Walmart's Scan & Go Is... Mostly Awesome

 Finally, I have tried Walmart's Scan & Go app. How was it? Not too bad, but I do have suggestions...

The Good:

• It was fast. My family didn't have to wait as long for me to shop and check out.
• It was easy. The app is user-friendly and easy to learn.
• It was better than "regular" shopping. For the most part!
• You are seeing your shopping totals as you add things to your cart. That was awesome. There were no surprises at checkout like "What did I spend so much on?!?!?!"
• It's super convenient, especially when the store is crowded.
• I didn't have to pull out my wallet at all.

The Not-So-Good:

• The scanner in the app wouldn't read one of my items. I put it back.
• You do have to hit a self-checkout register to, um, check out.
• There is no checkout register designated for Scan & Go customers.
• Not all the staff seem to know about it. Maybe.

Overall, I am impressed. I will probably always use Scan & Go when I have to be in the physical store.  For parents or other caregivers, it should be so much better to Scan & Go. Get in, shop, and get out. I would have loved Scan & Go when I shopped with my young nephew or my wheelchair-bound sister. 

I was a bit lost at first when I opened the app. I didn't realize that I had to wait to be in the store (connected to their Wi-Fi) to use it. The app walks you through the process from scanning and adding items to your cart to removing anything you decide you don't want after all.  Here are some parts of the process I really liked:

• After the first 3 or 4 items, the app prompted me to verify the amount of items in my cart. 
• When aiming the camera at a product, the scanner sort of searches for the code. As long as the code was somewhere in the photo square range, the scanner thing would "find" it. So I didn't have to worry about perfect aim.
• The scanner is not picking up and adding random items because you have to press "Scan" for each item. It's easy to do one-handed. 
• The running total is awesome. Every time I added an item to the cart, I got a total. It's a great way when you know you only have x amount of money. Like I said, no surprises at the end or having to put something back while people are watching.
• You can check your receipt when you have checked out. There is a photo of an actual store receipt right there on your phone. (You don't get that kind of receipt when using delivery or pickup.)
• You could change your mind and take things out of your cart if you wanted. The app will let you subtract that item.

My other slip-up was that it was only after I'd checked out that I remembered to go grab some bags for my items. This is another reason I think there should be a designated checkout station for the app users. Maybe I will remember to bring my own bags next time.

I think Walmart employees should be better educated on Scan & Go. The lady monitoring self-checkout was a bit confused when she didn't see me actually ringing up my items. She followed me to ask if she could "help me". Poor woman. She probably thought I was just a brazen shoplifter! I held up my phone to show her the "Exit Pass" on the app. 

The young dude manning the exit, was also a bit confused when I held up my phone to show him the Exit Pass. He let me go but still looked concerned. I walked out and that's when I remembered I needed a couple of bags. That poor guy at the door was really thrown when I came back for a quick moment, then left again with my items bagged. 

In spite of a couple of hiccups, that was probably the best-ever trip to Walmart. I wasn't all stressed out when I left, nor was I checking my purse to make sure I had my wallet. It was so easy, that it felt like cheating.

In contrast, my SIL took way longer to finish shopping for 3 things than I did for 6 things. The checkout line is where you save time.

Like I said, there is a little bit of room for improvement but I really was pleased. The main thing that bugged me was not having a designated checkout scanner. All I needed to do was get to a checkout register and scan the barcode on the screen. That basically completed my checkout and triggered the Exit Pass on my phone.  NOTE: This could be a real pain if the self-checkouts are all crowded... Designated registers will be a huge improvement...

Overall, Walmart is killing it with the Scan & Go app. It wasn't buggy or irritating to use. Next time I will try to remember to take screenshots at different stages of the process.

Peace

--Free

Things I’d Like Never To Run Out Of

 Instead of thinking about the things I need, as I do every time I put together a monthly shopping list, I wanted to switch it up. Of course, I can't actually do this for real, but I can dream.

This morning, while looking through my Amazon Wish List(s), I realized that it's not a very good list. Most of the things on it are Needs, not Wants. A more accurate list would look like this:

• 3 of my favorite hair products - Honey Hydrate, TGIN Miracle RepaiRX, and Silicon mix bamboo leave-in (my hair is lost without this stuff)
• Glossier's You compact solid perfume (because the spray has zero longevity).
• Olay's Skin Refreshing Serum Stick (best facial product ever)
• Huggies Nourish & Care Baby Wipes (best face cleaning product ever, ever, ever)
• Candle Science's Lemon Pound Cake fragrance oil (because I run through Walmart's Iced Lemon Sugar Cookie wax melts way too quickly)
• Yoga pants (even though I won't be caught dead doing yoga... the pants are life itself.)
• A good weighted blanket - one for winter and one for summer. (I've gotten to where I have trouble sleeping without mine but it's too hot for summer)
• Ninja Foodi (because it has replaced every other appliance I have except for the coffee pot)
• Those nail stickers that are so cute and lack the mess of wet polish. (I like the Diva nail brand but have to find something more affordable.)
• EOS lotion. (I get the Vanilla Cashmere for the fragrance but that lotion itself is, hands-down, the best I've ever used - including those 20-dollar special formulas!)
• A Rocketbook notebook and erasable pens. (My notebook and pens are lifesaving workarounds for my lousy memory)

I could add at least 10 more things, but they would all be various perfumes. 

