Blog Hiatus

I will be out of town for about a week, so posting will be even slooooooower than usual.  I'll try to be better about posting when I get back...

Extra 25% Off Clearance at Marshalls

Marshalls is having an extra 25% off clearance through Sunday (I think).  Add to this the fact that a lot of the clearance is already cheap and you can score some great deals.  I bought three shirts, one pair of capri pants, one down/feather-stuffed throw pillow, and one enormous tablecloth for $30.84.

Go forth and shop.

Duplex Pictures- Bedroom

I realized that I haven't posted any room pictures since I moved from the apartment to the duplex.  I have discovered that it is very difficult to take room pictures, though!  :P

Here is my bed with new comforter- not frugal, about $60 from Domestications.  It was so difficult to find what I wanted in the right size.  There's also the Henry Link nightstands, lamps from Marshalls, and $6 vintage Nelly Littlehale Murphy print. 

Henry Link standing mirror and desk.  I couldn't get a good photo of the window treatment, but it is a $3 gold sheer waterfall valance that was 90% off at Kohl's.

Henry Link bureaus.  Jewelry is on the top of one; I'm working on getting framed photos for the other.

Up close shot of the comforter print- it's pinker than this IRL.

Vintage $20 print from the same estate that the Henry Link furniture came from.  I bought three of them- the other two are in a spare room.

Coming up tomorrow- the living room...

Living Room Pictures

I Love You, MacBook

Warning:  This blog post may contain discussion of a nonfrugal purchase.

So.  I made it all the way through grad school without a laptop.  I was one of the very few people that didn't haul one to class every day.  In most of my classes we were provided with PowerPoint handouts and so it wasn't necessary to have a laptop to take notes (not that I took many notes as it was).  And most people just used their laptops to surf the 'net and tune out the professors.  

I knew it was drawing close to time to purchase a new computer and I have been saving for a while for one.  I decided to get a laptop for portability issues and because I have too much stuff taking up space.  I wound up getting a MacBook because I wanted to get a computer that would last for years with fewer problems.  

I love it.  Love, love, love it!  I've had it for about six weeks now and have mostly adjusted to the differences although I still need to read the booklet that came with it (I'm bad about that).  I haven't yet transferred my files over from my PC, so I need to do that soon.  

For those wondering at home, I did go through Ebates to get a percentage back from my purchase.  And I also got a $100 discount and a free printer.  I haven't completely lost my mind!

More Adventures in Clothing

There are lots of clearance sales going on right now.  It's a good time to stock up.

This was $5:

This was a bit pricier at $10, but it fit perfectly.

Cute silvery-grey shoes for $4.  I was excited because I saw something similar in the window of a Banana Republic store.  Now I can duplicate that outfit.

Cotton jacket with cotton lining:  $7.  I was excited to see the cotton lining as most are sweaty polyester.

A Trip to Staples

It is no secret that I love Staples although we have had some rough patches over the past couple of years when they took away free shipping for any purchase and kept revamping their ink recycling program.  Well, I am back on board!  With the new Staples rewards program, you can bring in up to three ink cartridges per day (HP, Dell, or Lexmark) and you will earn $3 each in rewards.  Once a quarter (I think) they will give you a rewards coupon.  My coupon was for $27 this time!

I needed a memory card for my camera, so I went ahead and purchased that.  I also hit up the clearance.  They had a table up front with clearance where I snagged a $3 National Geographic puzzle (for the gift closet) and two .40 car folders for my nephews.  My Staples also has a clearance section near the back of the store.  I went to check that out and found a large expanding file that was originally $9 marked down to fifty cents!  I have found similar deals at Office Depot, so make sure you check out that office supply store clearance.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Graduation Day

Today is the graduation ceremony for my doctoral degree.  While I have officially been "doctor" for over a month, this is the day that I have been looking forward to for eight years.  I'm not sure how eight years went by so quickly (even though there were moments where they seemed to drag on forever!).

