Doctor's visit

I wen to the doctor today and my weight is 130. That's 18 pounds gain total. Not too shabby. She said Ai-Vy is about 6 pounds 3 ounces now. That's a bit below average but she's happy with it. Everything else is normal..nothing new which is the way I like my doctor's visits.

Ai-Vy wiggles a lot and sometimes it hurt when she moves, especially if she's moving over my belly button or her whole body. She's good at night though, she would be really active at about 11:30 - 12 and then won't move all night until she hears her brother at 6 in the morning. That's surprising because Ky-An wiggled all night and won't let me sleep. I am hoping that means she will be a good little sleeper and not like her brother.

Above all, I hope she comes out healthy and chubby. :) Only about two weeks left and I just can't believe it.

Hieu took a really "flattering" picture of me resting on the couch. I usually look better, I promise!

What Ky-An can do at 19 months

• If he see a bug/ant, he will try to squish it or hit it with whatever he has. One time he saw a bug on the wall, he squats down and go "woooowww" then try to pick it up.
  
  
• He can say "Wow", "no", "da" for yes if you call his name, "nigh nigh", "mmmmmm", "one, chew, twee", "giay" for shoes, "nuoc chay" means water running,
  "chim bay" for bird flying, "bye-bye", "choo-choo" for trains for 18-wheelers,, and "I lub yuuuu".
  
  
• He calls for "me" for mom a lot more now and says "no" whenever he doesn't want something...or even when he wants something.
  
• He saw an airplane flying by the window and points to it, grins, and goes "nheeeo nheeeo". That's the sound Hieu makes whenever they play airplanes.
  
  
• If you ask him what sound the cat makes, he'll go "meo meo" and dog goes "woo woo".
  
  
• He throws a big tantrum whenever he has to go inside the house. He's such an outdoor boy and would be perfectly content staying out all day.
  
  
• He can take his dirty diaper and take it to the trash if I ask. I am training him for next month. :)
  
  
• He would go and turn off the TV every morning when I ask him before we leave the house. He does it with no tantrum whatsoever even if his favorite show, Little Einsteins, is on. He's a very good boy.
  
  
• He would fight sleep until he passes out.
  
  
• He can blow bubbles under water and loves to make noise as he does.
  
  
• He's a good sharer. Whenever he goes to church, he'll go around passing all his toys to the other kids. He also has no problem giving toys back to other people when we have to leave. I know..we are lucky.
  
  
• He loves to put things on a slope and watch it slide down.



• He likes to dance around by turning and squatting down then stand on his tippie-toe.
  
  
• He likes to walk around bobbing his head.
  
  
• He is exerting is independence and would refuse anything we feed him, even if it's something he wants.

Doctor's Visit

I just got back from seeing the nurse to get my blood pressure and urine checked. They didn't want me to go too long without a visit so I get to see the nurse even though my doctor is out-of-town. I've gained a total of 20 pounds so far. I am now 132 pounds and I started out at 112. Must be all those fast food I've been eating, and the sweets I eat to get myself to drink a glass of milk everyday..hehe. I hope to gain as little with this pregnancy as possible. It's starting to be uncomfortable sleeping at night but nothing I should be complaining about. I have to sleep on my side but my hip hurts if I lay on one side for a too long since I am putting so much weight on it. I wake up every morning with sore hips. I don't get much sleep at night that I don't even bother going to sleep until 12 - 12:30a.m. everyday. There's no point since I know I won't be comfortable anyway, may as well get stuff done. I tried sleeping on the rocking chair this morning but Ai-Vy didn't like it and was wiggling all around. In addition, my legs fell asleep after 30 minutes and my tailbone hurts. I'll just have to surrender to the fact that I am not going to be able to get sleep for a while...hehe.

I will be full-term next week!!! Yikes. They want me to come back every week now until I deliver. Gosh, time just doesn't stand still for you does it? I still haven't pack my bag yet. I think I've been procastinating because I don't want to make it a reality yet. I am still in denial, I know. I've been crazy at work because we have this big project we just started that I am responsible for. On top of that, I have 5 other projects they want me to complete before I have to go in 3 weeks. Basically everyone is trying to get me to do something before I have to leave. On top of that, I am trying to finish up a contracting project at home so it's been very hectic. Of course there are also my deals too..LOL. I am not ready for Ai-Vy to be here yet.

The other day I was laying in bed singing to Ky-An the song that I made up for him for bedtime. I started thinking about how I won't be able to do that for several days and how he would have a stranger putting him to sleep. I thought about whether he would cry for us or not understanding why we didn't come to pick him up at 5p.m. My heart breaks thinking how he would wait for Hieu to come at 5 p.m. except daddy never came. My mind starts to wander and thought if he think we abandoned him and whether or not he would be scare. My eyes start tearing up at these thoughts and there's a big lump in my throat. I think you can tell being apart from him is just going to kill me. I told Hieu I am hoping he will have so much fun that he won't even notice we were missing for several days. That would be so great!

