RobD

Carlton Cards also has them.

They had great giant bubble wands at See Spot Save in Target for $1.

This is the first year that my youngest "officially" knows there is no EB so there will be a $15 iTunes card each (using the $1 coupons I got off the Target clearance Cocoa Puffs :) always a book, and usually a movie, CD or videogame. Small amount of candy (oldest doesn't like chocolate so it makes it tough to keep things even, plus they're both in braces so no Peeps.) Youngest is obsessed w/rubber ducks so I usually do well w/some duck themed items. I just picked up most of my basket candy at Target last week (they had a rubber duck made of chocolate!)

Got some little deals today that I hadn't seen before. There were little Smackers lip gloss vinyl packages w/3 lip glosses in them marked down to 98 cents (got 5 for an upcoming birthday sleepover) and a Rubbermaid mini dashboard duster for $1.48. Got some Neutrogena Shampoo and some Vive shampoo marked down to $1.88. Saw the other hair products y'all mentioned and I'm glad I didn't pick them up yet because I have a coupon. Also picked up for my neighbor a Glitter Glue Galaxy w/motorized glue squeezer and 24 tubes of glitter glue for $7.49 (50% off.)

Re: the juice boxes. They are the 10 packs of MM juices, not the 15 packs. BUT it does not include the orange juice. So far I have found apple, fruit punch and grape. And I have found them in three different Targets, but it is sporadic. They just seem to show up. And they never have a red sticker or a clearance tag on the shelf. So now it is one of the things I check for everytime I go. If they're there, great; if not, then maybe next time.

Had a decent night at Target. Got 2 more of the MM juice packs (grape) which is great because the youth group is having their 30 hour famine this weekend & they need juice. Also got an Isaac Mizrahi twin sheet set for 9.98 and a DYR twin sheet set for 6.24.

Just so you know, the jeans in Aeropostale come in different lengths. We tried the 00 S (short) and they fit but they wouldn't for long so we went for the 00 regular.

I hit the jackpot today. Both my DD's have been looking for chairs for their room (one outgrew hers; the other was a casualty of my now deceased kitty's loss of bladder control) but they seem to be "dorm" season furniture. BB&B had a bentwood chair for $50 that we've looked at. It was on clearance today for $40 and I had the 20% off coupon. I got home & realized the cashier forgot to take the 30% off the clearance price so I called & they'll adjust it tomorrow am. So they'll end up being around $23 each. DH is putting them together now. But that's not even the best! Right after Christmas, my DD had seen this iTrip fm transmitter for an iPod. They were $40 and I told her to wait. They had a bunch of tables and endcaps today with all kinds of random clearance items. There was a very beat up iTrip box that was ripped and after getting assurances that I could return it if it didn't work, I picked it up for $6.99! It works great! Now if they only had another one for DH's car... RobD

Well, she's going to be 12 next month and she really doesn't care about clothes at all. But one day she'll thank me for making sure that her pants aren't always two inches above her white socks!

I stopped in Aeropostale yesterday since it's one of the few places I can get jeans to fit my daughter (she's in a 00 regular.) I found one pair on clearance for $14.99. I was talking to one of the employees about how it's a hard size to find and she told me they had more in the back. She went and looked for me and I ended up getting 3 pairs for $14.99 each! They had tags up to $59.99 (not that I would ever pay that!) She told me that I should always ask them to check the clearance stock in the back. What a great employee! RobD

Our church has a pancake dinner every year on Pancake Tuesday (or Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, etc :) that's a fundraiser for the youth group, so no free pancakes for us! Is it just for regular pancakes or can you get the flavored ones?

I don't think they take manufacturers coupons; I've never tried. But they do come out with their own "passports" a few times a year that have coupons for different items and sometimes they pass out sheets of manufacturers coupons specifically for Costco at the door. I got my TurboTax this way ($15 off $31.99!) and they usually have a BOGO coupons in August/Sept. for the boxes of 30 full size candy bars which I stock up on for Halloween (and I'm then the favorite house in the neighborhood for the same price as the mini size bars;) ) RobD

I've just posted a detailed reply under "Sams Club or Costco" about this. I will say that my in laws joined BJ's last year and HATED IT! They couldn't wait for the year to be over so that they could switch to Costco. I am a huge Costco fan: We've bought cars through their auto buying program, we use their optical dept, we started our IRA's and ESA's through their Sharebuilder program, I buy all my meat there plus all birthday cakes (their bakery is the bomb! especially their new huge cream puffs.) The only thing I wish they carried was older girls (size 7-16) and junior's clothing. RobD

For me, it's Costco. We belonged to both for the longest time (FIL had a business membership for Sam's and we piggybacked on for $5; plus at our old home Sam's was 1 mile away while Costco was 10.) I kept both after we moved, even the 1st year that I had to pay full membership for Sam's. And both Costco and Sam's here are in the same area so distance isn't an issue. For us, Costco has a much better quality and selection of merchandise. I use a lot of the Kirkland brand products such as laundry detergent, fabric softener, etc. which Consumer Reports usually ranks higher than the national brands. I started comparing what I bought from where and the only things that Sam's had that Costco didn't were Danimals drinkable yogurt and the sausage that DH uses for gumbo. Costco tends to carry some more high end merchandise (like cashmere sweaters and in those states where they can, really high quality wines/liquors) than Sam's. But they both carry the same basic items and prices on those are usually the same. I actually went to Sam's for the first time in about 2 years earlier this week and used one of the "one day pass" coupons to pick up the gumbo sausage for Super Bowl. I walked around and said to myself "yup, not really missing anything by not joining here."

