lucyismycat

The Joanns closing really hurts. I shopped there quite a bit, and bought my embroidery machine from a Viking dealer inside one of those stores. I went to my local one yesterday and 1. I've never seen so many cars in the parking lot, 2. People were bellied up to the cutting bar with bolt after bolt of fabrics, yelling at the employees that they only wanted a half yard even though there were signs everywhere saying they had a 1 yard minimum and 3. 20% off is not a real sale, when you could regularly use a 40% off coupon previously. I don't know where these people came from, but I felt so bad for the employees having to deal with them. I walked out without buying anything, I just felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. Not sure where I'll get my fabric from in the future, but I'm sure something will pop up in its place. I really don't like the idea of buying fabric online. I have enough of a stash to last me through at least one apocalypse, so I should be good for a while

Happy March! Here in Central IL we are in the Spring of Deception, which should be followed by actual spring. I have been on a yarn kick for the past 3 months and it's getting out of control. I don't even know how many works in progress I have started, but I need to start FINISHING some of them soon! I found a local yarn shop that's not too far from the ice rink where the boys have hockey practice and it's been a real hazard for my wallet I'm also waiting patiently to get some more chicks. We are down to 2 hens, and only one is laying eggs. We don't eat a lot of eggs, so I don't need many girls, but I'd like to add 3 or 4 to our flock, but I'm going to be more selective this time as to the breed we get.

I think that was the fastest January of my life. I counted up, and we spent 9 nights in hotels for sports, so that's probably why. Every weekend we were somewhere else, including a trip to Minnesota over MLK weekend. Of course we all got sick after that, and are still getting over whatever it is. Gator Pam - that cheesecake looks delish! Lemon is my favorite flavor, I'm interested to see how the next one turns out!

Happy 2025! Back to work after a couple of weeks off, and I am not feeling very productive yet. I got so much cleaning and decluttering done while I was off, and even took ownership of a new sewing table and got it set up and moved into. My crafty room has a LOT more space to walk around now and the new desk, while smaller, has a ton of storage for things that had previously been living in other areas. I sat down at lunch today and whipped up a couple of fleece hats to donate in memory of the sweet lady who was the last owner of the desk. I am looking forward to a lot of "making" in my newly organized room. I am NOT looking forward to all of the winter weather that's predicted for our area, especially since I have to travel this weekend. I think it's time to put the sandbags back in the truck in case I need them. But for now, the sun is almost shining, it's 40 degrees and I can watch the wildlife out and about from my work window. It's time to put out some more peanuts for the crows!

I picked up a 9th generation regular iPad (64GB) last night at Costco for 199, as a gift for DH. I think that was the same deal Best Buy was offering, but Costco still had plenty in the store. They had the 10th generation also, but I don’t remember exactly how much they were. If you have a Costco nearby it’s definitely worth a look.

We went to Walmart on Friday around 8am. The store was dead, with merchandise stacked up everywhere. I got an air fryer for DH and a blanket for DS14. Then we went to Farm and Home. WTH...I normally only shop there for chicken supplies when I'm in a bind, but this store was a zoo. No parking, the aisles were packed, lines were insane. My DM wanted to pick up some lounge pants but after thoroughly searching the stacks of them, couldn't find the size she wanted. We still managed to find a few odds and ends and stood in the infernal line to get checked out. I needed to get a load of straw but decided to put it off to a less nutty day. I never imagined that many people would be at the F+H on BF! (later that day we went to the other store in our town and it was the same way...who are all of these farmers??? LOL) We also went to JCPenney, but it had a regular Friday crowd. I was only interested in the matching doggie/human sweaters but they didn't have anything to fit the meatball (dog), and I don't think we bought anything there. We did go to Menards around noon, and it was quiet with a lot of merchandise still left. I did NOT get the Christmas tree that I had been thinking about, after seeing it in person. I am still on the hunt for a good 9-12' tree. I never set foot in our mall, Target, Meijer or any other stores - BF has lost a lot of meaning for me, the sales are lackluster and it's hard for me to get into it the same way as when there were printed ads. Plus I've spent the last year decluttering our house and the standards for bringing something new in are a lot higher than they used to be. As long as my DM is around and is able, I'll still go out for nostalgia's sake, but the days of it being a big shopping spree day are kind of done for me, I think. We did have a nice lunch out, tho