There's no way that I would've been able to get through this without the support of my family and friends.  That has meant so much to me and helped to carry me through the dark times.  Thanks also to my bloggy friends who have written such kind words of support over the past two years!   

Finally, and most importantly, there is no way that I would have been able to accomplish this without the strength I received from my relationship with God.  I knew that this was His plan for me, and that kept me going.  He carried me through this entire experience.  

And now, on to the celebration.  :)

"That my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."  Psalm 30:12

Getting Stuck

Hi, my name is Tessa and I have arthritis.  

I'm 26, which in joint terms is not that old.  It started when I was 17- I remember this very clearly.  I took dance lessons from age 5 to age 15 and then danced on my high school dance team from age 14 to 18.  If you do the math, that's 13 years of wear and tear.  During my senior year, we were learning this really cool (and somewhat difficult) dance.  One move involved going from a standing position to a squatting position, turning in a circle, and then coming back to a standing position.  My knees started hurting a bit whenever I had to do this move, but I ignored it.  

In college, I had to climb a flight of stairs every day to get to my psychology classes.  That made my knees hurt, too.  When I stood on my feet for long periods of time while working at a pharmacy, my knees started swelling and burning.  By age 19 I was taking a Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplement daily.  This helped a lot.  

Within the last year, two things have happened.  I have had to increase my Glucosamine dosage and my hip joints started hurting.  I was not pleased.  During a pain management class in grad school, I observed an acupuncturist for a day and thought I might try that in the future.

A couple of months ago, I visited my nurse practitioner.  She thought I might have Rheumatoid Arthritis- the crippling, potentially disabling kind.  My initial blood test came back clear and I decided to try something different.  Now I am going to an acupuncturist.

People, it works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My knee pain is GREATLY reduced.  My hip pain has had less success, but I am thrilled with the results.  Definitely not frugal, but 100% worth the cost.  Even if I do have to lie there for 20 minutes with a bunch of needles sticking out of me.  :P

Battling the Cranky

I'm at home sick today, and as I've discussed before, I am not a good sick person. I am cranky and bored. My good friend Amy called me to check on me and brought me some cold medicine (the good stuff), so that warmed my bitter little heart. And is making me feel slightly strung out, but better.

Anyhoo, I am trying to entertain myself on the internets. One blog that I enjoy is Stuff Christians Like. It's in a similar vein to Stuff White People Like, but, you know, with more Jesus. It has a lot of funny stuff on it. I just laughed out loud at this post. If you've ever been to a Christian concert or heard a Christian CD that was recorded live at said concerts, you've heard that guy that screams "Jesus!". It's funny 'cause it's true.

Updating the Coupon Binder

The time has come to update my coupon binder. I have had it for almost two years, and it was falling apart at the seams (literally!). It also was too small. I was able to get a new binder free after rebate and I used dividers that I already had- sometimes it pays to have an office supply addiction. The baseball card holders were fine so I just transferred them over.

Here is the front of the old binder:

Inside the old binder- it's nice and messy:

Also inside the old binder:

Here is the new PINK binder. Complete with a ClipArt decorated front cover and of course a label on the binding (not shown). Because I enjoy looking crazy.

Inside the new binder. One new thing that I have done is buy two of those zippered pencil pouches. In the front pouch, I put the coupons that I am going to use in a particular store. Then I can just grab the pouch and not have to take the whole binder with me. In the second zippered pouch I keep scissors for easy access.

The Sewage Incident: A Pointless Post

Last week there was an incident at the casa de Tessa. There will be no pictures to accompany this post as I do not document disgusting-ness.

Occasionally my air conditioner unit has (supposedly) been backing up and I will have puddles on my kitchen floor and in the garage. The kitchen, garage, and ground floor bathroom are all located near each other. Last Monday, it started again. My landlord- who normally is really quick to respond- had seemingly disappeared (later I found out that he had gone out of town). By Thursday, the floor in the kitchen near the bathroom had a lot of water and I was struggling to keep up with getting towels dry enough to put down. On Friday morning, sewage started to back up in the bathroom.

