Had a nice little mini-vacation

We went to Stockbridge, GA, for 4 nights. Rick played golf with a friend a couple of days. I was able to get completely caught up with my coupons. That's a big job! I found a great deal on olive oil at my local Bi-Lo, but, the deal goes off tonight and I just got back from GA and don't want to get dressed and go to Bi-Lo. That's OK, just grab it the next time it comes around. We took our little Miniature Pincer, Molly, with us on this trip. The hotel doesn't charge extra for a pet. Many charge $20 per night for one. It was a nice break, but, back to reality tomorrow morning. In my mind, I'm still on vacation 'til 8 AM on Wednesday! Since I was in the Atlanta area, I bought 4 Sunday papers. Better coupons than at home. Also, found some inserts in a weekly local paper at a restaurant. Rick wouldn't let me go through all the papers and take the inserts. I only got away with one extra. He's such a wet blanket! I'm really trying to get back in the coupon game and find some deals. I'm somewhat limited in that. Bi-Lo is the biggest grocery chain here aside from WM. Won't shop WM. It's a moral issue with me. Food Lion closed all their stores here. There's a couple of Publix, but, way out of the way for me. Luckily, Bi-Lo doubles up to .60, so I can get some pretty good deals there from time to time. I still have a healthy pantry. Rick didn't make me get rid of everything! We took over $800 in goods to the local rescue mission last week. It runs the gamut. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash, towels, clothes, music, household goods. It was a load. Took 3 days to get it all there. Good things happen when you give. We received $70 in free Chili's GC since we gave all that. We like to eat out a lot. Bad for the budget, good for us. What can I say? The bad news. Since we left last Friday, 5 credit card bills came in the mail. Bummer! We play the points game with every purchase. Use X credit card, earn airline miles. Use Y credit card, earn hotel points. Use Z credit card, earn cash back. We play them all. The trick is to pay them off every month so we don't pay interest. Trying, trying. Usually pretty good at it.

Just an update on my life, such as it is. Last week, I bailed on my step-mother and left her brother to his own devices. Other family members, my dad's family, not hers, have stepped in to pick up the slack. My doctor told me last week that I was in the midst of a mental breakdown and that I was not to take care of anyone but myself for the next 2 months. Rick had a scare last week. I thought he was having a stroke and took him to the ER. No stroke, but, lots of stuff wrong with him. We are trying to address those issues. We are going out of town tomorrow for some R&R for a few days. Rick will be playing golf and I will be catching up on my coupons. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It's about 160 miles from home, just far enough to say, "Sorry, can't get there today." Received an email from CVS this week for a free body wash. It had a short date on it, so, I went by today and got it. It was $2.37. Not much, but, every little bit helps. We had a serious problem at Chili's about 3 weeks ago. Sent 3 emails, nothing. Talked to the area manager yesterday. He was very interested in our take on things. Gave us $40 in GC to use later. He also gave us a "mystery shop" form to send him on all our visits. I've told you about the SBKC thing before. You send in your junk emails and mail and credit card bills and such. I earned $40 from last month's submissions. I'm going to redeem for $20 CVS GC and $20 Chili's GC. I'd love to have more, but, I'm thankful that by sending some junk to them, I'm earning $40 for a month of participation. I am on the lookout for ANY coupons for a free GC to a pharmacy for NEW prescriptions. There's plenty for a transfer, but, I have 3 scripts not in my Medicare formulary that I have to pay for. GC are just sweet! Our regional store, Bi-Lo, out of SC and in my area, have a free coupon every time you send in your survey from your receipt. We now have enough bagels and spaghetti to feed an army. Rick has a fit when I bring more in. Hey! Free is good! What can't he understand about that? My great-nieces scored 16 packs of pudding cups last month. I'm sure their parents aren't thrilled about the sugar high I gave them, but, hey, I don't have to live with them! Sorry about my absence lately. I've been overwhelmed with family responsibilities for quite a while. I'm trying to get back to normal.