At least I didn't buy fabric today !

(shiver) So very cold… of course we went to Dollar Tree and Kohl’s ! Glad we did. I got two iridescent glittery white star ornaments, the only two rolls of Frozen wrapping paper in the store (opened a just-offloaded box to get ‘em, with permission), and a pair of 11.5oz Disney Princess microwaveable lidded containers, much like small GladWare disposable ones. They’re just the right size to hold some of the post-Halloween skeleton gummy candies I snagged on sale, four packages for $1.

We had to relocate a table from the kitchen to Beloved Hubby’s truck – it’s now a work table ! – so I moved the coffee maker to our bedroom. Now that it’s so close, and mornings are so chill, it’s being used a lot more ! Beloved prefers liquid creamers to milk, so he finished up my old bottle today. No problem. Got him a new one and another flavor for tomorrow, along with the dehydrated pineapple and papaya he likes. I’m sticking with milk, as the creamers are kinda sugar-heavy. Dearest Son made his usual choices, then added two more treats, from his yard sale stash. He’s making the most of his funds, I’m so proud.

Kohl’s has really put out toys for the holiday season, and they have TONS of Frozen stuff. No dolls. But lots of clothes and toys and things like snowglobes, jewelry, and stuffed Olafs. They had a huge one, taller than me, for $99. They even had $6. bags of winter-colored Frozen branded jellybeans ! I carried the Elsa ornament – on sale for $10.19 ! – around for a while, but Dearest selected a long-sleeved sweater-shirt that looked so good on him… well, maybe next time, Elsa ! With the ‘$10. off ‘ coupon, it was $4., and we were out the door. It’s so soft, and striped heather grey, black, and burgundy. From the Tony Hawk line, dontchaknow.

Finally got the application for that one ‘no deposit’ (snort) house, and it’s since been filled out and emailed back. We’ll see. At least there wasn’t an application fee ! Beloved has his eye on another place, waaaay out in the sticks, so if this one doesn’t pan out, we’ll probably go to their open house Saturday. There’s advantages to both, and I can be happy anywhere – long as I have Beloved and Dearest ! and I don’t have  to live with FIL…

More fabric ? Yeah.... but it was on sale !

(grin) Seems like Kohl’s isn’t the only one doing the ‘free stuff !’ coupon promo – today I got my second of these from Ace Hardware, $5. off anything in the store. Heck, I could get sodas and candy for us, if nothing else. And we needed lightbulbs. I hadn’t planned on going out today, but the coupon was good today only, a Veteran’s Day promotion.

$10. later, we left with a box of 40w bulbs (hard to find around here) and a set of Anchor Hocking lidded glass bowls ! I’d been wanting some, and these were good for cooking or storing leftovers. On sale, $12. for eight bowls of various sizes, with matching lids. 

I also talked Dearest Son into a quick trip to Tuesday Morning, where he fell in love with some RC cars – well noted, Christmas is coming. They had a few MH dolls, including the Heath & Abbey set for $15., but not much I wanted in Toys. The huge Whitman’s Sampler was tempting, though… darn diabetes ! I ended up spending $12. on fabric – two bundles of fat quarters (one with 5, the other 7, all different prints) and a luscious yard of raw-silk look emerald taffeta. Wish me luck sewing that one !

Since we were out anyway, we stopped by the thrift. Veteran’s Day sale there, too, so I got 25% off a pair of jeans for Beloved Hubby, a t-shirt for me, a bundle of about $20. worth of ribbon and lace (mostly because of one strip of lace very similar to some I couldn’t afford from an Etsy seller), and a complete The Onion Presents A Dumb, Thoughtless Gift page-a-day 2014 calendar. I’ve been enjoying that, believe it or not ! All for less than ten bucks. Whoo-hoo !

Lest you think I completely neglected Dearest, he has money to spend, he just chose not to spend it on anything he saw today. I got him a snack and a soda for being my shopping buddy, which he always likes. We also ordered the computer components he saved for this morning, so he’s clam-happy.

We also heard back from the landlord of that place we looked at in PreviousTown, the one that’s willing to work out a trade of paint and carpet for deposits. I thought he and Beloved had worked an agreement out between them, that’s why we were hurrying down there, but as it turns out, no. Even with ‘no deposits’, landlord still wants first month’s rent, and a full ‘mother’s maiden name’ application. He says he’ll decide between five other applicants in a few days, so we’ll see. I’m actually waiting for him to email me the app, he didn’t have any at the house. It’s a pretty chewed up place, but the bottom line is, I can be happy anywhere, long as I don’t have to live with FIL under the same roof. And I already know how good Beloved can make a neglected house look, so I’m game. I just want to know where we’re going, and when ! 

Elsa's here !

Up early to do laundry – the last triple load ! – and hit the bank. Not comfortable with that much cash lying around, and when Dearest Son and I decide to buy anything, it’ll be fine coming out of Checking, online or off. Got it all put away, then went on a dirty clothes safari about the wilds of Chez Insanity, and there’s already half another triple ready to go. By Wednesday, the basket will probably be full and overflowing. While I forgot to wash my new slippers, I finally remembered to throw in the dishtowels and the disgusting potholders – mine get manky in a few days, but I always forget to add them to the pile. Even got my MH mousepad clean… well, cleaner. How I got that so stained is beyond me.