December is off to a bang. We had 6 teenage boys over the weekend for a sleepover, and I'm not sure when I will recover. They all had a great time and are planning their next one with an eye toward inviting some extra kids. At some point I will run out of floor space, but I don't think they care. I need ALL of the deals in order to feed them! I have picked up knitting as my "sit and wait at the rink while they have practice" habit. In the last 10 days, I've finished 3 hats and went to the yarn store tonight to pick up some more. I might as well have something to do. I've spent all of 2024 picking up a room in our house each month. I'm happy to say that as of today, the house is decluttered and I have accomplished my goal of donating 40 large trash bags of clothing, shoes, coats, toys, books, sports gear, and random kitchen gadgets to local thrift shops. I'll start again in January with the master bedroom, with the goal of decluttering another 40 trash bags (one box) worth of stuff we don't need. I bet I can do it! Happy Holidays to all you GottaDealers!

I have always gotten BF off in my adult life - usually we are traveling for some sports team or another, but this year there are no tournaments, scrimmages or practices. I will probably go out to a couple of stores for nostalgia, and then come home and decorate for Christmas.

Add me to the list of people waiting for Menards - I don't even know what I need until I see their ad LOL

That cotton candy machine - which I am certain I have seen at yard sales even in these days, or that robot. I wonder how many items from our current Black Friday ads will still be around and working 62 years from now! (Probably not as many as the ones from this ad)

Let’s GO!!! We are also getting a lot of rain, and it is needed, but not all at once. It’s taken the last of the leaves down and now we have a soggy messy yard. The boys are out of school today, and I am back to work (from home) after traveling for work and sports for the last 10 days.

I am at Costco right now, and they have the Dyson purifier hot and cool for 470, which is 130 off the regular price. It includes 2 HEPA filters and a remote. No clue if that’s a good deal or not but I saw it and remembered this post LOL

I have more success with credit card rewards. I use a Citibank 2% card for everything our household purchases. There appears to be no limit on the reward amount (I have literally "made" thousands of dollars by using it). I tend to save up the reward dollars and then either put them back in our checking account or apply them towards a big purchase that's "just for me", usually something Apple related LOL I get 1% back when I charge something and the other 1% back when I pay the bill, which is set to auto-pay twice a month, splitting the balance between the two payments. I know there are other cards that give more percentages back based on a category, but I had too much trouble trying to remember when I used that card for travel vs. groceries, so I just use the 2% card and call it good. I'd be interested in knowing if there's a card that offers more than 2% back on everything without category limitations.

Thanks for the prize, Brad! What a handy little thing!

Checking in for October - life has jacked up its craziness another notch, and I'm tired. Waiting for the leaves to change outside my window, knowing there are still a ton of tasks I need to finish before fall is really here, trying to get through them at a steady pace. I need a nap.

I just learned yesterday that my oldest son's hockey team is using FlipGive as a fundraiser this year. I signed up but haven't used it yet. Apparently we get a percentage back on gift cards and other shopping items that are purchased through the app. Honestly it seems like a lot of work for not much return, but I'll give it a whirl and see how it goes.

Yep, I think it will be more sales, but with smaller discounts. And I also think they will be earlier. It seems like they just get more diluted every year. My kids are getting sports gear, and there are never any sales on any of that.

It's Septemberrrrrrrrrrrr! Boys are back in school, their hockey season is kicking off with a bang, temps are fallllllllling. This summer I learned that "corn sweat" is real, and makes it seem hotter than it actually is (due to excess humidity from.....sweating corn. for reals, y'all.). I'm not sure what to do with that info except complain about it, so there you go. We are SURROUNDED by corn. Bopeep I am sorry to hear about your mom, and Gator Pam said it best...I hope the memories you have of her are a blessing on your life. I hope anybody that is under the weather starts to feel better soon. I hear that our clinics are full of pneumonia and covid (and a lot of times it's both) right now. It's too early for that nonsense. I just purchased my first Christmas gifts! I mean, they are multi-use pens, but they're going in stockings! It counts!

