CVS Deal Alert!

I was running low on three things today- toilet paper, laundry detergent and toothpaste, so I went to cvs.com and checked out my local flyer for deals and they had one custom made for my situation.

I got four tubes of toothpaste, two bottles of detergent and (this is the best part!) 9 rolls of toilet paper because they were out of the 6 packs.  The detergent and the toothpaste were already a good price and the toilet paper was just a bonus!  According to my receipt, I spent $23.48 and saved $18.49.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  

New items at the store!

Okay, so funny story.  The day before we left to go to the mountains, my husband had taken off of work, so we went out to lunch and then hit up the thrift store nearby.  It's a miracle that I have a husband who likes junking as much, if not more, than me.  He will often bring me home items to sell, like this:

So, we're at the thrift store and the junk gods are smiling on us.  Our cart is filling up.  Filling up to the point that we had to do several rounds of eliminations before reaching the checkout, but still ended up snatching up an old polaroid camera on our way out the door.  Especially fun for my husband was that someone had donated a huge collection of comic books.  Paul said, "Somebody's mom is a total b*#ch!"  So, he spent most of the approximate two hours that we spent in there going through old comic books, picking up some valuable items and some purely nostalgic ones.  You won't see those for sale though, because according to Paul, "Those comics are our retirement!"  In any case, at one point we're huddled together in the back of the store between the desk lamps and records (we also picked up Suzanne Vega- Suzanne Vega, Billy Joel- The Stranger, Cowboy Junkies and Culture Club on vinyl) and this woman comes up to me and asks me how much the Pyrex Verde covered divided casserole dish I have in my cart is.

So, I tell her.  And she says that she was just wondering because she collects that pattern.  Ever the shrewd, but socially awkward business woman, I reply, "Oh really.  You want to offer me more for it?"  She kind of rolled her eyes and walked away.

After that episode, Paul informed me of how poorly I handled it, telling me that I should have offered to let her have it and shared my site with her, hoping for a new customer.  He's right.  But, wow, it's gorgeous, right?  

All these items and more for sale at Bad White Trash Memories.

Starving

When I was in high school, instead of eating lunch, my friends and I would sing, to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"-

Starve, starve, starve yourself

Starve until you die

If you don't eat, then you'll be thin

and find yourself a guy!

I know.  We needed therapy.  

As of yesterday, I have embarked on a new eating plan where I count my calories.  It's tedious, but I honestly didn't realize how many calories I was consuming before.  I had a vague notion of "too many," but I'm just realizing how many too many.  

Coming Down From the Mountain

Got back in town last night after a weekend trip with the family to the lovely Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I managed to avoid the tourist traps and enjoyed a fabulous weekend in a remote cabin in the mountains. I didn't particularly need a vacation, since I'm currently unemployed, but it was relaxing and rejuvenating nonetheless.

The dogs stayed with fabulous AARF board member Renee and seemed to have had a great time. She said that they were "perfect gentlemen." Makes a mother proud. Although I missed them terribly.

While in Pigeon Forge, my family went to see Magic Beyond Belief which I boycotted because of their use of wild animals solely for entertainment, something that I am strongly opposed to. In this case particularly, because they had a white tiger. My sister said that they talked some about how tigers were endangered, but I'm betting that they didn't mention the truth about white tigers. Click here to learn more about how white tigers are bred and the horrible deformities that result.



It's a sad sad plight and I urge you to also boycott any exploitation of these beautiful animals. That said, any reputable zoo would not participate in the breeding of white tigers and it is not permitted by the tiger species survival plan (SSP). If your zoo has a white tiger, it is almost certainly not participating in these breeding practices, but instead trying to provide a natural habitat for an animal that has been rescued. This problem is not with zoos, it is with private owners like magicians and circuses. I encourage you to support your local zoo, which does for more for wild animal conservation than you probably realize. Check to see if your zoo if accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). If so, it's a safe bet that it's breeding practices are ethical.

Facebook Part 2

So, I know, just last week, I was swearing all Facebook for all eternity, but I joined a couple of days ago.

So far, I've had a couple of awkward interactions with people I used to date, been friended by two people I went to high school with that I have no idea who they are and said hi to just about everyone else I've ever met, which comes to about 52 people. The funny thing is, a couple of people have tried to hit me up for a job. It's rough out there! I even did the 25 Random things about me thing, which I will now share with you. Here it is, in its entirety:

1) I got married in Las Vegas five years ago this week. What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas, FYI.
2) I always wanted to be an anthropologist when I was a kid, but got distracted by film.
3) My father was a Southern Baptist preacher.
4) I have two cats who have names that begin with "C" for cat- ChiChi and Chloe and I have a dog who's name beings with "D" for dog- Duke. When I was looking to foster a dog, I took it as a sign that Douglas' name begins with "D."
5) I own an online vintage store that sells vintage housewares, accessories and clothing. (http://whitetrashmemories.etsy.com)
6) I am currently in the process of writing a novel.
7) I have had the same best friends for 18 years.
8) I am currently without a job for the first time since I was 15.
9) I love mid-century modern design and often go to garage sales and flea markets hunting for classic pieces.
10) I've never seen a ghost, but I'm intrigued by paranormal research.
11) I once got to bottle feed a baby orangutan and I've also hand-fed elephants and an alligator! I've also touched a panda!
12) I love scary movies!
13) I'm a sci-fi geek and I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost, but I don't dress up and go to conventions or anything. Okay, so I've been to Dragon Con, but I didn't dress up!
14) I'm interested in the English monarchy, especially the Tudors, but I've never seen that show.
15) I worked my way through college as an accounts receivable clerk at an architechture and engineering firm.
16) I waited tables at Shoney's in high school. Don't eat the breakfast bar.
17) I am the youngest of four children. My mom was 38 when she had me, which was old at the time, but now seems young.
18) I had skin cancer when I was three-years -old.
19) At age 7, I was diagnosed with psoriasis, which is an auto-immune disease that affects not only my skin, my also my bones and joints. Whee! In the past, I've had to take chemotherapy drugs to keep it under control and I'm currently doing radiation therapy, but not the kind that makes you sick. It just burns.
20) I got my tongue pierced when I was 18 and told my mom that it was"an outward expression of my inner pain." Angsty!
21) I went to Georgia Tech, but dropped out after the first semester. I later went to Georgia State. Dropping out of Georgia Tech is one of the best decisions I've ever made. It was not the place for me and I was on a path to a career I would have hated. My mom disagrees.
22) I went to my junior prom with my friend's brother because I couldn't find a date. We had a great time!
23) I am one of the two people on earth that do not like the beach. Thankfully, my husband is the other one.
24) I quit smoking four years ago, but still think about it every single day.
25) I hate loud noise and tend to avoid clubs and concerts, but it's not because I don't love music! I wish that I could get over this hang up so I could see some of my favorite bands live.