Or more hair products.

I got into a comment discussion once on Reddit about things we can't live without. Everybody has their certain something that just makes their daily life better. One person said that they have to keep a large jar of Jolly Ranchers and Jelly Beans around. It's their go-to snack for when they have anxiety.  One person shared their version of retail therapy. They peruse their favorite shopping site for about an hour but then empty out their cart when they feel better. I wish I had that kind of willpower. I have an Amazon cart loaded right now worth around $200. All that stuff will go to my Save For Later basket.

My late best friend (a gangsta-level shopaholic) could afford any kind of food she wanted but the only thing she to always had to have in her house was fresh fruit. Fruit and tea. She had a pantry the size of my bedroom closet and it was completely filled with every kind of tea that you could think of. All that tea but she had to run out and buy a coffee pot for when I visited her...Weirdo! (RIP Barbie girl.)

I just realized that I don't have food or coffee on my list up there. A few years ago - or even just last year - coffee would have taken up at least 3 spots. 

In 10 years, I imagine my list will consist of things like Ben-Gay or Aspercreme. Who knows? Lord willing, I hope to live long enough to find out.

Peace

--Free

New Normal & Shopping Online (Resources)

 So.

Even being a hermit by nature did not prepare me for this "new normal" situation of being locked down. Not only am I shopping online for the usual things I always ordered but now I am having to find resources for extras.

With my health danger level currently set to Defcon2 - or whatever is a step before it gets kinda bad - I am trying to eat better. Whole foods, high-fiber foods, fully-seeded and good-grained foods. Less red meat - bye-bye weekly smoked neckbones, hello fish, chicken, and tofu.

I don't care that Trader Joe's hasn't come online. I have been forced to search out and find other places and products that I can get online.

Now here's the deal: I only have searched these out and not examined them. I'm sharing with you but just know that you will need to do your own homework to discover the details. The list is focused mainly on "healthy"(er) type choices, but there are some general options included.

I will make very minor comments because, well, that's what I do. Here we go:

• Thrive Market. I don't know how I feel about this one. I'm not big on memberships. (If you want a peek without logging in, try this link.)
• Farmbox Direct is another service I probably won't use. I live in the Midwest. I'm good for veggies.
• Natural Food Shop - I am linking to the FAQs because I think that's more helpful.
• I am going to link to the About Us page for Bubble. I found this most interesting, even if I don't need their products. 
• Natural Zing has a narrow inventory but is all about "superfoods" so I think it belongs here.
• I want to love Boxed and I kind of do. It reminds me of a local co-op grocer that would get good stuff sometimes but wasn't the place to go looking for everything. Biggest Plus is that it's like a membership-free warehouse. Of sorts. I'm not immediately impressed by the prices on, say, sparkling water.
• I think vitamins-only when I hear Vitacost so I am linking to their Food section.
• GoPuff is the service I would use if I wanted a bottle of Jack and some smokes at midnight because I can't sleep. That's not what they are limited to, of course, but their delivery area is narrow. Check the very bottom of the linked page to see if your area is covered.
• Amazon Fresh is something I would LOVE to have access to. Alas, my zip code is too hick for them.
• Bob's Red Mill sells mostly in bulk (I can't even afford a handful of his products) but the site has recipes for bread I looked at.
• Grain Place Foods just looked interesting to me.
• Pleasant Hill Grain covers grains, seeds, and even bakeware.

Now, for those of you who missed so many of my other posts,  I will direct you to search back for links to these standard online shopping options:

• Target is on Instacart in most areas or you can use their on-site choice of Shipt.
• Walmart delivers, has curbside, in-store pickup, shipping options, and might even have options specific to your area.
• Instacart is awesome. Even in my small and limited zip code, I have options of Target, Staples, Petco, Hyvee, and Aldis. Choices depend on your deliver-to zip code. My niece in Alaska has Costco as an option. Meanwhile, I can order regular ground delivery from Costco - if I still had my membership.

Check if there are any smaller, local services providing delivery. My best friend and I joked how, back in the day, you could have a taxi pick up cigarettes and bread from the local mart and bring it to you. I kind of wish that was a joke.

Let me know if any of you hear about other places.

To summarize:

Shopping online might be the new normal. Saving while shopping is smart. You can make shopping easier and cheaper. Use the online resource. Use online groceries. Buy in bulk when you can. Get a food sealer or other food-saving process. Health and wellness is more important than ever. 

Peace

--Free

**RANT** Be Who You Are & Buy What You Like

As promised in my post about my Poshmark buys, here is my rant about "designer"/luxury goods...

I would change "life" to "fashion"

After I bought those Coach bags from Poshmark sellers, I was telling a neighbor about the site and how I love what I got there. I told her what I paid for the bags and she was so excited to take a look at the Poshmark site that we pulled it up right then and there. She went absolutely gaga over the Brahmin bags she has a liking for. Of course, she joined the site and will probably go broke when she sees that there are a lot of the Frye bags she also loves. Poshmark ought to be paying me for promoting the site!

