This past week was pretty stressful. On Joe’s first day of work he had to fly to Denver for training so I was on my own with Wookie until Thursday evening. Running home during my lunch break sucks! Even though only 20 minutes of the hour are used for driving, the remaining 40 minutes flies by taking care of Wookie and I barely get time to scarf down my own food. Ugh! I guess it could be worse – at least it’s only three days a week.
Thursday when I got home from work I was super pissed off to find our garbage can lying on the ground AGAIN. I swear the garbage men hate us because ours is the only one on the block on it’s side half the time. It was already cracked and duct taped and now there’s a huge hole in it. I had to call to request a new can.
Friday morning after baking a batch of sugar cookies (I love those Betty Crocker pouches) and starting some chili in the crockpot, I headed to Target to look for some stocking stuffers for Joe. I couldn’t believe how busy it was at 10 am; people were pissing me off leaving their carts in the middle of the aisles so I got what I needed and got the heck out of there.
I had lunch plans with a friend at the mall food court. Last time we met up I had a Great Steak because they are so good but this time I decided to try teriyaki chicken from the Japanese stand in the food court. Other than the long wait for the food, it was ok even though the fried rice was rather oily. The mall was pretty busy – there were a bunch of kids singing Christmas songs for guests and once they were done they descended upon the food court so we left since we couldn’t hold a conversation over the noise anyway. We decided to stop by Bath & Body Works; their $12.50 lotions happened to be on sale for $3.50 so I got Vanilla Bean Noel since I love that scent in the soap and body wash versions. I thought it would be perfect to apply after using the body wash.
We headed back to my place so my friend could meet Wookie. She’s funny – whenever she meets someone new she is very timid until she determines the person isn’t a threat. So in other words she was very sweet until my friend had been there for an hour and then she started getting rambunctious. She hung out with us in the living room while we chatted and eventually ended up falling asleep on the floor. It was so cute, and unexpected, since she never falls asleep when Joe and I let her run around.
After my friend left I made corn bread to go along with the chili. Joe was working from home in the rat room so once he wrapped up we had a very nice dinner together. I also applied the new lotion and promptly realized I hated it. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t smell quite right.
Saturday morning we stopped at Walmart to return some fleece lined leggings I had purchased a few weeks ago. I was really excited when I got them because they were only $9 for two holiday-themed pair but they didn’t fit. We also brought all our change along to cash in for a gift card but it turns out the Coinstar in Walmart doesn’t give out Amazon gift card codes and we don’t like getting cash because Coinstar takes a 5% cut.
There’s a Bath & Body Works a few stores down from the Walmart so I ran in there quickly and swapped the yucky Vanilla Bean Noel lotion for a different scent. I was going to get Twisted Peppermint since I like the soap but that lotion smelled weird too. I think for the most part their lotions suck. Luckily I was able to find one I like that I’ve actually used before – Sea Island Cotton.
Then we headed to Jewel to use their Coinstar and ended up with $196.76 in Amazon credit. We’ll see how long that lasts. We’ve been ordering off Amazon like crazy lately!
From there we headed to the library where Joe donated blood, then to Culvers to get gift cards for the kids, Aldis to grab groceries, and Lou Malnati’s for a gift card for the year. I love that for $100 they give you a free $25 gift certificate since that pays for an entire large deep dish pizza. We stopped at home for lunch (I made chicken salad) and to feed Wookie before heading back out to get gas for my car and to buy gift cards for the kids at Half Price Books.
Saturday evening we had planned to go out looking at Christmas lights but neither of us felt like it so we watched Sausage Party instead. The movie was ok, but like everyone else who had already seen it told me, the ending was just weird.
Sunday we were up fairly early so we could see the 9:10 am showing of Rouge One. It was a good movie overall, although I enjoyed The Force Awakens more. The thing I didn’t like the most will be below at the end so I don’t spoil the film for anyone who hasn’t see it yet.
After the movie we browsed Payless Shoes but didn’t see anything we liked. Then we had lunch at Red Robin. They currently have a buy one get one 50% off deal and I had a gift card. Their burgers never disappoint and they seem even tastier when they’re free! Our waitress was wearing a Darth Vader Christmas sweater and I mentioned to her I saw the same ones at Target the other day. She wanted to know if we had seen the latest movie and whether it was any good since she hasn’t had a chance yet and was looking forward to it.
On the way out we stopped in Kohl’s so I could look for a sweater but I didn’t end up liking any. I did spot my favorite bras on sale (buy one get one 50% off), so I got two. I wasn’t entirely thrilled that even with the 15% off coupon I found on the Retail Me Not app my total was $53, and the cashier must have felt the same because she gave me some scratch off promotion that reveals an additional percentage discount. I scratched off 15% and she had me try again because she wanted me to get a bigger discount, but that too was 15% off, but hey, that brought the total down to $44. $22 per bra isn’t bad when they are the comfiest bras I’ve ever worn (Warner’s Women’s Cloud 9 Wire-Free Contour Bra)!