Poop

I have two dogs that I walk three times a day.  Like a good citizen, I take multiple plastic bags with me and pick up their poop, but honestly, I'm just about over it.  I mean, dogs, along with every other animal, have been pooping on the face of the earth for thousands of years and nothing bad had ever come of it.  You'll probably never even notice the little pile of poo in your yard for the few days that it's there before it's reabsorbed into the earth and speaking of, it's probably better for the environment than putting it in a plastic bag to go into some landfill.

And those people with the little signs in yards?  "Scoop the Poop!" or "Please curb your dog" or my favorite, "Love your dog?  Scoop its poop!  Respect your neighbor!"  I fail to follow that chain of logic.  Yes, I love my dog, but that doesn't mean I like carrying dog poop in my hand for a mile walk around the neighborhood and it's not as though I'm throwing it on your front door or putting it in your mailbox.  It's just sitting in your yard.  Get a real problem.

The one that bugs me the worst though is the "Curb your dog" people because they have three dogs, two of whom live outside in the fenced-in back yard freezing and barking their fool heads off and their other dog-  they never walk it and they leave it's poop in their yard all the time.  I think that they don't realize how much their little dog poops and think that other people are letting their dogs poop in their yard.  I want to write them a memo about everything they are doing wrong with their dogs and tape it over their sign.  

Anyway, Doug pooped in the "Love your dog..." people's yard today and I left it.  Sue me.

What my parents gave me

According to Random Anny, this is a topic going around on blogs these days and I thought it interesting, so I decided to contribute. This is only a list of financial contributions so you won't see things like "fear of abandonment" or "obsession with weight" on this list.

Essentially, my parents paid for all my needs until I was 16 and got a job. From then on, I bought my toiletries, paid for going out with friends/entertainment, etc. Often, I'd buy myself clothing, but my mom would also take me shopping pretty regularly. She kept some food stocked in the house that I was welcome to eat, but she didn't cook dinner, so I either went out with friends, which I paid for or ate something frozen or canned that my mom bought. Sometimes, probably about once a week, my mom would take me out for dinner. She also paid for major expenses like prom dresses and medical issues, etc.

My father bought me a car when I was 16 with an agreement with my mother that she would pay for my insurance until I graduated from college (which was later revised when I dropped out of school), so I got a free car from them and I paid for the gas, oil changes and repairs.

I had a scholarship for my first quarter of college and my mom paid for my other school expenses such as my dorm fees, etc. Then, I dropped out of college and moved back home. My mom stopped paying for anything at that point, but allowed me to live with her rent free without paying utilities or anything and I also started paying for my car insurance at this point.

Then, I moved out and got a roommate and at this point, I was pretty much on my own in terms of living expenses. I also went back to college around this time and paid for everything myself, including tuition, but I mostly put it on credit cards.

About two years into this scenario, I totaled my car and couldn't get to work or school, so I called my father and asked him for financial help and found out that he'd been sending my mom child support for me the entire two years that I'd been living on my own. At this point, he took pity on me and gave me his wife's car and bought her a new one and he also began to send me the "child support" directly. When I confronted my mom, after some initial denial and justifications, she agreed to make monthly payments to me to pay me back for the money that she had taken from my dad. So, I was doing pretty good there for a while and I was able to pay off much of my credit card debt and trade up for a better car. Eventually, my mom paid me off and shortly after, my father passed away. He left me about $15,000, which was a small life insurance policy provided by his employer to which I was the beneficiary (apparently he made this designation before he remarried and I was his youngest child) and my share of his "estate," which divided by the 8 people who had a claim on it, ended up not being very much. I paid off the rest of my debt with this money, and used the rest as the downpayment for our house 4 years after my father died and I was 25. I continued to pay for my education myself and used my inheritance as an emergency fund, but knew that I wanted to save it to use to by a house someday, which I did.

Overall, with the obvious exception of when my mom was stealing from me, I feel like my parents were really generous with me. Sure, it would have been nice not to pay for college, but I could have had a scholarship which I blew, so I can understand why they wouldn't pay, although they did pay for my siblings, so at the time, I felt really slighted, but in retrospect, I learned to budget and live frugally during those times which are excellent skills to have!

When I got married, my mom gave me $1000 towards the wedding. When my oldest sister got married, my parents paid for the entire wedding and when my other sister got married, my parents were divorced and they each gave her $1000. These are the disadvantages on being the youngest. By the time I came along, my mom did not care one bit about my wedding (she cared very much about the marriage, but not about the actual wedding).

My mom continues to do small things for me occassionally, like take me out to lunch or give me pajama pants or something like that. Something that she saw a good deal on and thought that I'd like. She took me out to lunch on Friday.