A couple of days later, that neighbor came over to show me some of the stuff she has "hearted" and while we were looking, she asked to see the 2 bags I had been raving about. Her reaction to this absolute awesomeness -

My laptop fits beautifully in  the work bag

- was... bewilderment.

Basically, she was seeing all the other Coach bags listed on Poshmark and wondered why I chose such plain-looking ones. To be honest, when I see bags like this:

Or this:

- I'm not that impressed. And this next one is just... as Amy once sang: No, no, no.

But, seriously, to each his own. I can see how any of those bags could be attractive to someone. They aren't ugly, but just so loudly branded. You would surely get noticed for carrying it.

And maybe that is why a lot of people get those types of very visibly branded bags: they want or need someone to know they can afford a Coach - or Louis Vuitton or whatever else. And that's fine, I guess. We live in a society where we seem more concerned with appearing happy instead of just being happy. And I prefer not to be a walking, talking, unpaid billboard. Especially for something so pricey that I have to wait until it hits a flea market before I can (maybe) afford it.

Maybe I am just in one of my moods? I am so tired of people doing things and having things and wanting things for... not themselves?

Anyway, I explained to my neighbor why I'm so pleased with my "new bags". For one thing, I love carrying a purse that makes me feel like me: simply but well put together and okay with being simply and well put together. I'm not a dressy type of gal like I was in my youth. I like to be clean and comfortable. And I need a bag that lets me carry quite a bit of stuff in an organized way. I once spent half an hour panicking that I had lost my apartment key when it had just fallen to the bottom of my bag.

One of the reasons Coach bags are - or used to be - so desired is that they are so sturdy and well crafted. (My mother had a couple of really good purses back in the day that lasted for years and years until they got stolen lost when movers packed up our house once.)

I'm pretty sure that my neighbor loves her Brahmin bags because they are so well-made (they really are too - just not my style of a purse). I can tell that she loves the one she carries all the time. And I mean all the time.  I told her all this and she agreed. She said that she feels "matched" well to the bag. It's a beautiful bag that can be handed down a couple of generations. She still didn't seem to love my new bags but that's okay, she doesn't have to because I do.

We all probably have at least that one purse we love but that is tattered and falling apart (and guys probably have that special wallet). I have/had at least 3 well-loved purses in the past several years. Not all of them are well-made either. Along with a really cute cloth mini-bag, this is what I have been carrying for most of the past 3 years:

About $12 at Target (??) a few years back

I love that purse but, as you can see, it's warped on the bottom of one side. Nothing I did would smooth that out. I tried loading it with heavy stuff, hanging from a rail, and blowing a warm dryer over it. Still warped. The cloth mini-bag I had was a freebie included with some purchase I made about 5 years ago. It was small but hung nicely off the arm and I could stuff a lot of things in it. Unfortunately, the handle came loose from one side.

For years, I've had a Coach-not-Coach (aka "Foach") large style tote that is made of such quality leather and so durable that it still looks great after about 25 years. The leather is wearing well just the way leather is supposed to - getting darker and softer in some places but not falling apart. The one thing that gives it away as not authentic is the non-Coach type hardware. A dear friend gave it to me and I use it as a carry-on/carry-around when I am visiting family. Every now and then, I pull it out and rub it down with some conditioner. I love it.

I pulled out the phone-calc and did the math on the age of my leather Foach - I got it in 1991 so that makes it almost 30 years old! Wow. I don't think that even the people at Coach would be hating me for this bag. INXS was playing Wembley in '91 and I was 102 pounds and strutting around in 4-inch heels like nobody's business. Talk about time flying...

Anyway.

The Coach that belonged to Mike is a coated-canvas-type material that I don't want to wear out or stain. Leather is easier to maintain and lasts longer. Also, the branding on Mike's Coach is quite visible - though not loudly so because the material is a sort of black and monochrome. Did I get that right???

Makes me think of her.

There are a couple of other brands I would love to own a bag from. So far, they are out of my reach even on Poshmark. But I am throwing out hints so hard that I am leaving marks on my family! The main brand I want a bag from is Liebeskind Berlin. The cowskin leather ones are soft that they feel like they're made of clouds and unicorn fur.  I am also keeping my eye out for something by Wilsons Leather. That or Frye's. I have heard great things about both.

For now, though, I am extremely happy with my 2 bags. As with the Foach tote, I am treating them with conditioner and making sure to massage the handles when I carry them. I love it when leather gets that beautiful used look.

By the way, for anyone wondering about the history of Coach, there's an article that goes so deep in that it's going to take me years to read it all. Here is the link.

To sum up, I don't want to tell anyone what to do, but I sure hope that the next time you go shopping, you buy things that make you happy and feel pretty. Look at me, I'm over here quarantined and happy to be looking at these purses when no one else can see them!

Well, now that I got that rant out of my system, I feel better. I am going to go and work on my budget now. I will have to be creative next month since I used birthday money for fun instead of being responsible.

Peace
--Free

**UPDATE** Uh Oh. I Found Poshmark...

Scroll to the bottom for the update/photos

Oh my good mercy, me oh my. I finally decided to check out Poshmark to see if it is a good place to get discounted clothes, towels, and household goods.

