Found a new game

I've just started playing this nifty game called Trukz, despite my dislike of misspellings. The game itself is a trucking industry simulation, and so far seems to be a rather nice one.

You start out with a little money to buy your first truck. It won't be anything fancy, and will likely be in somewhat poor condition. But that really IS the reality of trucking - most drivers start out driving some of the most beat up, untrustworthy, worn-out trucks on the road. My cousin has a small trucking company IRL, and in the very beginning, he was staying at my house when he'd come in from a run. The boy had no money most of the time. Tires, fuel and truck repairs ate up what he did make, but he kept going.

And that's what this game is like. My driver is on her first route, and has less than $50 to her name. She's driving an old Mack and hoping it doesn't break down before she makes her delivery and gets her $703.

She's also getting a lot of offers to join a lot of companies. I've had to start a small spreadsheet to keep track of the offers, and so I can compare them easily in one spot. Some companies take a bigger cut of your money than others, while some offer better benefits or even a wage. I think I'm going to wait just a little bit and see how I do. If I do well, I might be able to get an offer from one of the bigger, more powerful companies in the game. :)

I'm putting a banner up (see bottom of page) and a link to the right under Places to Cruise for the game. Come on by and check it out!

Saved $224.26 on groceries!

I put off our grocery shopping trip for one more day - we all had a case of the 'I don't wannas' and relaxed on Saturday. This gave me a little more time to work out what deals I wanted to take advantage of at Lowes Foods, having shopped Food Lion on Friday.

Edit: I should note here that this is not a routine shopping trip - this is a stock-up trip, brought on by the economic stimulus money we got. I try to keep our shopping trips around $300 every two weeks.

Well...we bought $617.03 worth of groceries for $392.77. Among the deals we took advantage of:

$1.99/lb Boneless beef chuck, about 15lbs
$1.99/lb Boneless center cut pork loin, about 6lbs
$1.99/lb Italian sausage, about 5lbs.

Cascade Action Pacs, 20-count $1.99
Betty Crocker Warm Delights $ .86
Pasta Roni Nature's Way FREE
Tide 2x laundry soap $4.19
Heluva Good dip FREE
Healthy Choice panini $2.00
Fruity Cheerios $ .50
Cinnamon Life $1.00
Dove bagged chocolate $1.25
Gorton's fish filets $1.30 each

There were lots of other deals, too many to list, and I stocked up on items with really good prices. I'm going to start a price book next, and these sales will help me get a decent baseline, I think.

I'm excited about this trip - we now have meat in the freezer for a while, and I shouldn't hear "There's nothing to eat in this house" for at least two weeks.

This family spends WAY too much on food, and I'm trying hard to curb it. Keeping Jeep Dad out of the store is the most effective way to do that, since his after-work trips to 'pick up a couple things' cost us an average of $40 a pop! With the price of gas at nosebleed levels and no relief in sight, I'm taking charge of all the shopping and maximizing the bargains.

I know I probably won't get us down to $100/week for groceries, but I can sure as heck try, and I can save us money in other areas by CVSing. It's a constant tug of war around here, and it happens because Jeep Dad works off the assumption that we have money, and I work off the assumption that we don't have money. Sort of backward from the traditional husband-groaning-over-wife's-spending, but that's where I am. At least I've convinced him to have $50 per check automatically put in savings!

Have a great week, and save lots!

Friday Finds

I decided to start posting my bargains here...I have the space, might as well use it! Then I can quit filling Crystal Paine's comment section over at Money Saving Mom and use her Mr. Linky instead.

Rather than rush right out on Sunday or Monday and grab up all the deals, I've learned that if I wait until Fridays, I can catch CVS after they've restocked on Thursday. And this week, there were some deals I wanted to grab at Food Lion, even though I normally shop Lowes Foods (the double coupons makes a big difference!). So, I combined the trips, since Food Lion is right down the road from CVS, and these were the goodies....

