bunch of cute summer outfits that only look nice with white shoes.

Lenscrafters – I wanted to look at frames but their selection was kinda crappy so we walked through the mall to Visionworks. They have a huge selection, but I still didn’t see anything I was truly interested in. My head/face is so small that the kids frames fit best, but the downside to that is the actual glass is smaller which tends to drive me nuts. Is it any wonder why I still wear my super old ugly big round glasses around the house? I think not. I hate shopping for glasses, so I’m procrastinating on it even though I want new ones.

Bank – Had to cash the $5 rebate check that the bank app refused to scan.

Meijer – Picked up some corned beef and cabbage so I can make it in the crockpot on Monday (which we will actually be eating on Tuesday). They also had a nice deal on the Reese’s peanut butter eggs – buy five get five free. They came out to $0.39 each which is cheaper than buying them in a six pack for $3 at Target.

Vitamin Shoppe – I bought a huge bottle of magnesium even though I still have some since they sent me a 20% off coupon. I won’t need to buy anymore of that for like a year now!

Michael’s – I wanted to get some St. Patrick’s Day decorations but they didn’t have any. They barely even had Easter decor which was surprising. Interestingly enough, they had a whole display of jewelry organizers and I’ve been wanting to buy a jewelry tree for awhile. The problem was I couldn’t find any I liked. I was contemplating ordering a $20 one from Amazon but wasn’t entirely sold on it so I was so happy to find one at Michael’s. It was $10 and with my 40% off coupon it was $6 total. It’s nothing fancy, but I like it. It’s on top of the dresser now, but the mirror behind it was making it hard to take a decent photo. I plan on rotating what I keep on there based on the season and what I want to remember to wear.

Dollar Tree – I figured maybe they’d have some St. Patrick’s Day decor, and they did, but it all sucked. I ended up getting a fleece blanket for the rats and some household items.

Target – I wanted to get this cute fabric cube and some face soap that was on sale, plus we got some groceries.

We were so pooped after all that running around that we treated ourselves to lunch at Noodles & Company since we had a BOGO coupon.

New iPhone Accessories

Posted onFebruary 27, 2015May 18, 2020

I recently did a month-long survey that paid $200. Much to my annoyance, however, was that when I went to pickup my payment from the survey company in early February I was given a $200 VISA prepaid card with an expiration date of March 2015. WTF? But I decided that instead of trying to find something to quickly blow $200 on, I’d be smart, so I went to Amazon.com and used the card to buy a $200 gift card that I sent to myself. We buy stuff from Amazon here and there (and more often now that we have a Prime membership) so it made sense since it never expires.

Tuesday I finally got around to researching some iPhone accessories on Amazon so I could use my credit. I hadn’t been in a hurry to pick anything out since battery life hasn’t been an issue with the phone but it’s nice to have some backup power and an extra cable just in case.

RND Lightning Cable & Anker Portable Battery

The battery came with a mini usb cord and a carrying pouch.

The lightning cable is even thicker & sturdier than the one that came with my phone.

Each cost me $15 (I got the blue battery since all the other colors were $20) which was cheaper than other options I’ve seen.

Chocolate Expo & Snowpocalypse 2015

Posted onFebruary 2, 2015

After checking the weekend forecast, and seeing a blizzard was heading our way, we crammed all our errands into Saturday. We started the morning with a stop at McDonald’s for breakfast and then went to the Chocolate Expo at the Morton Arboretum. I only found out about it a week prior when one of the vendors who I happen to follow on Facebook mentioned they would be there. We got there at 9 am when it started so it wasn’t too crowded. I did kick myself, however, for getting McDonald’s when I saw that their restaurant was serving breakfast and had my favorite, eggs benedict. Oh well.

The place quickly got crowded and by the time we left an hour and a half later you could barely get close enough to a booth to garner a free sample. Interestingly enough, the only thing I ended up buying was toffee. I don’t even like toffee, but this stuff was really good (we tried a sample when we first arrived).

Next we headed to Petco so I could get a new hammock for Milo and Gizmo since they weren’t using their new one (and of course before I could switch them, they suddenly decided to start using it, grrr) and then Costco for a few things. After that we stopped at the library to pick up a couple of holds that were waiting for me. I got this book which was super cute and made me laugh. I also got a few back issues of my favorite magazine, ShopSmart. I just learned this week that you can put magazines on hold so I plan to catch up on all the issues I missed during the holidays since they are never available. You can only read the most current issue since that one isn’t allowed to be checked out.

After the library we also stopped at Walmart and nixed Target. I was just done with running around at that point.

That evening we ended up watching Gone Girl and I was reminded again how much I hated the ending; it was the same as the book since the author wrote the screenplay. I loved the book so much when I read it years ago but felt the ending was a big cop-out. That’s all I will say lest I spoil it for someone.