I am going to have to get a block button for that website. There is some of everything there. As my boyfriend-in-my-head, Katt Williams says: "Ever-ree thing? Ever-ree thing!"

The first thing I went looking for was bathroom stuff. I am seriously in need of some more towels. I have the same 2 cheap 6-piece sets from Walmart. When my family came to visit, I quickly ordered some slightly more decent bath ones from Amazon and I put out the best of my hand towels for them. The last time I did laundry, I was distracted and added a double amount of bleach. My "best" towels are now very fragile. So...

Shopping Poshmark is a little like shopping one of those huge open-air marketplaces you see in some larger cities. You have to be watchful of the sellers and their items. You have to not get overwhelmed at the choices. And you have to know that if you like an item but want to keep looking elsewhere, you might miss out all the way around.

My best friend, one of my brothers, and a niece skipped picking out birthday gifts and sent cash instead. Talk about always being the right size and color. Honey chile. I used most of the money to pay extra on bills but kept out $50 to get a couple of things from Poshmark:

how stinking cute is this bag???

for my laptop when traveling or
going to the library

Now that I see the process, I am going to be keeping my eye open for towels, some decor, and some yearly gifting ideas.

Of course, because I am mean, I had to tell my SILs and the nieces about the site. One of my nieces started checking it out as I was texting her and she would have cursed me out but she had to go watch for a price drop!

I am done for the moment, but I am keeping my eye out for this style of boot. I had a pair of Lavender Label Vera Wang nubuck leather boots in dark grey that looked almost exactly like this. I got them at Burlington for $70 back 2013 or so by putting them on layaway. Some evil-hearted person broke into my car and stole them not long before I left for good. Those boots were not just gorgeous but they were comfortable and I could walk in them on snow and ice. That's kind of important because I have horrible balance issues. If anyone finds something like this for sale somewhere, let me know.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Now there is one thing I am still trying to figure out. It puzzles me stupidly. Why do some people put an outrageously high price on an affordable item? I saw a Glossier You perfume solid priced at $1000. What???? I have posted a comment asking why and am awaiting an answer.

Anyway, I just thought I would share the love (or misery, depending on your budget) and tell you about this amazing online flea market kind of heaven. However, please do use common sense and be careful with your money and information. Read all the rules and check out what other users have to say about it. Not my responsibility if you get ripped off or go broke, my friend.

And, seriously, people, I need you to keep an eye out for those boots before winter gets here!

Peace
--Free


Here are the purses/totes I got.

I am kind of mad now that I got the Enzo bag. I got these two for just a little more than what the one Enzo cost and I like these so much better. Maybe I will try to sell the Enzo on Poshmark???

I was able to fit so much stuff in this bag that when I start emptying it, I look like I'm performing a magic trick. Such a beautiful and sturdy bag! And I really don't like the loud branding on "designer" bags so I love how discreetly Coach marked this one. (I have started writing a post about this very idea.)

Look at how nicely this workbag holds everything I need for a trip to the library. Sometimes, I will go over to my family's for a couple of days and this is perfect for packing up my laptop and writing notes. You know, for when my brain lets me write anything coherent!

And, uh, can someone tell my bougie behind what this little tag on the side of the workbag is for???

I only just recently learned what a "purse twilly" is and that Amazon sells them. Damn you, Bezos!
I am pretty sure that this kind of bag would not look great with a twill.  Oh well.

Don't forget to watch for the upcoming post on my thoughts about "designer" or luxury items.

***REVIEW*** Zoomingo Shopping App

I love shopping, but because everything in my life revolves around a budget, I really love shopping apps that help me stay on target. Zoomingo has to be one of my favorite shopping apps. You can get it here on Play (and here for iPhone).

Even the logo is cool

I'm about to get all long-winded in describing it to you, but I'll start with a simple explanation of why I love it: It's like having a private shopping mall on your phone. Seriously. I find myself browsing for my favorite stuff before I head out to the actual stores. It's such a great way to organize your shopping list and budget  - before you even leave the house - when you have an idea of what your choices are.

There's a lot of use you can get out of the app, but I'll try covering it from my personal perspective:

• I can see sales/prices for stores in my area
• I'm lazy and don't want to drive all over town comparing prices, so...
• I can choose to view sales "at a glance" (ex: sales & coupons, top clearance items, or by category, or Editor's Pick)
• When checking stores I prefer, I can see at a glance how may items they have on sale
• Because my stores are listed, I never forget to check one (that I might otherwise forget)
• I can view sales "by category" (women, men, home, electronics, etc.)
• If I like one of the listed stores, I can "follow" it via the app
• I can view and add items to my "Shopping List", see end date of sale,  get item details, share details with friends, map location, call the location
• If I want, I can create a "Shopping Circle" with friends & family. (That's all I need, huh? A bunch of shopaholics with an app to enable us!)

Whew! That's a lot, right? Because you can track and view so much information with the app, I like that I can go into profile and see what I've got going on: my shopping circle, stores I'm following, categories I'm following (I almost forgot to mention that), items on my price-watch list (did I mention that one?), and the items I've "Liked."

