2013

It has been an interesting year. Started out normal. Nothing special, just another year, month, week, day. I was struggling with medication changes. Kalikat was still alive and pooping everywhere, but giving lots of love. I miss her, even though I hated the mess I was constantly cleaning up.

It was winter, then it was spring. I was very happy to be back on my Vespa which was all fixed up from the fall over and the transmission. My poor Geo Metro was neglected. I was working a decent schedule at COAST.

Summer came and with that I got to go on an amazing trip to England with my mom. It was awesome. I got to see my aunt, uncle, other uncle, Grandpa, plus all the beautiful scenery. My mom showed me where she grew up. It was amazing.

I got hired with the one company I really wanted to work for on the Seacoast. Unfortunately, it is only a temporary position, but it means I am in the door, so I will just wait and do my best until I can get a "full time" job there with amazing benefits. It also means I am behind the wheel of school buses again,, which is where I am happiest!

I had to say goodbye to Kali, but hello to sweet Oliver. Oliver has been an awesome addition to Hobo and I's life. He is a great companion and a great playmate.

This last month has been crazy and weird. Things changed rapidly. The marriage kind of fell apart. There is just not enough romantic feelings to make it work. Nothing is official yet, it's complicated. But either way, we are better off as friends than a couple.

With the upcoming year my goal is to find happiness. I have spent too much time being miserable. Life is short. I am looking forward to what may come in the next year.

Not so Merry Christmas This Year

The Christmas season  is supposed to be filled with happiness and joy. Not really sure why other than its complicated and personal, but this year all I know is I am no longer happy. It's just no good. But, such is life. We make decisions, we move on, continually searching for what it is that truly makes us happy, hoping one day to find it.

I saw a bumper sticker once that kind of sums up how I feel about life: Do What you Like, Like what you do. I know I have that feeling when I am behind the wheel of a school bus, but I would like to have all aspects of my life be like that.

Life is short, you don't know when you will leave . It is so important to find what makes you happy, and avoid unhappiness as much as possible. I know there will always be some disappointment and sadness, that's all just part of the a normal life cycle, but I try to minimize that.

I hate that I live with so many regrets, although I guess if I didn't make the decisions I did, then I wouldn't be where I am today with the potential to get the job I really want, and have met the people I have met. It's hard to see that sometimes when you are just going through the motions of day to day life.

Right now, I am wishing that my perfectly realistic fantasy would come true. Lets hope the upcoming year will bring me more happiness and what I am looking for.

Stocking was stuffed!!!

I do have to say, the presents were very nice this year. :-) Those were a bright patch of light to an otherwise boring day. I also had a nice Christmas Eve breakfast with a friend that was nice. I don't get to go out all that often other than to work or the store, so that was a welcome change. :-)

I was especially excited about the Greys Season 9 DVD, the trunk pull for my Fiat, the sewing machine (now, to find out how to use it!), and the Jurassic Park Trilogy on BluRay.

I got my 4th Rainbow loom as well which is pretty cool. Came in handy when I made a lanyard for my work ID!

Under the Tree!

Black Friday Recap

I love Black Friday. I love getting stuff cheap. I love having saved up money to be able to go on a shopping spree. It is one of my most favorite days of the year!

I got up Thursday morning while my husband was voluntarily working (triple pay...yay!) and headed to the Tedeschis convenience store near my apartment to pick up a coffee and the newspaper.  This is my new tradition as of last year. I love the fresh newspaper with the humongous amount of ads! I actually saw something online that said the Portsmouth Herald had the largest selection of Black Friday ads, so the Herald it was! Of course, I didn't even open the regular paper part, going straight for the most important part, the ads!

I had previewed most of the stores I was interested in through either the store site or an iPad app called Black Friday from FatWallet. Nothing compared to actually going through each circular in it's paper form, being able to slowly peruse each item and it's price. The digital world just can't replace it. It's just not the same online.

This year I had a fairly limited budget as my work hours have been cut so drastically and I need to keep something in savings just in case. I had to really plan my shopping and keep a list.

I went through each flyer looking at the deals and writing down the ones I was interested in and the Out of Pocket cost. I focused on the pharmacies (Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS) as they had a lot of household and candy deals that paired very nicely with coupons and their rewards back programs. I planned on two transactions per store, one that gave me the rewards certificates and the next that used those rewards certificates. This plan worked perfectly at CVS and Walgreens, but unfortunately I was unaware that Rite Aid did not give instant rewards on your receipt. Luckily, they were a small portion of my overall plan.

I was able to get two of my larger purchases online so I didn't even have to deal with the stores! One was an amazing deal on a present my husband has been wanting badly, and the other one was a $15 Craftsman Multimeter at Sears, which was something I have been wanting as my Geo Metro Convertible has been cranky with some electrical things.

I also went through the lists for Target, Walmart, and a couple other stores. There were several DVDs I wanted both for myself and as a gift. I wanted to go to Kohl's as I had a $10 off $10 purchase coupon and an additional 15% off everything. I also love crafts, so Michaels and JoAnns were two more stops I had toward the end of my trip as I didn't actually need anything, but would like to find a couple things as they had nice % off entire transaction including sale items.

Household Stuff

I packed myself a tote bag with the ads of the stores I planned on going to, a list of the items and their prices/coupons/rewards totals paper clipped with the necessary coupons, and a paperclip of the other coupons for the various stores. As I struggle with low blood sugar I packed a lunchbox with snacks and drinks to keep me going throughout the day.

I have to say all the planning I did Thursday paid off big time Friday!! I saved 56% on my entire purchase overall. Best part is I didn't leave my house until 6:30AM Friday!

Obviously all my deals can't be shown as quite a few were gifts, and he reads this blog!

I got some great deals on Laundry detergent as the pharmacies had buy 1 get 2 free that I combined with coupons. I got Buy 1 get 1 free batteries (Duracell and Energizer) also combined with coupons and rewards. It was great being able to stock up on name brand products at less than the generic prices! I was very happy that the pharmacies had plenty of stock, as I was worried they would have sold out on Thanksgiving.

Fun stuff for me

My all time favorite deal, and the one I had to work the hardest for was the Cat's Meow toy and the GoGo Pillow. Walgreens had an awesome promotion where it was Buy 1 get 1 free on select As Seen on TV products, the other pharmacies had a similar deal, but not on products I actually wanted. My husband and I decided the cats were getting the Cats Meow toy as their present this year, so regardless of sales, we were going to purchase it. When I saw it was included in the Walgreens sale, I knew I had to try and get one. I almost caved and went out on Thanksgiving to buy one, but didn't. Unfortunately, when I got to my local Walgreens, they were sold out. The associate was very nice and checked in the back and even called the other store semi-nearby. As it turns out, they other store had a truck come in that morning that hadn't been unloaded yet, so I was asked to call later to see if they had them in stock. I did, and was able to go up to the other store and get the toy and got a GoGo Pillow for free (which I totally love!!! It's perfect to support my iPad!).

My luckiest find was the off brand loom bands....the peachy color is usually only sold at one store, which is not in my area and regularly cost $3 or more; they were only $0.99!  I need this color as I plan on making the nativity scene. I purchased extras to list online and they sold within a day! Awesome!

Of all my lists and stores, there was only one thing I did not find....a DVD copy of the Vow for around $4. Oh well. I would say this Black Friday was a resounding success, and I didn't even have to wake up stupid early or shop on Thanksgiving to do it! :-D

I can't wait for next year!