Sunday we slept in and just hung out watching tv and reading while it snowed. When all was said and done there was 19″ of snow on the ground although it doesn’t look like that much from this photo I took.

I read that this weekend’s storm was the 5th worst in Chicago history. I guess it’s hard to feel affected when you’re holed up inside the entire time, though.

Due to the weather Joe worked from home today and I just went about my normal Monday cleaning routine. I’m so glad I didn’t have to worry about trying to get to work. I’ve been lucky this winter that all the bad weather seems to be falling on my days off.

Round1

Posted onJanuary 26, 2015

Saturday we decided to check out Round1, a new bowling and amusement center that was built in our local mall late last year. I invited Brother #2 and his girlfriend to tag along, so once they arrived at 3 pm we all squeezed in Joe’s SUV and headed out.

When we arrived, all the lanes were occupied but the guy put us on the waiting list and said he’d call us when a lane opened. We decided to purchase member cards since they cost $5 but also included 20 game credits and give you $1 per hour discounts on bowling and other activities. We hit the skee-ball machines (or ice ball, as they called them) first because I love me some skee-ball! We also played air hockey, shot some hoops, and my brother and his girlfriend played driving games while Joe and E shot up some aliens.

After awhile I was getting concerned because the 20-25 minute estimated wait window had definitely passed. Finally I went up to ask what was going on and they claimed they had called us a long time ago. The guy who had taken our name was no longer there and the girl helping us explained you have to stick around that area in order to hear them over the loudspeaker which we were never told. Not only that, but they really can’t just install speakers in the arcade section? I call shenanigans, but whatever.

Luckily there were lanes available at that point anyway, so we got set up. Joe opted out due to his back and after the first round E decided to bow out because it was aggravating a shoulder injury he had sustained in the car accident last March. So my brother, who amusingly enough, brought his own bowling ball and shoes, played E’s round as well as his own. He won, of course. I scored just an 86, which I can only remember because that’s the year my brother was born. His girlfriend came in last. But we all enjoyed ourselves!

The prices are reasonable before 5 pm on the weekends, so I’d be up for going again. I definitely want to take E back there so we can play pool and ping pong since we didn’t get a chance.

We mulled over whether to go out for dinner but opted instead to head back home where I made my delicious spaghetti and meatballs. Then we played Jenga & Aggravation. I may have played Jenga once or twice in the past but I can’t remember because it’s not my favorite game. We did, however, get up to 31 levels before Joe made the tower come crashing down!

In all, it was a fun night, even if Brother #2 aggravated me a bit with his pissy-ness when I first extended the invite because it was so last minute. Admittedly, it was – I texted him 10:30 am that day asking if they wanted to meet up between 1-2 pm. But in my defense, I brought up going to this place weekend and my brother said he’d check to see what he was doing this weekend and get back to me, and per his usual fashion, he did not. So there’s that.

Weekend Recap

Posted onJanuary 19, 2015January 21, 2015

Another weekend has flown by! We actually had three days together since Joe took Friday off from work. Originally we were supposed to be in Phoenix since his dad was having open heart surgery on Friday but he asked we hold off on visiting until he was more up to company. Turns out they couldn’t do the surgery after all and it was rescheduled for next week.

Friday morning we spent far too much time in Costco. It was much less crowded than weekends which was nice. I always want to walk out of that place with a new TV and digital camera; luckily I come to my senses eventually. Although I do think we will have to replace our TV sometime soon. The bedroom TV has been acting weird (refusing to turn on and it’s only about three years old) so we swapped it with the one in our loft last week. Unfortunately they are both Polaroids so I wouldn’t be surprised if that one goes bad too. At that point I’d rather replace our main TV and move it upstairs than just buy a new TV for the bedroom. I’m crossing my fingers that by the time that happens the 4K HDTVs will be even better or the 8K HDTV Samsung is currently working on will be available (and affordable).

We used the last of our coupons for a free apple pie (not impressive) and toilet paper (haven’t used yet so the jury is still out) that we had gotten when we got our membership. I added it up and between the free items and the $20 Costco card, the regular $55 membership was actually free. I love a good deal!

Friday night we went to BINGO with a friend who won $40. She won in November when we went too. Damn! All I got was a $5 coupon good towards the next time which I got from playing their version of PLINKO since it was my birthday month.

The rest of the weekend included running errands, cleaning the house, and just hanging out relaxing. I also discovered how delicious pistachios are; I’ve had pistachio flavored cake and ice cream but never the actual nut.

We stopped at Savers on Sunday because clothing was 50% off for members. Joe got 6 shirts and I got a sweater (looked brand new), a sweatshirt, and a cute tank top for summer and our total out the door was $22. My stuff was only $5. He’s the “big spender” there.

Oh, and Target was having a sale on Essie nail polish (buy two get one free) so I got some nice new colors. It’s the little things that make my day.