Hello August - goodbye July. School starts in 10 days, hockey tryouts have started and continue through the end of the month, and I am nowhere near ready for any of that. And what am I doing today, you might ask? Cleaning up my house, getting organized for anything? heck no - heading to the pool to get the last drop of summer that I can. I tell myself there's plenty of time to figure out the rest, but at this point...

I have been in perpetual "upgrade" mode at work since last fall. This past weekend was the culmination of the final system's update and I can finally relax a little bit. What a crazy ride that has been. I love my job, but this kind of project work takes a toll. DS13 (whose birthday was in June, everyone is a teenager now ) has a tournament in Ann Arbor later this month, and then wants to go fishing on a Great Lake. I'm trying to find a decent Airbnb or VRBO that's actually on a beach somewhere for a week or so. Most stuff is booked and I'm not really finding much. My initial plan was just to camp somewhere, but my mother has decided to go with us and she doesn't camp, so there went that idea. Meanwhile, summer is flying by and I need time to just slow down for a minute. 6 more weeks before the boys go back to school and I don't even want to think about it.

Happy June! May brought the cicadas to us...hoping June sees them out. Youngest DS will turn 13 at the end of this month. IDK where the time has gone. He has asked for a new fishing rod/reel, so I'm leaving that up to DH to figure out. I'm getting him a beach towel with a Hawaiian print and photos of our dogs' faces on it. DH is getting the Hawaiian shirt with doggie faces on it for FD. I can't wait for them to show up!!! Commiserating with anybody who is sick right now - summer colds are THE WORST!

Happy May! The month where school FINALLY ends, we overlap hockey with soccer, I kick off several work projects, and apparently they start road construction on the street in front of our house. I'm hoping it's not like the usual construction season, which starts in May and ends sometime in Never. April brought a new roof and skylights to our house, May is bringing some tree trimming/cutting, and hopefully a whole house wash. May is also Living Room month in the "must-purge-the-house-of-all-nonessential-items", and my mom's neighborhood is having a yard sale this weekend. I am setting up in her driveway for that and I have a crapton of stuff to give away. Let the games begin!

I'm really hoping Joann can restructure and survive this. I live in a larger sized town and even then we don't really have much in the way of options for apparel fabric. We have one really nice quilt shop, but sometimes I'm looking for different options. I've also heard that a lot of the Viking (Husqvarna) Sewing Galleries are closing as a result of Joann stores closing. The VSGs rent space from Joann to sell their sewing/embroidery machines. I'll be super upset if our local one loses their spot because of this - I have one of those machines and they are my local dealer for support. In other news, I strolled through our Macy's store Friday night and they now have big curtains hanging up around some empty sections of the store. I was looking for clothing to wear to a work conference this month; I found 2 tops but nothing really appropriate. I don't know how they've survived this long. I'll be amazed if they're not on the chopping block for the next round of closings.

Another month down, another room deep cleaned and decluttered in our household. I don't want to jinx myself, but so far this is going better than expected. April is oldest DS birthday month, so his room is in focus. He's in there now with some big garbage bags to go through clothes that no longer fit and whatever else he can find to get rid of. I'm hoping to get some silverware back! What is it with missing forks and spoons with teenage boys? Is it just boys?

Checking in for March! Moving forward with our "room a month" whole house decluttering plan! February was Kitchen month, and I got rid of 4 big garbage bags of various food items, all delivered to local micro food pantries in our area. Another half truckload of kitchen gadgets gone (seriously, how many popcorn poppers did we need???), and now I know what I have and where it is! March is Dining Room month, which will also be tagged as "sports and electronics equipment" month because right now it's been overtaken with hockey and soccer gear, as well as a bunch of monitors that DH was trying on for size before he settled on his current ones. I'm keeping an eye towards hosting Easter dinner for our moms at the end of the month.