Week in Ky-An pics

Look at my new talent:




Making faces at the TV:


My ray of sunhsine:


Mowing the sidewalk:

Deals the week of 8/12 - 8/18

This week Walgreens had nursery water on sale so I stocked up a bunch on it. They sell it for $1 each and I have a coupon for $.55 off 2 so I got them for .73 each. I think I have about 30 gallon bottles in the garage and pantry now. They are normally for over $1 each so Ai-Vy will be good for a while. I also bought a bunch of Scott Extra Soft toilet paper because I got them for only .50 each 4- mega pack. I had to open one to feel it and make sure it's soft and not like the 1000 one that I bought. I think we have about 30 packs of that also. I believe we are stocked on nursery water and toilet paper for a while..hehe.

Kroger also has a Kellogg's deal where if you buy 3 of an item, you get $2.50 back. I got 6 of the Rice Krispie treats that I love and got $5 back. There is also a $10 mail-in rebate from Kellogg's so I got all that stuff for basically free. They also had Softsoap handwash on sale for $1. I have a $.35 coupon and they triple that so the handwash is FREE! The only thing is they only double/triple 1 coupon per transaction so I have to buy them 1 at a time. I got 4 of them and 4 Chex bags. Those were FREE also since it's on sale for $1 and I have $.50 off coupon and they double that.


Target also has a great deal on Pantene where if you buy 3 bottles, they give you a gift card for $5. I had some B1G1F coupons and $3 off coupons. Target also had $1 off 2 bottles so I combine all of them and got my dad 3 big bottles and 3 small bottles of the ones he use, 1 Ziploc, 1 Gillette trial, 1 Dove trial, 14 pack of Bic pens, and 1 pack of Post-Its for $8. He paid me back $8 for the Pantene so I got the rest of the stuff for free plus I have $10 gift card!!! He and my little sister are now impress with my couponing. My little sister has been bragging about my savings since I took her to Walgreens with her and got her the Schick Intuition that she uses for $2. I went back to Target at the end of the week because I got some more Pantene coupons. I got 2 big bottles and 4 small bottles for $3.07 and got $10 gift card back. I also found some Huggies Little Swimmer on clearance for $4.48 and I have $1 off so I got 5 packs for Ky-An and Ai-Vy. Ky-An will still need them for his swimming class and I think I bought big enough sizes that Ai-Vy can wear it next summer.


At CVS I got 1 glucose,1 Colgate, 2 Softsoap bodywash, 1 Advil PM, 1 Tylenol, 2 Johnson & Johnson Buddies soap, and 1 Renu solution paying $0 and get $23.48 back in ECB. On the second card I got 1 Contour monitor, 1 Softsoap bodywash, 1 pack of Jumbo diaper, and 1 Advil PM for $.97 and got $15.98 ECB back. I was looking for the Venus Breeze that CVS had on sale all week but couldn't find it in-stock. I was determine to find it because I traded 2 coupon $4 off coupons earlier in the week and wanted to use it to get the razor free. I was in luck when I went to this one CVS near home and they have the gift set instead of just the razor on sale. The set include a little carrying bag, 2 toenail polish, a nail separator, and the razor. It will make a good little gift at Christmas time. I did 2 transactions on 2 cards to earn the ECB back on them. The first card I got the Breeze & a candy bar to bring the total back to positive so I paid $.49 for that and got $5 ECB. The second card I had to bring the total up to use the $10 ECB to pay for it so I got 2 All & Mighty and paid $1.05 Out-of-Pocket for them and the Breeze razor. I did get $5 back but had to spend $10 ECB so this is actually not a money making deal.

I still wonder what I am going to do when I am so busy with the new baby and can't drive for 6 week??!!! It's going to kill me missing all these good deals..hehe. Oh well, I think I have a good stock to last us a while. However....how can you help yourself when the stores pay you to take these stuff right?

One more month to go!

Ky-An has been getting clingier lately. I think he can sense that his baby sister is coming. Our babysitter is watching a new baby now and she said he gets really jealous. He would cry whenever she holds the baby and wants someone to hold her. The other morning I put a doll in the sling to test it out and he started crying wanting me to hold him. He then tried to poke the doll's eyes...not good. He's usually very good at sharing so I am hoping this just take some adjustment. Whenever he goes to church, Hieu brings along a little container of toys for Ky-An and our baby would pass his toys around to all the other little kids there so they can play together. I thought he's just good at sharing because he's still young but my sister said Ethan never shared even when he was young. Nowadays if he ask her to hold something for him, he goes.."don't eat it okay? It's mine. Take only a small bite mom!" hehe...wonder where they get that from. I think it's funny but I guess it's not that funny when he's older.