Like I said, there's a lot to like about this app. Currently, my favorite part of it is checking the sales and coupons. 

I got so wrapped up in the app, I forgot to mention Zoomingo online.

Have fun & don't blame me for your shopping addiction!

Peace

--Free

If the Shoe Fits, Get It!

I mentioned in the last post that I had a shoe story coming. Yep.

For a gift a couple weeks ago I got some of the cutest  boots ever. Just too cute. See?

Bad pic. The boots are not gold, but dark tan.

Problem is, the heels are about 4 1/2 inches high and I felt like I was drunk and on stilts. I could walk in them but only if I kept shooting my arms out for balance and wasn't required to move in anything like a straight line. On the plus side, my sister had the best laugh she's had since our recent family tragedy. She laughed so hard I thought she was going to vomit. I admit I was a little comical, but didn't think I was all that funny.

Those gorgeous boots went back to Burlington. Since I felt bad having to return a gift, I decided to do an exchange. I mean, it is winter now and I do need boots, right? This way, I was spending no money of my own. Thing is, I can no longer get away with wearing just any kind of footwear. Back in the day, I could cram my feet into any kind of shoe or boot and strut my butt off. I hit 45 and my feet got all snobby about what's comfortable. Then, at 50, Sarc hit me and my whole body got an attitude. Until a few months ago, I got nervous if the soles on my tennis shoes were too thick. Currently, I need something made well and most likely not of man-made materials.  I can finally do heels again - if they aren't outrageous.

Just like the man I want: warm, cute, safe.

I have no idea why classic looks don't stay in fashion for the average consumer. So many of the shoes and boots I saw at the stores around my town looked like they belonged in specialty catalogs for someone dancing off a pole or just trying to spice up their sex life - or maybe just for folks with really awful tastes. And with no fear of heights. This is Anchorage. In Alaska.  We have a lot of ice and snow for most of the year. I'm not really out to impress anyone but myself. I saw too many styles that made no sense at this point in my life.

Cute, cute, cute. But insane!

"You better work, girl."

Where's the rest of it???

"Then I'm going to tie you up..."

I look at some of those shoes and wish I'd lived a little faster when I was younger! Hah.

Guess what? Most shoes, cheap, mid- or high-priced, are made of materials labeled as "man-made," plastic/pvc or "faux-" something. I went through both Burlington stores before I found 3 pairs of boots that qualified as leather, well-made, and (in my book) cute. I even had to put back a super-sweet pair of designer-named boots because I saw that, despite the steep price, the man-made label kicked them off my list. Damn.

I ended up with... Vera Wang, baby. On sale for less than the shoes I got as a gift. Score. And, seriously, it matters not too much to me that the boots are by V.W.; I just love that they are leather, cute and comfy. Triple score. The label does indicate good quality. I like that. The ones I got are called "Emmanuel" and very similar to these, except the top buckle is higher up on mine. Sturdy, cute and very durable.

No matter who's on the label, these are Alaska-worthy.

Anyway, since I came out a little ahead of the game (and I had a little PFD left from bills), I went ahead and gifted myself with this pair of Fergie boots. I'm now officially a fan of the footwear line. So damn cute that when I'm strutting around in them, I forget I still have over 20 pounds to lose! Except for one thing, I actually like them better than the V.W.s

"Giddy-up" +J.D. Hughes & Marla would be proud!

Freaking cute!

Of course, that's not the end of this story. (This is me we're talking about.) Girl met boots and they fell in love, but didn't exactly live happily ever after.

My Fergies and I needed a little post-purchase adjustment period. Literally. I fell instantly in love with these boots, but the store only had one pair left. In size 7 1/2. I used to fit that size. Back before my freaking "growth spurt." I'm not sure if I am a full size 8 or not, but I had to shoe-horn the hell out of the Fergies until I could walk without pimping, crimping and making all kinds of crazy faces. It's all good now.

By the way, just in case you didn't know, there are ways to get a tight pair of (leather) shoes/boots to fit better:

• With a couple pairs of socks on each foot, cram into the footwear and run warm dryer over the tight area while wriggling your foot around. (I could barely get my bare foot in my boots, so I crammed in some old towels instead.)
• Stuff the footwear with damp towels or paper and let sit overnight. (I didn't want to use this method because I was afraid of my lighter-colored leather being affected. I suppose you can just work with dry materials and let sit for a couple days.)
• Use a shoe-horn to gradually stretch out the footwear. When you can wear the shoes or boots without being in too much pain, walk around the house in them until you break them in.

Such a pain in the butt, huh? I don't care. I kept the other couple pairs of shoes and boots I own and just pretty much tossed out my other old  dressier type footwear. I'm going to be wearing the soles off the few pairs of shoes and boots I still own. Quality is still preferable to quantity.

Peace

--Free

New Addictions

Looks like I have traded my smoking addiction for new ones.

My Cessation Nation app tells me that I have been smoke-free for 71 days, 23 hours and 31 minutes. In that time, I have bought and used up about 22 candles. I can count the jars that I save to put my Starburst candy in.

