Odds & ends

The week sure flies by when you're busy. I've had a rather productive week so far, so I'm happy. What's new at Casa Goose?

• I finally found some guavas at the produce market (they only have it during summer - not every year though). Need some vitamin C? Eat a guava. Guava is one of the richest Vitamin C fruits. This is one of my favorite (if not favorite) fruits. That explains why I rarely got sick in SA. I was eating healthy without even realising it 😊 Our guavas don't normally have blemishes/bruises like these (so we eat the skin too) and are pink on the inside. These are white on the inside, but the flavor is still the same. Can't find guavas - try guava juice (I normally get some at Costco). I used to drink guava juice every day in SA. We had a guava tree in our backyard that never bore fruit, but my dad refused to get rid of it. I should research growing one indoors here (MI climate is too cold for outdoor guava trees). If I can find litchis again (they haven't sold it in years), I'll be a happy girl. 
  
  
• I've discovered that Sams' kiwi price is similar to the produce market, so I've been buying kiwis at Sams instead of making a trip to the market every 2 weeks just for kiwis & peppers. The Sams ones also stay fresh for longer. When I was at Sams earlier this week, I saw that the kiwi packages had $1 off, so I bought 3 packs (around 14 per pack). We eat kiwi daily (another vitamin C rich food which is again a normal thing for me), so these will only last 2-3 weeks. I've peeled, washed & diced one package to freeze for smoothies.
  
  
• Received my final bill from my attorney last week & I'm not a happy camper. I'm so mad at the ex for making me spend this much unnecessary money (he could've avoided it by just doing what he was supposed to). This case cost me almost as much as the divorce did (maybe someday I'll share how I did a frugal divorce. Ms Goose got skills 😂). 
  
  
• Received my new lamps and one arrived damaged. So I tried to get hold of CS, but you need to text them. WTH? Well, they ask you a truckload of questions (all automated), before asking if you need assistance. Ugh! Then I received a message that they have a huge backlog and someone would contact me within 12 minutes. Cool, cause I don't have to wait around for a text message (unlike Live Chat where you can't exit until you're done). That was last Thursday. By Tuesday I have still not heard anything. So I went through the whole text song & dance again and finally got a live person. He was extremely helpful and set up my return and said he'll just reorder a new one. He offered me 10% off the new lamp, but I'd have to contact them again to have the discount applied. I thanked him & told him to just ship the new lamp without discount. A $5 discount isn't worth the time I'd have to waste going through that whole song & dance again. I'm now awaiting notification of the shipped item (which he said would happen as soon as UPS scans the returned item). Well, UPS collected yesterday. Sigh! Does anyone provide good service anymore?
  
  
• I redeemed another $5 P&G gc. I just keep checking their site, cause gcs are hit & miss. 
  
  
• Should get a big fat Rakuten check this week (it was mailed last week). Whoo-hoo!
  
  
• I only need to earn another $35 for my Ipad to be completely paid, by selling my old stuff. Well, my Rakuten check will more than cover this portion, but I've got a few more things to list.
  
  
• DS's collectibles have been selling well. I'm not sure if I should list more or just save the rest. BF has a family member that can benefit from these items. Even if I sell half the collection, there will still be plenty left to enjoy. I figure he might enjoy some of the older items, because our collection is almost 20 years in the making. It's HUGE! I'm still adding clearance pieces, because I know they'll be valuable when they're NLA. I'm just uncertain about selling some and investing the money or saving it and let the collection increase in value. The truth is that the value will increase by much more, compared to the compound interest if I sell and invest. This should be a no brainer, right? 😂
  
  
• Stopped at RA & Wags while out running errands yesterday and spent a whopping $2.13 OOP. That was fun! I'll try to post this week's shopping deals tomorrow.
  
  
• I really wanted some National Coney food when DS & I got home from being out & about this afternoon. So I went online to check the menu & prices and after adding what we wanted, I saw that the total was $28!! (excl tip).  I really wanted fries and some kind of junk food. I was hungry. Then I thought we could get Red Robin instead, cause I have lots of discounted gcs. I then remembered that we have fresh taco meat (I always set a portion aside before freezing the rest, for immediate consumption). So I made taco meat quesadillas and we had fresh pico & sour cream with that. My body & wallet were both happy.
  
  
• I had a similar experience at the mall a few weeks ago. I passed Cinnabon (we all know how good those suckers smell). I haven't had any of their items in years and thought I'd treat myself. That was until I checked the menu. Almost $6 for one cinnamon roll?! No friggin way!! I decided to just get a Sams chocolate muffin when I got home, because I paid less than $5 for half dozen jumbo muffins at Sams the day before. I wasn't being cheap. I'm just more mindful about impulse purchases, because I still have to pay for a house. Does anyone else do this?

That's all I can think of for now. 

Have a wonderful evening peeps!