Latest odds & ends

Hi everyone

I apologize for my lack of posts and response to comments. DS sustained an injury at school (not going into detail) and I've been taking care of him round the clock (well, except for when he sleeps). I haven't been sleeping well either and I am plumb tuckered out. I'm awake at 4 or 5 am every single day (I'm worried about him), no matter what time I go to bed. I am just physically drained, but I just want him to get better. He's in very good spirits and was acting all goofy with me last night, but he wasn't feeling too well today. 

For the first time ever, I don't even have a Thanksgiving plan or food. We have lots of food, but I haven't purchased or prepped anything for the holiday. I'm going to try and find a pumpkin pie. DS can currently only eat select foods, so it's no use cooking for just myself. All I need is pie 😊 Right now, I'm just focused on DS's recovery. I hate seeing him suffer. I'm sure all mom's feel that way when their children are ill. 

What else has been happening. 

• Received a $50 WHBM Birthday reward. 
  
  
• Ordered 3 free pairs of jeans with another reward. I need more jeans like I need a hole in the head, but it was the best thing to purchase with free money. 
  
  
• JCP sent me an email about a $20 reward expiring soon. Puzzled me didn't even know I had a reward. They never notified me of it before. You bet I used that free money 😂
  
  
• Krispy Kreme has gotten stingy. They used to offer a free dozen original glazed donuts for birthdays (since the pandemic started), but I only received an offer for 3 free original glazed donuts this year. Not that I need the donuts. I should tell BF to pick it up for himself before the 1st (all he needs is my phone number at checkout), since I'm trying to look good for him 😂 I don't need the temptation
  
  I have lots of other offers to redeem. I should probably just do a post of freebies I received. I'm over shopping. I feel like I just got a free wardrobe for myself, I got so much stuff. 
  
  
• Red Robin has also gotten stingy. You can now only redeem your birthday offer in store. I like to dine out, but prices have gotten ridiculous. If you add in the drinks and tip, you end up with a hefty bill. I like to pick up our food, because I fix a side salad for each of us and save my fries for DS to enjoy the next day. We always have a variety of drinks available and it's much less than the restaurant prices. Add in the 20% tip and that Free birthday burger is now costing way more than expected. 
  
  I'm not a cheapskate or stingy. I gladly tip over 20% when I get great service. However, I'm trying to watch my spending cause I have a house and furniture to pay for and everything is crazy expensive these days. 
  
  
• Well it looks like my Loreal Revitalift Cleanser has been or is being discontinued. The Wags cashier told me that they're getting new Loreal cleansers, but they no longer have shelf space for the Loreal. When I checked online, it says that it's no longer sold at my local store. Meijer has had different Loreal sales every week, so I've been stocking up whenever I can find it. They only have 2 on the shelf at a time. Very strange, because Meijer normally has lots of inventory. It seems like only Meijer, RA & select Wags still sell this item. Even worse, Wags now charges almost $10 a tube, whereas Meijer's price is $6.99. What a rip off!!
  
  
• I went to the dentist 2 weeks in a row. I decided to just get the filling they recommended the last time, so it doesn't get worse. The dentist (different person from the last time) did a very thorough job though and I told him so. Well, I couldn't feel my top lip and nose for over 4 hours. Have I mentioned how much I hate needles? I'm not afraid of it. I just don't care for it. Once the anesthesia wore off, the rest of my teeth hurt. I couldn't fall asleep that night.
  
  So after the dentist visit, I decided to stop at RA because I had $80 BC expiring that day. Yikes! Stopped at my local RA and the store is already closed. WTH happened to closing down sales?! So I drove to my favorite RA and they are permanently closed too. *&^#@% Did RA bother to notify us about these store closings so we could spend our BC? Heck no!! So I drove to a store about 4 miles from my house (this is far for me 😂 cause everything's on my doorstep) and decided that if it's closed too, then I'm just going to shop online and call it a day at RA. Parking lot is full and the store is open. Phew! Walk in the door and there is one of the cashiers from my favorite store smiling at me. I asked her if everyone's been transferred to other locations and she said Yes. I was so happy to hear that they didn't lose their jobs, cause RA has been struggling for years. I'm going to try and keep my BC low, because there are very few RA's around here and I don't want to lose any money/BC. 
  
  
• A few weeks ago, I realised that I was on my last RR gc. So I added some discounted gcs to my Costco cart the Friday night, but couldn't bring myself to check out. The next day, I used the last gc and reminded myself to check out, but still couldn't bring myself to do it - gut feeling. The Sunday morning I received a Costco email about new offers and the RR gc was an extra $5 off (one day only). I immediately went ahead and checked out a bunch. 25% off is far better than 20% off. My gut never lets me down 😊
  
  
  
• Purchased another Christmas gift for DS and 2 gifts for BF. I'm so far behind this year, but I'm slowly making progress. BF also has a birthday coming up and I have no clue what to get him. 
  
  
• I haven't really done any other drugstore shopping. The deals have been lackluster. I did go to Wags, because the OS b/w were on sale again last week. I just did a small transaction.

2 x OS b/w $14.98

Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 0.90

OOP $2.88

Earned $4 RR + $5 Ibotta

I did the same transaction twice. One on each account. 

What on earth? I thought the OS was on sale for $7. I checked the ad when I got home and saw that it stated $7-8.29. WTH?! They used to have fixed prices for the weekly sale items. Oh well, $1.49 per bottle is still a great price and I have points to burn. I was very happy to find 2 bottles of Captain, because some locations usually only keep one bottle on the shelf. If you mix & match the scents, your DQ doesn't deduct. Ugh! 

Does anyone else hate not having a paper ad in their hand when shopping? My favorite RA used to prints a few copies of the ad for those who can't look up deals on their phones. I love this! Wags wifi doesn't work half the time, so it's not easy to pull up the ad or DQs on your phone. Plus it drains my phone battery. 

I checked the Kohls BF ad and there isn't a single thing I need & they're only offering $10 KC, instead of the usual $15 (I've seen lots of changes at various retailers this year and it's not good!). I only ever shopped Kohls BF online and the drugstore freebies. There is no way on earth that I would join the BF craziness (getting up extra early, standing in long lines, fighting other people for items).  The deals aren't all that good anyway. This is the first time that I don't need anything. I used to stock up on our athletic shoes, but that style is no longer available. Besides, DS has 6 pairs in his stockpile. I'm so very thankful, because it's been discontinued an I'm not liking the new brand I'm trying. I can only wear it for short periods, because it hurts my arches. 

I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on.

Have a wonderful week peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm.