Aaremin’s Table

I read in a magazine recently that it seems more logical to refer to September as the New Years time, and I can see that logic.  School goes back (so hurray for all the parents!), the fall tv schedule fires up – all new shows!

And the faintest hint of fall begins to show in the breeze.  Even here in the desert the temperatures while still high, begin to drop more in the evenings.  And it is when I begin my yearly ritual.  I find all the fall scents I can and when you walk through my door, it is fall inside!  I even begin to slowly get out and display my halloween decor.   A door hang on the front door, a broom in the window, maybe even get up my pumpkin lights this weekend.

Fall is a magical time for folks who follow the same spiritual path that I do.  Its harvest time, and the Earth is changing.  In other parts of the country, and the world its a time when things begin to shut down.  Here in the desert, things come alive.  We can get out and enjoy the night air, renew our gardens, and celebrate the changing of the seasons.

Its a magickal time!

Oh its a beautiful night here in the Desert – I have a door open! whoo whoo

So a craving for funyuns after we picked up another local paper (good coupons today!) sent us to our local Albertson’s.  I had issues paying full price for the bag, and started wandering around the store wondering if I really wanted them when I came down the cheese/lunch meat aisle.  Low and behold, these little lunchables were on managers special.

So they were on sale for $1.50, and the manager special coupon was $1.00 off

yeah, I felt better paying the full price on the funyuns when I also bought 10 lunchables for $6.40   I know I could have done without them.. but sometimes you just need a funyun!

Yep I’m entering another giveaway, why not – it costs me nothing, and I like that price!

So I’m entering a contest for some lovely Kraft Homestyle Mac n Cheese – and we loves some mac and cheese we do.

Want to enter?  Just go here to Michelle’s Bargains and Freebies and enter!

Do it, you know you want to!

Yeah, I went back for more ice cream, but it was a little different tonight

8 breyers 1pint (2 sets of 4, which got $4 off with the automatic unilever coupon that deducts)
1 small pack of wipes
1 Woman’s Day magazine
.05 off for bringing my own bag too

See, tonight evidently the coupons decided to double (Albertson’s is supposed to be doubling and tripling this week you see) so it took $1 off each ice cream, but after the unilever coupon, each ice cream only cost .50 cents so when it was all run up I only paid

.93 cents

It confused the cashier at first, but she just shook her head and took my change whoot!

I’ll be back there tomorrow for the last day to pick up a few more I think mwahahaha

This week Albertson’s is doing  a great sale, if you like ice cream.  Various items throughout the store are special value if you buy 4 of them (automatically triggers a $2 unilever coupon deducts) – and one of those items are pints of Breyers Ice Cream.

And as it happens right now at Circle K’s, there is a .50 cent coupon off of … Breyer Pints!

So this is what I just did, took my Circle K Diamondback coupon (for one 32oz drink and one Diamondback dog) to a Circle K that has been good to me in the past for taking them (ie NOT one of the ones that refuses to take printed coupons, or thinks I created it) and got me a free dog and drink, and grabbed a couple of coupons while in there.  I think headed off to Albertson’s (for the 2nd time today  – I love ice cream!) and picked up 4!

I have a sneaking feeling I’ll be there a few more times before Tuesday, good thing we  have access to a Big freezer!

I also stopped by CVS, with a $2 printed coupon from Listerine’s website off of their new product Listerine Zero, which happens to be on sale for $3.99 – used the $2 off and received back a $2 Extra Care Buck – so in essence paid .37 cents for the item when it was all said and done!

So today, I managed to get:

8 pints of ice cream
one bottle of greek pepperonchini’s
one bottle of Listerine
2 32oz drinks
2 diamondback dogs

and I am out of pocket .93  (yes I am counting the $2 extra care buck on the total of the listerine)

Now that’s what I am talking about!

There is a fabu giftcard giveaway happening at Living the Domestic Life, with so many ways to enter – go and check it out!

Anyone got a valid email address for Circle K HQ? The one’s I’ve tried from their website are bouncing due to full mailboxes!

One night back before we moved, we’d gone out to the movies.  We got all settled in and waited for the show to start and noticed there seemed to be a lot of under 18 kids around us for an R rated movie, but figured as long as they behaved we didn’t care.  And you know something, they didn’t bother us near as much as the gentleman two seats down from me who’d obviously seen the movie already, and was warning his companion over every scary scene almost a minute before it happened.  It was like I had my own play by play announcer who just wouldn’t can it!

.

So after getting home, and fuming about it for a little bit we decided to write a complaint.  Well worded, no flying off the handle, not pleased with the service – pointing out things like the theater checker that comes in after the movie starts to make sure things are running smoothly walked right past the gaggle of teens and never looked up once – those types of things.  And of course mentioned my play by play announcer, and the hassle we had over using a visa card – (their policy is if its a visa card and its signed you do not have to show id, but no one seemed to know that so that was an extra trek out to the car as we’d only brought the card in).  Anyways, long story short within a day or two we received a phone call from the local establishment.

.

They first thing they wanted to know is if we came out of the theater during the movie to complain to any one about the situation.  Politely it was explained that we shouldn’t have to abandon the situation, it isn’t like they would rewind the movie so we don’t miss anything!  We had explained that we did let someone know before the movie started that there seemed to be a LOT of teenagers in the R movie, but nothing came from that either.  The phone call was ended with reassurances that nothing like that would happen again, and a set of tickets were on their way to us.

.

Fast forward, tickets received and we noticed they didn’t seem to have the “not valid for special engagements” caveat that most free tickets do.  In other words, we could actually use them on a movie that just came out, instead of having to wait 3 weeks!  So we went and saw the Expendables and it was great!  We purposefully chose a matinee, which worked out great as it seemed to be all older folks in it, who also enjoyed the movie a great deal!

.

Well the long and short of it is, it does pay to complain about bad service.  Whether it be at the movies like us, or at the grocery story, or a restaurant, if they don’t know their employees aren’t doing their job to the satisfaction of the customer, it is within your right to let them know it in a calm and rational manner.  In the same respect, if you received spectacular service, also let the company know that too!  Sometimes they will send on customer appreciation goodies as a thank you for letting them know they’ve trained their people well.

It seems Targets are going to be closing out their garden centers in the fall

.

The Consumerist did a little story about it

.

time to scope out what might be on my can’t live without list!

We decided tonight to go and see a movie (Predators), and being the burgeoning coupon diva I am.. lets see how we did

.

Two tickets to a 7pm show, two medium popcorns, two medium drinks – grand total?

.

$2!!! – two loyalty cups for the drinks – $1 each for the fill, two free popcorns from the two loyalty t-shirts (both shirts and cups were on loan) – plus two free tickets from a lovely friend who works there!

.

And what goes better on date night than a nice quick bite out afterwards?  $5.36 for the both of us – two spicy chicken combo’s from Rally’s with a BOGO (buy one get one) combo coupon.

.

Grand total for a lovely date night?  $7.36 – smiles all around!