Got an email from SSVF, that social services group for veterans that’s trying to help us with deposits and such on a new place, with several apartments and duplexes for rent that are evidently familiar with SSVF regs and paperwork. Beloved Hubby is on fire about getting out of here (although he does backtrack about the house at least four or five times a week), so we’ll look at them together tonight and maybe get things started. It’d be so nice if we can use SSVF’s help… won’t rely on it, but it’d help out so much. Looked at them all – no garages, but provided the neighborhood is decent, I wouldn’t have a problem living and being happy in any of them. Especially when money and food stop disappearing.

And, as you can see, Elsa arrived today, in the early afternoon. It may be just a coincidence, but we’re in for seriously colder weather for the next two weeks… I just have to say, wow. Disney certainly knows how to make a package special ! When I opened the box, the tissue paper was covering Elsa and the air bubble cushion, and it was like opening a rare gift from foreign climes. It even seemed like Tinkerbell and Pluto were impressed. What a beautiful doll. She was so worth waiting for, and would have been worth the $80. if I’d have had it. I keep staring at her, perfect in her box, wondering when I’ll be brave enough to take her out.

One odd thing. There’s a sticker on the bottom with three Disney character images – Grumpy, Chip and Dale, and Ariel – with their names underneath. What’s that for ? Is it a code for who picked and packed the box ? 

Sunday tool time !

Another beautiful, if windy-cool, day. Up early to go with Beloved Hubby – he wanted tools with his funds, and if I went with, I’d get the Veteran discount on them. Even when we splurge, we’re thrifty !

My Etsy splurge yesterday seemed to cool me down for anything more than window shopping – which I did a lot of ! So many ways to spend my remaining funds. Doll shoes, patterns, books… there’s not a lot I want, but there’s tons I wouldn’t mind  having ! 

Kind of a yawny day...

Can you believe I got another Kohl’s ‘ $10. off any $10. Purchase’ coupon ? Wish I could figure out how to get these forwarded to me when we move. They’re actually in MIL’s name, but she refuses to use them, even when I offer to drive her. You’d think she’d want some pillows or new towels, but no. Since I lost out on using my last one – ended up in the ER with a hernia that time – I’m looking forward to Tuesday, when this one is valid. 

Ain't nothin' goin' on but the laundry...

The only thing I had going on today was laundry, which felt rather odd. I kept thinking I had some appointment or something important to do immediately, but my next one’s not ‘til the 20^th, with the VA. Once the latest load of clean clothes were put away, I napped. Felt like I deserved it !

Then I started cleaning up the Arena. It’d been a mess since a week before the yard sale, and I was simply too tired to fix it. Bits of MH furniture, single doll shoes, fabric scraps, broken pencils, and tiny computer screws everywhere. Took me two hours, but I finally got it all stored and situated, with about 50 more Lego pieces being returned to Dearest Son, and several pencils sharpened. I can sew if I want to now ! And I rather want to…

But even with the nap, I’m worn. The rainy weather triggered my asthma, and that keeps me awake and I crash a bit when the crisis passes. I just kinda stared into space and watched Grimm on Amazon Prime. I liked it, but it’s quite violent – good thing I have a fast trigger-finger for that ‘mute’ button. The show’s producers may think they’re sparing me the gore, but two minutes of screams is actually worse. 

Hot Wheels Fun with Dearest Son !

Elsa is on her way ! Oddly, Diz billed me yesterday, but she didn’t ship ‘til late today. They’re normally very strict on the ‘no billing ‘til after shipping’ thing, but not so this time. I have no idea when she’ll get here – the tracking info is basically ‘we got that they’re gonna ship’ and not much else – but she’s already left California, so maybe Tuesday or so. While I’m jealous of everyone who’s had her for months, I’m probably just as excited as you were then !

I promised to take Dearest Son to Dollar Tree today – it seemed so unfair that I was getting to go everywhere, even if it was medical and paperwork, and he was stuck at home, except for Tuesday’s tires. Not a lot of fun, even if it was McD’s breakfast and the Mal-Wart Lego and computer sections. However, all this rain made it hard on my lungs, so it was slow going. He even offered to put things off if I wasn’t well. Ya’ll know me, that just made me so much more determined to get him to some fun. They finally had his favorite popcorn in, and I got a few groceries and the last of the frozen clams. Beloved Hubby has really enjoyed those. I got some leftover Halloween candy (no candy corn, darn it) and a bag of PopCorners, so I was happy, too. Had to hit Mal-Wart (the grocery one, not the big Mega-one with the auto service center) for a few extra things, so he got to pick out a 2-liter of his choice. He was all set for a junk-food afternoon !

He found a James Bond 007 Hot Wheels toy car and examined it thoroughly. I told him he could have it, but he said he wanted to save his money for his computer upgrade. Of course, I got it for him – who’s gonna say no when it’s only 84¢ ? He was so happy, he showed it off to the cashier and the guy behind us in line, saying it’d been a long time since he’d picked out a new Hot Wheels ! I now wonder if they thought we were seriously that broke…

Not that it matters. He was happy, and I was glad to see him so. Once we got home and shoved the frozen foods away, I more or less crashed for two hours. Then it was up and at ‘em for more laundry ! It had really backed up on us, but after today, there’s two more Laundromat triple-loaders (to me, it’d be two regular loads), and that even catches us up on sheets. I’ll do another tomorrow, then wait ‘til Monday to finish up. I’d rather leave the washers and dryers to the folks who need ‘em on weekends – plus by then, we’ll probably have another triple ready to go !