CVS

4 Colgate Total Advantage Fresh (sale $2.99 each less two $1.50/1 cpns and two $1/1 cpns)
ECBs received: $8

1 Schick Intuition Plus razor ($9.99 less $4/1 cpn = $5.99)
ECBs received: $6

3 Aquafresh Advanced toothpastes (sale $2.99 each less three $1/1 cpns = $1.99 each)
ECBs received: $8.97

2 Colgate 360 Deep Clean toothbrushes (sale $3.99 each less two $1/1 cpns = $2.99 each)
ECBs received: $7.98

1 Twizzlers bonus size (17.6 oz) ($2.49..shamefully, no cpn, but the kids pleaded, and they've done really well with their chores this week. Turns out the purchase counted toward a Hershey's 'buy $10 get $5 ECB' deal. May go back and do more of this..with coupons, of course).

I combined this all with a $3 off $15 CVS coupon it breaks down like this:
Total purchase before sale prices, cpns, with tax, etc: $46.95
minus sales, coupons: $21.50
ECBs paid out: $20.99
Total OOP: $4.46
ECBs received: $30.95


FOOD LION

Got a sweet deal that I found at the bottom of the back page of their flyer this week:

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh singles, 3/$5 with card ($1.67ish each), normally $2.18 each. I found coupons for $ .75/1 online, though offhand I can't remember which of the biggies had them - I use Smartsource, coupons.com and coolsavings.com, for the most part. With coupons, they ended up being about $ .92 each!

Lunchables (the small ones) were on sale, 10/$10, and I had a coupon for $1/3. Not the greatest deal, since I only had one coupon, but with three kids in the house, I'll take what I can get!

There was a deal on Lipton Green Tea 12-packs of bottles that I hadn't seen in the flyer. They ring up at $6.99, but with your MVP card, you buy one and get it for $5.99, buy two and get them each for $4.99! This was on a sign at the endcap, and since the Diet Green Tea with citrus is one of my newest addictions, I snatched those puppies right up!

Another deal that I hadn't spotted in the flyer was in a basket at the checkout - they had 6.6oz bags of Goldfish crackers (Pepperidge Farms) for 10/$10 with MVP card! Three of those found their way into my cart with zero guilt.

Other goodies I took them up on were the Banquet frozen dinners @ 10/$10, and the cut up whole fryer chickens for $.79/lb. Food Lion brand 'erasing pads' (read: Magic Erasers) were also 10/$10 for boxes of two. Since my kids have decorated the youngest child's walls with crayon, four boxes of those went into my cart as well. My children will be well-occupied this weekend.

I spent a total of $65 at Food Lion, with a savings of $44.73 after coupons and MVP discounts.

Tonight, I plot my trip to Lowes Foods, which I will do tomorrow with the husband and kids. Hubby likes to pick out the meat, and they've got a nice sale going this week. There are also some nice deals involving in-store coupons combined with manufacturer coupons...but I'm not going to spill those beans until after my trip.

Back to life, back to reality

I've just returned from a three day, four night cruise to the Bahamas aboard Royal Caribbean's "Majesty of the Seas". Oh, what a lovely trip!

It was our first cruise ever, and aside from the first night's rough waters and subsequent queasiness, we plan on doing it again. I can't say I'll choose such a tiny cabin again, though. We had an oceanview cabin, but it was a miniscule 122 square feet! I think my bathroom/closet area at home is bigger. I understand that other ships have larger cabins - that "Majesty" and her sisters have some of the smallest cabins in the genre today, so we'll be looking for one of her bigger sisters, or a different cruise line entirely.

The service aboard ship was impeccable. The crew members really are there to ensure that your stay in their floating city is a pleasant one. Activities were happening all the time, and there was no pressure to join in if you didn't want to. We relaxed in our cabin and watched a couple movies during our trip - neither of us is an extrovert - and we never felt bad about doing so.

Shore excursions were of a wide enough variety that there was something for everyone. Being more brain than brawn, my husband and I opted for the historical tours of forts, old homes and museums. We had a lot of fun and learned a bit about Nassau and Key West that we hadn't known before.

Key West....ah! I fell in love, taking almost 300 photos while we were there. The Caribbean Colonial architecture, the tropical foliage...it is paradise. A very laid back place to spend the day, and neither of us wanted to leave. We plan to make Key West a stop in future cruises, just to experience more of that wondrous atmosphere.

