Anyone one else print out the Michael’s coupons before going to the store? Typically you save 40-50% off of a single item. My purchases for the kids’ school projects are usually pretty inexpensive, but it’s great to get them at half off anyways. I’m thinking about buying a nice oil paint set, though… could save some serious cash with my 50% coupon! Just do a search for ”Michaels coupons” and you will find them.
I came across the Yard Sale Treasure Map while browsing Lifehacker. It’s a mashup of Google Maps and Craigslist garage sale listings. Just put in your address (or town), select a radius and day, and the site will map out a route for you. Once you have the map, you can edit it however you please. The only thing missing is the ability to add the map to your saved My Maps, but it’s still really neat.
I am addicted to Saltines. I can usually go through one of those bags in a single sitting, and a box of four will be gone in two days. Unfortunately, our Costco stopped carrying Premium saltines. But luckily, Target has their Market Pantry brand of saltines, which are at least as good as Premium. Plus, they are only $.97. They used to be $.87 a box, but the price went up recently.
Yesterday at Costco, while searching in vain for saltines yet again, I came across the mega-pack of Ritz crackers. I hadn’t had Ritz in a while, so I thought I would try them. Ritz are good crackers. But they are definitely not as “grindable” as saltines. They are a bit too rich and oily. I think they need to have something to compliment their taste, maybe a dip or cheese. Saltines, on the other hand, are more of a “eat them til there aren’t any more left” type of snack to me. I would have thought the opposite, that Ritz would be the cracker more suited to mass consumption, but to me, that would have to go to the venerable Saltine.
Maybe I should branch out and look for other snacks? I really don’t like anything that has powdered flavoring on it, though. I guess I will just have to have an open mind while I peruse the cracker section at the supermarket next time I go.
Ever bought clothes that fit kind of funny? I bought some t-shirts from Old Navy yesterday, and when I put one on, it felt weird, like I had put it on backwards or something. The area around my shoulder blades seemed too tight, and there were little puffed up parts on the shoulders, as if they were left on a hanger or something. I turned the shirt around to see if there was a new style of putting the labels in the front, but nope, that felt even more strange. I even looked to see if there was an “Irregular” tag inside. Maybe I just have to wear these a while?
A busy, tiring, but fun weekend for us! On Friday night we had dinner at our friends’ house. We had lots of vino, crackers and cheese and then Chris bbq’d chicken and steaks. I had some duck-flavored tofu “meat”, which was pretty good. Tasted like a Chinese tofu dish. The kids watched some Wallace & Grommit vids while the adults enjoyed the great Austin evening weather out on the patio. It was lots of fun. We got home around 9:30pm, and put the kids to bed, then I spent the night setting up my new computer. I finally hit the sack around 2am.
Saturday morning, we went down to Sunset Valley Farmers Market to load up on veggies and visit with Kayo and Take. We ate some great bento too! Then we went up to the Toyota dealership to look at new cars. I am retiring my Sentra and taking the Odyssey, while Mariko gets to drive a new Prius. We have one on order, so we can get the exact color and options she wants. I bet right after we take ownership of the car, the 2009 model with Li-on batteries and 100mpg will be announced. :(
After coming back from the dealership, we just hung out and did a little yardwork. In the evening, I worked on my old computer, trying to turn it into a media rig and hook it up to our LCD tv. But, I kept on running into problems, such as USB mouse not being recognized (I tried two different mice). Because of this, I couldn’t install the drivers for the new wireless network card I bought. Stupid installer program needs a mouse to click it! I got so frustrated, I just gave up.
Sunday was yardwork day. I dug out a bunch of grass in the front and planted some kind of shrub (I forget the name), then laid down the mulch over that little bed and also finished mulching the other side of the front yard. In the back, I weeded a bunch and started digging out the grass for a new veggie garden. I did about half so far. My back was aching so much, and I had no power. Could hardly pick myself up! The cul-de-sac neighbors are ordering dirt this week, so I put in an order for 1 cu. yard. It should arrive Thursday, so I guess Saturday will be another tough day for me.
Last night after dinner I was so tired that I crashed out right after getting the kids ready for bed. Today my body is a little sore, but much better than I thought it would be.
Barnes & Noble > Border’s if you are in the market for a blank book. Plus B&N carries Moleskine. The selection at Border’s would be more appropriate for a Hallmark greeting card store: too many flowers and datebooks.
Disclaimer: My experience with the N. Austin branches, and might not be representative of all stores.
Yesterday we bought a brand new LCD tv at Best Buy. This is to replace our downstairs family room television, and we decided to just go “cheap” with this one, but then later get a really nice one for our upstairs “media room” when we have some furniture! The requirements for the downstairs LCD were connection to PC (to watch Japanese dorama over the network), 720p, and it had to fit in our entertainment center. At Best Buy, we looked at the entire range, and settled on the Insignia brand, which is Best Buy’s house brand. It looked pretty good, actually, and the price was great. Plus it was 1080p!! We also used a 12%-off coupon, so we were stoked. When we put it in our entertainment center, we found that it just barely fit, with maybe ½” clearance on each side (including the top!). Unfortunately, there is a set of RCA inputs in the side which are inaccessible at the moment, but a little drillwork to the side of the entertainment center will fix that.
I also picked up a set of component cables for the Wii, and now the Wii looks amazing! The menus are really sharp, and the games look fantastic in 16:9 widescreen. The only things left to buy are a set of component cables to hook the dvd player up to it, and perhaps an over-air HD antenna. Once I get those, we will have everything set and hooked up, including our archaic VHS machine.
Last night as I was playing around with Ubuntu, my bro IM’d me a link to Amazon for Endless Ocean. Only $29!!! So I preordered it. Should be shipping around January 25th. 