I was a little frustrated today at Target as all the things that "should" have been on clearance (the christmas napkins, etc) were full price. They were in the process of clearancing all their snow shovels though. We are supposed to get snow here in Nashville tonight (we have all our snow removal implements from NJ though) and I was teasing the associates about picking the wrong day to clearance snow shovels. They said ice scrapers weren't included but all the shovels were. Hope this helps someone! The other thing that I don't understand is this: I have 3 Targets within 10 miles of my house. In the past week as I've been perusing I've noticed that a lot of the stuff that is clearanced in one store isn't in another, and if it is it's a different price. I thought they were regional decisions but I guess I'm wrong. Does store management make the decisions?

My mom and MIL along w/both my SIL's buy from QVC all the time. My mom is a big jewelry person and knows her stuff and she says a lot of it is good quality for a good price. She actually just bought 2 sets of 18 inch pearls for my DD's for their 16th birthdays (they are now 11 & 14) because they were a fantastic quality for the price; plus she said if she "goes" before they turn 16 they'll still get pearls from their grandma. Sigh. She also returns about half the stuff she orders because she doesn't like it. Somewhere somebody at the USPS is giggling with glee. My mom and MIL have conversations about the various hosts; it's almost like they know them. Now my mom is older, and she keeps it on as a diversion. I have ordered GC's from them (for mom & mil) a few scrapbooking things (Creating Keepsakes has a presence on there every few months) a pair of Birkenstocks and a Dooney & Bourke pocketbook (which was a good deal.) I don't really turn my TV on too often so it's not something I watch unless prompted by one of the mom's

We've had the purple Dyson for almost a year now, after the 4th vacuum in 5 years died. We have three cats and hair has always been a big problem The only problem we've had is when my DD was using it and a fiber from the carpet pulled loose and started unraveling while the brush was turning. I had to do a little surgery on the machine but it's been fine since. It is the only vacuum I have ever owned that doesn't throw the cat litter back towards me when I am vacuuming the area around the cat box. RobD

My DD's and I spent more time than we thought we would at Target today but we ended up doing OK. We just found out my SIL is expecting so we picked up Carters duck booties, duck cap and a Pooh cap for 1.24 each; a set of 6 circo infant spoons for .87; a Liz Lange maternity tee for 4.98; the BeBe Sounds prenatal heart listener for 4.97. Plus we got a Tak PS2 game, an Xmen PSP game and the Namco museum Battle collection PSP game all for 4.98 each. My dd picked up some water bottle/iPod holder combo for 1.98 that she said will be good when she works out. I saw a few pieces of furniture on clearance that I'll have to go back w/DH to check out. One is a bar cabinet; the other is the mission buffet. They had the mission buffet assembled on the floor but the sales girl said they can't sell the last one assembled off the floor. RobD

Yes, many times and at multiple locations. We have always been very pleased. My daughter and I have high index prescriptions (-8 and above) so our lenses are incredibly expensive. My last glasses from the optician's office at my eye doctor were over $400. I priced out Rx sunglasses last year: at the eye dr.'s they were going to be $425. Our insurance had changed (I had forgotten) so I just asked for the prescription. At Costco I paid $125 including the lenses. These were polarized, high index lenses with antireflective glare and the edges rolled and polished. My daughter just got the cutest glasses back in november. They are a black and rose B.U.M. frame called echo. I just pulled the receipt: frames: $49.99; High index aspheric lenses $69.99; antireflective treatment $29.99. Total: $149.97. Everyone keeps asking her where she got them and they're always so surprised when she says Costco. We also order her contacts from there too. A 6 month supply of advance toric lenses were $120 AND they had a $50 rebate. RobD

They were $6.88 in my Wal-Mart yesterday (I picked one up) but the music version was $14.99

They usually have some computer games; can't remember seeing any video system games. They are usually more of the educational type or book character inspired games, due to the fact that all the items available are for book fair and school book club sales. RobD

Thanks for the tip on the coupon. That makes it even better! I've never walked out of there without spending $100 so that will be used. I'm not sure about the deal comparison for teachers. It is a flat 50% off the cover price. Here in TN, the sale runs through 12/19, so maybe your snow will have melted by then. :) RobD

Scholastic books is having their warehouse sales across the country. They are wonderful! All titles are 50% off the cover price. They have primarily children's books, but they also have some adult titles, reference works, and software. Another great thing is that Scholastic has a lot of books available in soft cover that are not available through regular retail channels so that makes them even cheaper! (Series of Unfortunate Events is one example.) It says you have to be a teacher, librarian, administrator or homeschooler, but no one has ever asked me (although I am a librarian in training.) When I sign in at the desk, I just put down that I am a book fair volunteer (which isn't a lie) but no one checks credentials. Follow the link at www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/warehouse and access the list of states to see if there is a location in your area. RobD

This just happened to me at Sears last week. I bought the Canon 410 and went to customer pickup to receive it. Thank goodness the receiving clerk decided to check the box when he brought it out because there was no camera in it! I don't know if I would have looked before I wrapped it. The computer said they had 3 cameras but they ended up having none so after a 1/2 hour of going back and forth they had to order one for me. I will be checking all boxes before leaving a store now!

Opinions please: I am planning on getting a digital camera for my 13 y.o. daughter. Sears has the Canon A410 3.2MP for $139 this week and I have a 10% off coupon making it $125 w/o tax. I know that Costco has the Pentax 6.0 with a $50 coupon BF (but they've pulled it off their website so I can't confirm the price.) I am thinking that I should just get the Canon this week as she really doesn't need "more" than the A410 in a camera and if she does I have the Canon a95 and DH has the Rebel EOS XT. Any insights or suggestions here? Am I thinking straight? Thanks!