If you go to Key West, be sure to stop by Kelly's restaurant. You'll find it next to Heritage House & Robert Frost cottage, and they make the best damned cheeseburger I've ever had in my life! You can eat out on the lush patio (photo) that feels more like a tropical garden, thick with shade and an atmosphere that makes you just drop your shoulders and say "ahhh".

Nassau was our first stop, and it was pleasant. The people were friendly, though it seemed that every time we turned around, they were asking for tips. Everyone who did anything at all for you, including tour guides, asked for a tip. It got a little laughable when the guide at Fort Fincastle asked for a tip - his 'tour' consisted of very little about the fort and his pointing out various buildings in hurried fashion from a platform. The whole thing lasted five minutes and left us with no more information about the fort than that the cannons were replicas, as Britain had reclaimed the originals.

Riding through Nassau in our little air-conditioned tour bus (whose driver was a wonderful storyteller and was worth a tip even without asking for one), we could see just how poor these people really are. Homes that had been burned were left that way, cheek to jowl with other small hovels. How the cry of "fire!" must stop their hearts! Conditions were pitiful in many residential areas. By contrast, those who live well there really live well. Such stark contrast prompted one of our group to comment on it, and our driver explained that the island is 85% black and 15% white, and that 85% of the wealth is held by 15% of the people. A very unbalanced situation no matter how they slice it.

The Straw Market was an experience not to be missed. It was an odd mixture of heartbreak and annoyance, since every woman we passed asked us to buy something from her. Some merely asked, others cajoled and called me "pretty girl", as in "Pretty girl, you need a pretty bag!", trying to sell her stock of designer or knock-off purses. Poor things, they didn't know how little I care about brands... In any case, these women were spaced about four feet apart - so one has to traverse the cramped space where 600 vendors are all trying so hard to get your dollar. It got difficult to keep saying no, and they likely capitalize on that, figuring if one doesn't get the sale, you might buckle under the strain by the time you reach her sister's spot, or her aunt's or cousin's, for that matter. I did purchase an item - it's a wooden box that is the perfect size for my tarot cards. Beautiful woodwork, and it was $20 after I hesitated at $25. Shrewd dealers, these women.

One of the more touching things in the Straw Market was a stall that had been covered in black fabric. A large framed photo of a woman rested there, and there were cards and such - she had died, and the other women turned her stall into a memorial for her. I wanted to take a photo, but didn't; I felt they might take it as a sign of disrespect.

Cococay was the second stop on our cruise (it went Nassau, Cococay, Key West), and we never set foot on the island. The waters were deemed too rough for the tenders to safely transport guests, so after waiting a couple hours to see if conditions improved, we pulled up anchor and sailed for Key West. I was a little disappointed; my main objective at Cococay was photography. I wanted to fill a camera card with the lush tropical beach scenery. I know others were sad to miss out on things like parasailing, snorkeling and more. Maybe next time!

If anyone has any doubts about whether or not to cruise, I offer this advice. Do it! A short cruise, like the one we took, can give you a great sampling of what there is to offer, and you'll know by the end of the week if you love it or hate it. For our part, we found we love it. The only thing I'd do differently would be to use a cruise line that serves Pepsi products, since I can't drink Coke (causes me great pain). But life is far too short to sit on the fence and wonder. As Royal Caribbean says..."Get out there!".

Photography Goodies In the Mail

More of the goodies I ordered from amazon.com came today, some by mail, some by carrier. I love getting packages!

I ordered a bunch of stuff at the end of last week for our upcoming cruise. Jeep Dad's employer is especially pleased with him, so we were given a three day, four night cruise in the Caribbean! I'm getting pretty excited about the whole thing, and am looking forward to taking tons of pictures.

I'm enrolled in an online photography course through the local community college, and what I've been learning there has helped me choose better accessories and tools for this trip; things like a good camera bag, and filters that will help with the sun's glare. The filters took some research, because my camera's lens extends a couple inches out from the camera when you turn it on, and retracts when it's off. There was no means to attach filters or other lenses, so I was a little disappointed until I came across this adapter. It is made by Olympus (my camera's manufacturer) and is a tube that screws into threads that I never even saw on the inside of the outer tube that houses the retractable lens. This adapter makes the opening a more standard size, and puts the filter at the end of the reach of the lens when it sticks out. Awesome little tool that will very much put off my search for another camera! I also managed to pick up a set of three filters (haven't arrived yet), two spare rechargeable batteries and a 2GB xD card. I'm hoping to have lots of great pictures to show off to the class (and this blog) when I get back!

