Odds & Ends

What a day it's been. I've been wide awake since 2 AM!!! I was so tired by the time I had to get up. I decided to pour a 2nd cup of coffee after DS left for school (I only drink one cup a day, but brew enough for 2 cups), only to remember that I drink Decaf (insert face palm emoji). I mix decaf with regular, but it's been far more decaf in the mix lately. So I ended up drinking a pop at lunch time. It was either that or fall asleep on my feet. That's not all. I made a burrito for DS's lunch and only realised afterwards that I forgot to add beans to the burrito. Never mind that the bowl of beans was sitting right next to the rest of the ingredients (another facepalm emoji). Who the heck makes burritos without beans? That's the main ingredient...lol. The problem is that I always toast our burritos and wraps (I use my old little George foreman grill. It works just like a panini press). That way nothing comes apart & no food falls out. Well, DS enjoyed that 'burrito' anyway. Phew! I'm more than ready for an early night. What's been happening around here lately? 

• I went to Kohls and shopped the clearance sale. I used my gcs that I purchased at RA. Spent a little over $100 and earned $20 KC. This was a great sale, because I first started out with the $77 Rakuten check (this is free money for just doing something we're already doing anyway - online shopping). Then I added $73 to purchase $150 gcs at RA. I earned $24 BC on that (I need to make a shopping list to spend that points before it expires). Then I used the gcs to buy items to resell and earned an extra $20 KC. That's an extra $44 in free money that I earned on my already free money (does that sound weird...lol).  See how I kept rolling my rewards and earning extra money/rewards on it? It's my favorite way to shop.
  
  This shirt caught my eye while I was shopping. Isn't it beautiful? I paid a whopping $3.60 for it ($7.20 less 50%). Oh wait, it was free because I used my $10 monthly KC to pay for it. See, I don't always buy name brands. This blouse is 100% cotton (my favorite). I'm not a fan of 3/4 sleeves, but it can be rolled down. I can wear it with blue or white jeans or capris. I can even throw in a white tank top and leave it half unbuttoned. This isn't my size, but the shirt looked big. It was the only one they had and I really wanted it. I figured that if it doesn't fit, then I will sell it. Well it fits perfectly! The tag says 'Pink', but this is definitely coral and to me, coral is orange-ish. You can see the color better on the 2nd pic. 

• I bought a set of 6 coffee mugs at Dollar Tree. They seriously have the best mugs. The quality's great. I found some navy blue ones before the pandemic and had planned to buy more, but then the pandemic hit and the mugs were no longer available. Well, I stopped at a different DT on my way home last week (I'm still looking for Palmolive spray bottles) and saw new navy blue mugs. It's not as pretty as the previous ones, but it still looks good. Well, guess who ended up breaking a mug the very next day. These DT mugs have lasted far longer than my Corelle mugs. Those Corelle ones kept getting chipped. I still don't know how it happened. Then I broke a Corelle one and I only have one left. I had a set of 12 before. 

• I'm trying hard to not shop, but things are rough these days. I've been looking for new athletic shoes for months now. I think my style (that I've been wearing for years), might have been discontinued). I love that style and only have 2 pairs left. Well, one pair that I started wearing a few months ago, is already showing damage at the top. How is that possible? I rotate my shoes and that pair doesn't even get worn as much as the older one (which is in better condition). So, I've decided to try a different brand. This is not easy, because I have high arches and not all shoes are comfortable. I need good arch support or I end up in pain. I found a different brand on sale and Rakuten had 12% cash back. That's double my sales tax back, so I'm happy. Let's hope the shoes work, otherwise I'll just sell it. I'm glad I bought DS 6 pairs when they had men's ones available. You can't find those shoes anymore. I'm so very thankful for stocking up on our winter systems jackets too, because it's now non-existent. 

• I stocked up on some non-perishables at Walmart last week. Holy sticker shock!! The prices are just shocking! Canned mushrooms have doubled in just one year. Canned mixed veggies increased by 38c in just a few weeks - this is for store brand. It's bloody crazy!! We prefer fresh or frozen, but I keep canned goods for those times when we can't get fresh or certain items are in short supply. I need to make a list and stock up on more items. The budget be damned right now, because prices will continue to skyrocket. 

• I've learned that Kroger has clearance bread on a regular basis. How did I miss this before? I'll keep checking for reduced Dave's bread
  
  
• I've started using all the leftover holiday paper napkins, instead of donating it. I should use the plates too. I'm totally loving Jackie's 'use it up' system and am applying it to several different things. 

• I stocked up on deodorant for myself at Wags. Used some rewards and paid $2.xx OOP for 4 deodorants. I need to get 4 more. 

• DS loves Red Robin and I'm on the last of those gcs I bought at Wags last year. I know that Sams sold the $50 gc for $42.50. So I decided to just stock up on a few more at Sams. Ugh, it's now $45 for a $50 gc and it's limit 2 per customer. They never had limits before. I'll take the small savings, because it's better than no savings at all.
  
  I also decided to stock up on my coffee. I'm a Dunkin Donuts girl and Sams only sells the decaf online. Several bloggers have mentioned coffee price increases, but I haven't really noticed. I get the regular DD when Costco has it on sale every year - around $15-16 for 40 oz container. Well, Sams has some weird shipping rates. One container's shipping is $5.xx. 2 containers cost 40c extra shipping. I'm just ordering 2, because it lasts me an entire year. $51 for a year's worth of coffee, is a good price. DS doesn't like coffee, but he loves Starbucks frappucinos. So I buy a case of it at Sams and we mix it with milk, because those suckers are loaded with sugar. It also costs less than getting individual ones at the drive thru. I do have a Starbucks gc, but we save that for treats. 

• I'm a little (okay more than a little...lol) frustrated with house hunting. So far, I've found 2 houses I really liked. One was absolutely perfect and checked all the boxes. I just didn't care for the location. The nearest store is 2-3 miles away. The horror...lol. I'm a bit spoiled. I have everything right on my doorstep. I can be at the closest store, fast food & coffee places in 2 minutes at my current location. Everything is right here, including the mall. The closest drugstore to that house was RA (which I don't frequent much). I don't even know if there's a Wags nearby. The other one was out of my price range. 
  
  The other thing that drives me nuts, is that 'no handles' on the kitchen cabinets. What the heck is this craze? I cannot stand it (almost as bad as having the sink in the middle of the kitchen). How on earth do those people get in & out of their homes or cars? Maybe they should just remove all the handles to see how that works...lol
  
  Every time I find a house I like, it's way out of my price range. I'm determined to stick to my budget, because I don't want to be house poor. Things are far too uncertain in the world right now & I don't want to overpay for a house and end up with too little savings. I see all these $600-800K homes and wonder how people are affording it. I know someone who bought such an expensive house, lost their job and is now struggling to pay that hefty mortgage. I don't want to be in that position. Inventory is low now. I'm guessing it's because of so many current financial factors, that people are afraid to just spend money on new homes, so they're not selling their old ones. Sorry, I just needed to vent. I just hate being in limbo.

I'm sure there are a few more things I forgot to add, but I'm just too tired to think right now. 

Enjoy the rest of the evening peeps!