Yep. Not only am I buying candles (they keep the air smelling so vanilla and fresh!), but Starburst "Favoreds" and the hard and chewy Jolly Ranchers have become my crack. Sweet, sweet moments of heaven...

I'm not crazy. Everybody knows Starbursts rock. Heck, they have a wiki page.

In case you are thinking that I only gave up one one bad habit for another, I can tell you not to worry. I have a third new addiction that works in my favor, despite all that sweet, sugary goodness going into my mouth.

Yes. Yes, I do have the best friends & family.

I've told you people before that I have friends and family that Verizon never heard of. Those 3 items up there are the latest gift from the roomie.

Since the 20th of last month, I have been walking every weekday. Not miles and miles, not over the willow and through the woods or however the heck that saying goes, but...

My neck of the woods ain't shabby

... I can get 2 miles if I make a few circuits through the neighborhood. With a view just as pretty as any willow or wood I've ever seen.

And apparently my family and friends are a lot more supportive of my fitness efforts than I imagined.

Yesterday, the roomie gave me a b.s. story about needing to make a run of errands and wanting my company. We hit Burlington's and split up while she looked for "some clothes" and I checked out purses. I lost track of her for about an hour. Then we hit Sears and split again. She was still looking for clothes and I was still checking out purses. I'm kinda into purses...

I should have been suspicious about it all since usually we chicks scrutinize clothing together. We are like a panel off of "Next Top Model" when we hit those fitting rooms. For some reason, she kept ditching me. Then,  when she did want my input, it was about tennis shoes. Wha-?

(I was busy looking at cowboy boots. Always wanted a pair because they make your butt look so tooted up there and cute.)

The cowboy boots were cheaply made & hurt. I got these cute booties for my niece's b-day tho!

Anyway, you probably guessed that this is how she sneaked and got me those workout gifts up there at the top of the page.

So, yeah, I have to leave this posting and get over there, light me an energy candle and learn how to use that Step-"thingie." I even have wrist weights to wear when I workout. How cool is that?

Peace
--Free

Rich Shopper, Broke Shopper

My roommate and I love to shop, but we have different shopping styles. The real shoppers out there know what I mean when I say that. There are distinct types of shoppers (and several more sub-types). The two types of shoppers who fascinate me the most are the ones who browse and the ones who buy without blinking.

The Browser is the shopper who practice that form of first-world torture called "Window Shopping." Unless you're in the market for windows, that's stupid anyway. Who the heck ever came up with the idea of just browsing is one sick son of a you-know-what. (I gave up smoking. Trying to lose the cursing.) For someone like me, browsing in, say, Walmart, would be like a lonely sex addict hanging out in The Pleasure Palace Adult Toy Store. Impossible.

I don't even like to talk about Browsers. They make me feel inadequate. They make me feel like I should be able to do what they do without being medicated and trussed up like Hannibal Lecter.

Moving along.

The shoppers I envy are those who can buy without blinking. I think of them as the Bored Who Can Afford.

I rarely hang where I can observe the super-wealthy, but I've had moments. This shopper is easy to spot. Look for the person who doesn't blink, swallow, or shudder really hard, when they see a ridiculously high priced common item.

When living in Arizona, I once wandered into a Williams Sonoma store by accident. (It was an accident because I never should have been anywhere near the Scottsdale Fashion Square. Let me quit playing - I shouldn't have been in Scottsdale, period.) As soon as I walked into the store, I knew I was like Pretty Woman wandering into a Chanel boutique. But my pride made me resist running and screaming back to a Walmart in my part of town. I decided to make a casual cruise-through and then just sort of saunter out of the place before an employee offered to help me find something. I almost made it out of there without embarrassing myself, but then...

~sigh~

Have you ever seen one of those food graters that have multiple attachments? I have (because I watch a lot of cooking shows). Barefoot Contessa be damned, I have no need for a grater that does more than the $3.25 one I use for cheese (okay - and for reaching things in the back of my spice cabinet), but I saw one at Williams Sonoma that looked pretty cool. Another lady stopped to look at the same item. She smelled like new leather and good perfume. She smiled at me (acceptance). I smiled back and, caught up in the moment, lost my mind for a minute and forgot exactly where I was. When I reached up and flipped over the price tag the grater which looked a lot like this,

Does it grate Cheddar into "chedda"?

I almost had what my mother would call a "conniption fit." That #$%# thing cost over one hundred and twenty dollars.

I swallowed my gum. Ms. New Leather didn't even look toward the price tag, but she smiled at me again and picked up two of the graters before she strolled away. The heifer did it just to put me in my place. I know she did. Rich people...

Call me a hater if you want, but giving more than ten bucks - maybe twenty - for a small kitchen tool is just snooty. But that's how the rich can do it. I bet New Leather has never even used her graters. She probably has a private sous chef and cook. And I can't even curse about it. $%#%*!

The other day, the roomie and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond. This is a big deal because I almost never go there. For one thing, I want every single item in the store. For another thing, I'd have to take out a small loan to afford some of the stuff they sell. Nevertheless, I needed a set of those Magic Hangers that have been on my Wish List for a minute. I say I need the hangers because that's the truth. Number One, I have a small closet and clothes in at least 3 different sizes. Number Two, I am a woman. I guess Number Two kind of explains it all, right? Anyway, Magic Hangers really do maximize the use of a closet.

