Appliances, Couponing and YAY For Monday!

Finally Monday... I had one of those weekends that DRAGGED. DH was bored, Bored, BORED -- not enough snow except WAY north (like a four hour drive) to go snowmobiling, and nothing to do here. It's like having a bored toddler, but with driving privileges and the right to actually make household decisions.

DD drifted a bit aimlessly, too, though we did spend the greater part of Saturday looking at appliances. DH wants to have an idea of what we want BEFORE things die, so we don't go rushing around stupidly in a hurry if we need something.

DH is very methodical, very specific and doesn't mind taking hours and hours to do this kind of thing. I think we spent three hours at Sears, and that wasn't our only stop. First, we decided what features we absolutely wanted, and which didn't matter (for instance, I'm not big on all the "bells and whistles" -- I'm more interested in the practical things like space and utility... I don't care that the ice maker in the door will give you ice four different ways).

Our current dishwasher is already pretty much history (I wash dishes by hand), the fridge, as you know, appears to be on its last leg. The only appliance we have in decent shape is the stove.

Anyway, after much looking (and shaking, and wiggling and poking) we narrowed down our choices. DH is now looking them up online to check for reviews and potential problems.

On Sunday I went couponing at Walgreens. Yes, I'm still doing this, I just don't talk about it as much.

I wanted to hit Walgreens immediately, because they had two items that were Complete free after register return: St. John's baby aspirin (I get this for a friend whose DH had a heart attack and has to take one a day) and "Blink" eye drop (I use eye drops a LOT). The free stuff tends to sell out, and I wanted to make sure I got it. They had some other great stuff too, and I had one of my best trips ever. Check it out.... I got:

1 Blink eye drops
1 St. John's Baby Aspirin
12 bars of Irish Spring Soap
2 large bottles of Soft Soap body wash (in Mango and Berry ... mmmm)
2 Soft 'n' Dri deodorants
6 cans of mandarin oranges
4 containers of Pringles
2 bottles of Head and Shoulders shampoo
1 Proglide razor

After my coupons and the register returns I got back ($22 in RRs!) I only spent $12 -- the original cost of the order was $66.

Yes, I do feel smug.

Today, I'm going through the CVS and Rite Aid flyers -- but I don't think they have as good of deals. Honestly, I tend to find the best deals at Walgreens.

And so are the days of my life.

How was your weekend?

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You Are Driven

Your friends would all agree that you are very accomplished and successful. You get whatever you go after. You have a lot of energy and a lot of discipline too. You always know where to direct your focus. You can adjust easily to different situations. You are good at wearing different hats. You are always charging straight ahead. You have no time to listen to your own self doubt.

The Pasta Test

Hmmm.... mostly right.

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The S Word

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,
The gladness of Christmas give you hope,
The warmth of Christmas grant you love.
~Author Unknown

The weatherman uttered the "S" word last night. Yes... it's going to SNOW today. Blech. Worse news, though, is that they're predicting ICE on Wednesday night. I'll take snow over ice every day of the week, and worse, Weds is agility night, so I'll be possibly driving in it (okay, to be honest, I won't drive in ice but it will make me VERY sad to miss agility if they don't cancel).

DD worked on more jewelry last night. I'll be taking pictures today of about 20 pairs of earrings (she made the CUTEST snowman ones that I'm going to nab if no one buys them in the next week or so) and then putting them up on DistinctivelyDD. We had some friends drop by last night while DD had everything out, and the wife ended up doing some Christmas shopping, lol. She bought several book thongs and a couple pairs of earrings. She asked for a couple things custom made, as well, so DD made a repeat customer.

We started burning for earnest in our stove last night (in the winter, we burn 24/7 -- the fire never goes out). It honestly hasn't been THAT cold (considering it's December in the Northeast), but the idea of snow made me really crave a fire. Still, I'm very, very nervous about burning, even though I know that, at this point, we're probably far safer than we were the past nine years. I had a terrible time sleeping last night and finally ended up coming downstairs and sleeping on the couch where I could keep an eye on the stove.

Maria Zannini emailed me a few days ago with this awesome bargain on the Food Saver vacuum sealer since she'd read that mine was giving up the ghost. It really WAS A great deal and the new sealer arrived yesterday. It does everything but go grocery shopping for you. I'm SO EXCITED. Now I just need something to seal!! LOL...

This is the sealer I got for $65 and free shipping:



It even has a "marinate" mode where you put the marinade in a dish with a hose thingie and it marinates your meat before sealing! :::happy dancing::::

It was my Christmas present. For my birthday, I'm buying myself the Shark steam mop.

Yes, I really do like to get practical gifts (well.. not always -- for our first Christmas together after only three months of dating, DH bought me seat covers for my new truck ... yes, he's a crazy romantic).

What about you? Do you like practical gifts? My wish list right now includes the Shark steam mop, a sewing machine and a treadmill. I have a friend who only wants jewelry (and only the real stuff), which mystifies me. I'm just not a bauble fiend (which is probably why "Sex and the City" did nothing for me).

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You Are Emotional

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

Waving the freak flag? LOL... *snort*...

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My New Love

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. ~Nancie J. Carmody

Last week, my old washer/dryer finally gave up the ghost. I've had that set (an apartment sized stackable) for nearly 15 years, and I loved it. It served me well. But in the last year, it began showing its age: the dryer didn't dry as efficiently, the washer sprung a leak. When the dryer began smoking ("be smart, don't start" - ha) we knew it was time.

We spent hours looking at appliances (and dragging DH away from the new flat screen TVs -- yes, our TV is ancient, too, but it works so we don't need a new one) and finally chose a set. Neither, DH nor I really like things with too many bells and whistles -- more things to malfunction. But we discovered there really aren't any simple washer/dryers out there any more. I wanted a front loader (less wear and tear on the clothes, more energy efficient) and that was really my only non-negotiable requirement.

As an aside, when we were reading reviews on various front loaders the two biggest complaints were: they didn't come in the right color (am I the only person who doesn't care what color my W/D are? ::rolls eyes::) and they got mildewy. The first didn't matter to me, and the second is easily resolved -- the salesguy told us, very clearly, you have to wipe down the rubber at the front of the machine and let it dry. So, I wipe down the rubber and leave the door cracked after washing.

Anyway, I just want to tell you... I love my new appliances. I can wash and dry a load of laundry in just over an hour. AN HOUR. Okay, for those of you who already have newer appliances, this may not seem earth shattering, but my other washer took 45 mins to wash, and when I bothered to use the dryer? 2 hours, minimum.

Maybe I shouldn't be so excited about appliances, but I just can't help it. It's how I'm made.

I watched an ad from J.C. Penney over the holidays about husbands who got sent to the "doghouse" for buying their wives sensible gifts (like vacuum cleaners). I got a new slow cooker from my DH for Christmas. The year before? Pampered Chef spatulas (and a frog for my collection). Before that? A carpet shampooer.

Why do I need diamond earrings? Give me sensible every day of the week.

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I have an interview up at Liana Laverentz's blog today. and I'm still writing and sharing my (rather slow) progress at the JaNoWriMo blog, if you're interested.

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