Sunday Papers

Over the last couple of days, I've been reading a lot about how to do "CVS deals" and "Walgreens deals". Using coupons, rebates and store loyalty cards, one can apparently get a lot of stuff free or close to free. So, increasingly excited by the prospect of challenging myself to see how much free stuff I can get and how much dough I can save, I made a point of reminding Jeep Dad to pick up the Sunday paper for me. I only want the store ads and the coupons - the rest will be fireplace kindling.

So, he dutifully picks one up on his way back from golf and drops it off before heading to his buddy's house for the Super Bowl. Eagerly, I dove into the folds and pages of the thick Sunday edition. All the store ads got sorted into three piles: "definitely", "maybe", and "probably not, but you never know what they might have". I finally got to the bottom of the stack of newsprint and glossy ads, and....my coupon stack was still empty. Thinking I'd missed it, I pored over the entire paper again.

Nope.

There are no coupons in my Sunday paper! I'm so disappointed! And miffed! All that potential savings, gone. CVS even tauntingly put "look for coupons in sunday's paper" on their store flyer. That's it, rub it in.

In my pursuit of coupons, I've come across many sites where you can print them, and I've done that, but nothing beats the those shiny Sunday inserts, in my book. I had even looked into subscribing to the local metro paper (Sunday edition only, of course), but when I went to the website to get pricing and other information, they wanted me to give them my name, address, email, phone number, etc. I didn't want to give out all that just to get prices, so I emailed and asked. They very politely (yet still unhelpfully) pointed me to that same link, even though I had told them I wasn't giving them my personal information just to kick the tires, so to speak.

So, after finding no coupons in the Sunday paper my husband bought at the store, I emailed the polite people at the paper back and asked them "Do subscribers always get the coupon inserts?". We'll see what the answer is. Somehow, I think it will be another useless link that tries to harvest my personal data. So much for customer service.

Taking It Out of Park

Every now and then, I kick around the idea of starting another blog. I read other blogs, I read sites about blogs, and then I come to the conclusion that my life is too kaleidoscopic for the narrow point of view most blog 'experts' recommend.

Today I came to another conclusion about that: "so what".

I'm not out to make money, I'm not looking to be hired to blog professionally. I really wouldn't even be bothered if nobody read this but my cat. So why blog in the first place? Well, to put my two cents out there, for one thing. With so many heavy political blogs, and so many sickeningly cheerful mommy blogs out there, I figured I'd put my thoughts and opinions out there, too.

Now, you might be wondering about the title. On an obvious level, I hate minivans and refuse to ever drive one. I just can't stomach the thought of being one of them. You know...(looks around, then whispers) soccer moms. I refuse to buy into the notion that running the kids to 57 different activities is somehow good for them, or me for that matter. The minivan screams to me 'here is a person whose life has become that of a taxi driver'.

I'm of the (sometimes unpopular) opinion that having kids shouldn't mean my life revolves 100% around them. They are part of my life, yes, and I love them. But they are not my entire life. I have lots of other interests, and they don't include kids. I don't have a problem with it, Jeep Dad doesn't have a problem with it, and the kids seem to be just fine with it. But boy, do other people get bent out of shape! How dare I have kids and not cater every second, every breath to them! How dare I keep up with my hobbies and intellectual pursuits and not anchor my self-esteem to my kids' accomplishments!

I guess I just feel that I'm raising kids who are more independent than many I see out there, while maintaining the 'me' that will still be here when they've moved on. I don't see myself suffering badly from empty nest syndrome. I don't see my kids having big problems with cutting the apron strings when the time comes. Our family has a foundation of love, caring, and preparing the kids for life; not a foundation of dependence. There is a huge difference, and it seems to be blurred in some families.

So...what do I drive? A Jeep. It fits the five of us very nicely, hauls our groceries and gear, and seems to suit my practical personality very well.