Understand that I am a frugal sort of person. The difference between "frugal" and "cheap" is that a frugal person goes for quality and best price while a cheap person will buy condoms from a Dollar Store.

My roommate is a spendthrift. The woman shops like she's Oprah. She will spend her last dime today without giving a damn about the gas money she needs tomorrow.

We get to B.B.B. and I go off-course only once. There is a sale on bath sheets and I have been dying for some new ones since I left the old ones with the ex. I get ONE bath sheet and then go straight to the Magic Hangers. In the end, I left the store with the towel, the hangers and a couple of .99 cent candles. I was so proud of myself. I pretty much felt like this:

"Can't touch this, baby!"

My roommate? ~another sigh~ I have no idea what all she bought, but I heard the clerk giving her total as a high seventy-something. What the heck? I was the one going for hangers. She was only going along to keep me company!

I didn't want to ask her what she bought, but I felt bad for her when we got home. I saw her sitting in the living room, looking from her receipt to her wallet. Her face looked something like:

"Wha? Huh?"

That evening, she asked me to stay with her in any store at all times. I have best friend orders to pimp-slap her if she buys anything that looks unnecessary. I told her to do what I do: pile your cart as high as you want - as long as, before you get to check-out, you put back everything you don't need or can't afford.

Peace
--Free

Handle With Care

I have a peeve with online merchants. I won't even go into a lot of detail, but consider the following:

With a $15 gift certificate from NewEgg.com (please, don't get me started on their asses & why I have this chintzy gift cert), I have been trying to order some earbuds. I just want to use the 15 bucks before the gift cert expires.  I found 2 pairs to add to the Shopping Cart:


--JVC HA-F10C 3 3.5mm Connector Earbud Headphone.

Price: $4.25 Shipping* $2.99

and

--Maxwell 190560 3.5mm L-plug Connector Earbud Dynamic Earbuds (Black)

Price: $2.99 Shipping* Free

(The descriptions are straight from NewEgg. *Shipping is noted on item detail pages as "restricted"; a note on the Shopping Cart page warns, "Additional fees may apply to shipments to AK, HI and PR.")

No problem. Just about dang anybody that has something online to sell online tries to charge more to those outside the Lover 48. Whatever.

I'm thinking that, surely, 15 bucks will cover a both pair of such cheaply priced earbuds - even with the "additional fees". (The weight of the JVC buds Googled out at 0.46oz. I've probably swallowed a greater weight of spiders in my sleep.)

I enter in my zip code (so that S&H can be calculated) and...

The subtotal/products less S&H (even though, for whatever reason, the JVC's priced at $5.99):

$8.99

The total of Shipping (my zip code gets one choice of "NewEgg 2 Day"):

$19.17

Yeah.

So, the total I'd have to pay for a couple pairs of cheap earbuds that weigh practically nothing is $28.15

What the happy hell?

Now, back when getting things to Alaska (or almost anywhere else) was pretty troublesome, ridiculous shipping and handling charges were just a part of our lives. Every time my family here sent gifts to my Lower 48 fam, we longer saving up for the mailing charges than we had for any gifts. That was just life. Then. These days, people in the Lower 48 can have groceries delivered cheaper than some other folks can drive back and forth to the store. Global supply chain management goes on every day. What the hell is it about merchants having a problem shipping between the Lower 48 and Alaska (or Hawaii and Puerto Rico)? 

I was so irritated that when a buddy called to chat, all I did was complain until they decided to just help me look up some stuff while we were on the phone. Probably only to shut up my harping ass! LOL

He told me to go over to http://postcalc.usps.com/

Guess what?

If someone in Miami (which is about as far away from Anchorage Alaska as you can get without leaving the U.S.) sent me a 10" x 5" PRIORITY Flat Rate Envelope, it would cost them a whopping 5 bucks at the Post Office - or $4.90 online. FIVE DOLLARS. Five.

So where the hell are the sellers at NewEgg shipping this spaceship-sized package from? Mars? Hell, I could skate my happy ass down and get the package for cheaper than they want to charge.

This whole rip-off of shipping prices when it comes to merchants selling to Alaskans is insane. I know that some merchants do the right thing. One of the most fabulous places to shop online is The Fragrance Shop. They manage to send bubble-wrapped, fragile bottles of oil fragrances for a super-fair price (around 4 bucks, if I remember right). If you want to talk handling charges, TFS also wraps each order in beautiful paper inside a nice box and they include a free sample of fragrance in every single order. I'm pretty sure the last item I got from them weighed more than 6 pairs of earbuds.

Seriously, you merchants out there, you have to start thinking better of your customers. You probably are losing some good business. Plenty of Alaskans make great money. We are stuck up here in snow for months and always looking for ways to keep from succumbing to Cabin Fever. Do you know how many folks practice "retail therapy?" It's not even that regular working people can't afford the S&H; sometimes, it's just an attitude of not wanting to be screwed over.