I do not do well with gross things. I have serious issues with public bathrooms due to the pure disgusting-ness that lurks within. But after a few phone calls to family members and then to a plumber, all was taken care of. The plumber came within ten minutes of my phone call and had fixed the problem within ten minutes of arriving. Thank God for this going smoothly!

Of course I had to go buy a Shop Vac and then complete a five-step cleaning process: vacuum, sweep, scrub on my hands and knees, mop, and wash towels one million times until I feel they are approaching clean again. But I am getting reimbursed for the plumber costs ($60- I should have been a plumber) and all is well for the time being.

Except that now I have dreams of finding puddles in the floor. :P

Irony

Here I am at age 3. I was crying because my brother (age 8 at the time) got to go to school and I didn't. I even went so far as to make up my own "Pretend School" and every day I would go off to "Pretend School" when my brother went to real school. That's about where it would end, though, because I had no idea what one actually did all day in school. I just thought it sounded very exciting.

If I had only known that I would be in school for 21 years, maybe I wouldn't have been crying.

I'm Back! With a Walgreens Post!

Of all the things that I do for this blog, I find it the most amusing when I get home from a shopping trip and try to artfully arrange groceries and HBA items so that I can take a picture of them. I don't know why, but I find that pretty funny. :D

Anyhoo, as you may or may have noticed, I have been absent from this blog lately. This means that I have been absent from deal-shopping, too. When I saw the $10 off $40 coupon WG put out for yesterday and today, I decided it was time to get with it. Incidentally, those coupons are also how I typically solve the toilet paper problem. Frugal folk with easy access to CVS are ALWAYS getting free TP, but the closest CVS is an hour away. I use toilet paper as filler to get up to the required amount when WG puts out the $10 off X amount coupons.

Today's purchases and totals:
3 Quilted Northern (3 x $4)= $12.00
2 South Beach Living Cereal Bars (2 x $2.50)= $5.00
2 Crest Rinses- I had the cashier ring them up separately- (2 x $4.49)= $8.98
1 Nivea for Men Body Wash= $4.99
1 Chemistry Hair Product= $7.99
1 WG Acid Controller= $7.99
1 LypSyl Lip Moisturizer= $1.99
1 Excedrin Express Gels= $3.99
1 Revlon Nail Polish= $4.49
__________________________________________________________
Total: $57.42
- $16.00 coupons
= $41.42
- $9.00 Register Rewards generated from the Crest
= $32.42

AND I will be getting $31.44 back in rebates, so my total was .98 before tax (I paid 2.86 tax). I also got a couple of coupons that printed with my Register Rewards. One was for Glade Wisp ($3 off) and I will combine it with the $5 manufacturer's coupon whenever that goes on sale to get it for free.

Most of the stuff was free after rebate or free after Register Rewards. I thought the cereal bars were a particularly good deal as they were .50 per box after coupons.

This is why I love coupons and rebates.

Nothing to Post?

Nope, nothin'. I haven't done any new and exciting frugal things lately. I'm drawing a blank...

Break

Will be on a bit of a break this week as I wrap some things up with internship/work. I'm going on vacation next week at work and will post then!

The Winner!

Congratulations to Chris from St. Mary's! You are the new owner of Millionaire Women Next Door. Here's the winning comment:

"I'm new to personal finance and everything I've read has been online. I don't have a favorite personal finance book because I've never read any. I've tried getting TMMO through local library, but don't want to wait forever to get to the top of the hold list. I'd like Millionaire Women Next Door to be my first."

Thanks to all for entering! I was surprised that so many said they'd never read any personal finance books. In the future I will talk more about some of my favorites.

Chris, email me at thefrugalshrink AT yahoo DOT com with your name and address and I'll get this sent out to you.

For Those With Foot Issues

The expensive-but-very-comfortable-and-well-made Born brand of shoes is on sale for $30 per pair at 6pm (the shoe store, not the time). This is no $10 sale, but it is a good price for Born and those suckers will last you for years. Their boots are even on sale for $30, and they normally cost $180 and up. Worth checking out for those with problematic feet.