Now my friend is writing NewEgg a complaint letter since I am starting to feel a little too Sarc-y too focus. I told him how nice he is to do that. He said it's only because I can worry the stink out of shit and he doesn't want to hear me bitching about this every time we talk. Heh heh.

Peace

--Free

Super-Sized Stupid

I looked at this picture in this article and had to ask myself: "If I could, would I?"

A 1 million dollar shoe collection? Seriously? 

No, I don't think that I would. Even if I trade the word "shoes" for "purse" or "perfumes." No.

I swear, I think what's wrong with us all today is that we have no limits. We are a "super-size" mentality. Food, sex, cars, homes, shoes, clothes... Anything we can have, we want the biggest, most expensive, fastest, fattest, richest - just any-est.

I know that somebody reading this is saying, "So?" But it is a "So?" issue. It matters.

This is why people are starving themselves to be the thinnest. You know that centuries back, people were being gluttons to be the fattest. How silly are we? Women are risking surgery and other medical procedures to have the biggest boobs and/or butts and/or lips. And, wait though - sometimes people let freaks off the street or operating out of their kitchen sink perform these procedures! Like they're getting a relaxer put on their hair by Mr. Leo or something... Too bad there's not a procedure to force us to better use our brains.

I have seen the most ridiculous "news" stories over the past year about people being so damn silly with money. There was the one dad who bought his daughter an apartment that cost something like 60 million dollars. There were the two rich guys competing to have the most expensive yacht. It's as if these fools - rich, super-rich or freak-me-mama wealthy are trying to see who can spend the most money the fastest. One rapper was in a club, just fanning hundred-dollar bills across some stripper's ass. (In two years, I might get to read about his bankruptcy or non-payment of spousal or child support, right?)


Let's not just pick on the rich. Poor people are almost as bad, sometimes worse. People who don't have next month's rent are in the stores, just knocking each other over to buy tennis shoes for two- and three-hundred dollars. Or they are driving cars with more value in the rims than the car itself. Or - this was my favorite when I was in one small town a couple years ago: they are like the guy that had a Bentley (I am dead serious) parked outside his house - a house that looked like those tar-paper shacks you see in photo-essays about American poverty. A Bentley. A Pepto-Bismol pink Bentley. I didn't even know what kind of car it was until I asked somebody. Broke-ass, dumb-ass, embarrassingly stupid person.


Look even at the way we see food. It's already been talked about how we "super-size" everything (except our salads) when we go out to eat. What kills me is the way we have started using food as a status symbol. It used to be enough to be seen in an "exclusive" restaurant, but now we go another step. Now, we want be-jeweled food. I guess rich some folks can't just have a hamburger unless it's garnished with gold dust or dust of diamonds or some such! Or - and I guess this is if you're too classy for blinging out your food - there are the recipes using some outrageously priced meat or mushroom. Maybe one that only grows in the Himalayas every six years and on a full moon. Or meat from a cow that was fed caviar and grapes. People don't care as long as they think they are being "exclusive."

Personally, I want to be inclusive, especially when it comes to my food. I want to know that lots of people have eaten (and lived through) what I'm ordering. I don't want to be the idiot that gobbles down something exotic and new. Find out a few years later that the knot growing on the side of my ass is from some weird and unpronounceable shit I paid a lot of money to eat.

I don't know, though. I guess we started to doing these crazy things to feel more important than someone else. Now we can't stop.

Of course, this is the "broke-ass" me talking. Give me a few million dollars to play with and we'll see...

Peace
--Free

I Love Gadgets

In case you can't tell, I love gadgets. Anything that shines or beeps or can be enhanced with wallpapers, backgrounds or extra memory - that's the stuff.

So... I have a few places around the web where I like to browse & dream:

Coolest Gadgets - They have stuff for just about anybody, like the "Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer" (for real), a stonebake pizza oven (I want, I want) and this wearable alarm clock that I really should get for my niece who doesn't simply sleep but goes into 9-hour comas.

Techfresh - These guys seem a little more serious & upscale. The first thing that caught my eye was the Solar Cell Tree Charger (no kidding, you can charge a cell phone or camera from something that looks cute sitting on your desk). Then they have a whole section that I need to tell my nephew about: "Upcoming Cell Phones". He's a man who likes to have the latest phone before it even comes out, so...

Think Geek - Nothing on the first page grabbed my short-assed attention span, but if you want to browse, check out something I saw about Jolt drinks in new flavors.

Net Gadget - I don't know what it says about me that I jumped right over to the "Spy Stuff", but once I got there, I was a little disappointed. Yeah, they have things that sound cool, like the bionic ear and walkie-talkie sunglasses, but they look cheap 'n cheesy like the stuff you'd find on a dusty flea-market table.

Discovery (Channel) Store - Even if you find something cheesy here, it won't be cheap. I actually fell in love with the strange-looking shuttle and globe set (it hovers, people; how cool is that? Too bad it hovers right out of my price range for something that I can't eat, live in or drive...). The anti-gravity globe looks nice, so does the magnetic globe puzzle (which I could actually afford).

Gadget Universe - It at least LOOKS a little less flea-market like than Net Gadget, but has some similar spy stuff. So if you want an "agent cam" or "bionic ear", I'd go here instead.