He's also getting clingier to me. This morning Hieu tried to hold him to take him outside but he cried and slid back next to me and we laid their cuddling for a while. It's very sweet. After his morning nap, he won't let Hieu hold him but only wants me. If Hieu hold him, he would wiggle off until he's free then walk over to me and try to climb on my lap. Funny boy. I have this big bump so I can't be that comfortable!

Ai-Vy has also been wiggling a lot and sometimes it hurts when she moves because she's almost 4 pounds now. Especially when she moves around my belly button area, I think the skin there is thinner because it kind of hurt every time. I also have insomnia at night and can't sleep until 12 or 1 a.m. I am wide awake at about 11 and can't go to sleep! I also wake up with hip pains and back pains every morning but it's still tolerable. With Ky-An and Lan-Vy, I am miserable by this time and can't wait until the delivery date. This time I actually don't want the time to come too quickly because I don't feel ready. I still haven't pack our bags and Ky-An's bag for the hospital stay.

Now we have this Hurricane Dean to worry about so I have to pack and prepare for that first. I really hope it doesn't come our way because I just can't evacuate at this stage of my pregnancy this year. Last time for Rita, it took us 10 hours to drive to Dallas when it normally took 3. However, with Ky-An we may have to go anyway if the storm is heading this way. I really don't know what's worst though, stay here and brave the storm or pack up your family to evacuate with 3 million other people, sitting in traffic, and risk running out of water and gas.

Week in Ky-An's pics

He loves running around with a blanket wrapped around him, especially his head:


Climbing on the stroller screaming, shaking his head, and throwing a tantrum:



Showing him how to use his bubbles lawn mower that I got on clearance at Target:


Ready to go on his own:




Trying to figure out where the bubbles come from:



Of course he threw a big tantrum when he had to come in for his bath and get ready for bed!

My baby sister moved to Dallas! :(

I have been preparing myself for this day but am still sad when it finally arrived. My little sister, Hoa, moved out from our home to do her externship in Dallas today. I know it's only for 8 months and then she'll be back but she won't be back for long before graduating and moving out permanently. I know she can't live with us forever and I need to take care of my own family but emotions doesn't want to listen to all these logic. Things are just is not the same in the house without her. It feels emptier and like a piece missing after having her live with me for 7 years.

My little sister is 4 years younger than me but I've always been the closest to her than to my other sisters. When I had my last argument with my parents and left home at 19, she was taking a nap after school and I woke her up to tell her I am leaving. She started crying and I started crying. She's the only reason that made me think twice about moving out that day. I stood in front of my parent's house and cried for a long time. After that, my parents forbid me to contact my sisters because they were upset at how I left (and understandably so). I sneak around to call my little sister and talk to her almost everyday. I cried everyday for 3 months because I miss her so much. Finally my parents gave in and said they will let me visit and contact my sisters again if both Hieu and I came home to apologize to them. Being strong-willed and stubborn, I knew it wasn't my fault that I left but I also knew I had to subdue because I am desperate to see my sisters. Luckily Hieu loved me enough to do it for me also.

She moved in with me when she started college when she was 19. At first she insisted on pitching in with the rent but was stressing out over it while going to school full-time. I found out one night from her bestfriend that she is working at a local karaoke bar. I called her that night and yelled at her, telling her I don't need her share of the rent but I don't want her to work at a place like that. In addition, I want her to focus on her study and how is she going to do that working until 3 in the morning and then go to school at 7 a.m.? I told her I am not broke and I sure as hell can take care of her. She said I made her cry in front of her friends but it was worth it because she quit the next day.

In the 7 years she lived with me, we rarely ever fight. I don't know if it's because she's always in her room studying or if we really get along..hehe. Fortunately Hieu has treat him as his little sister so he doesn't mind her being around all this time. I know it's time for her to move out on her own and experience new things but it doesn't help me from being sad. I guess this is a taste for me for when my kids will have to leave. I love you sis and I'll miss you very much!! Come back home soon!!!!

Mistakes and lessons learned from couponing

I've learned alot from making mistakes in the past 2 months. I watch the register like a hawk to make sure everything is rang up right and all the coupons are deducted. I even bring the store ads with me just to make sure I get the right item with the right price. However, I still made a mistake today at CVS where I bought the wrong Colgate so no ECB was generated. I also didn't see that the Tylenol Rapid Release was limit 1 and the CVS coupon I used for SoftSoap was one per customer. Needless to say I'll be returning some stuff this week.

Then I went to Kroger to get some SoftSoap handwash they have on sale for $1. I have a $.35 coupon that triples so that would've made it free. They only allow 1 double/triple coupon at a time at my Kroger so I thought I'd be smart and do 2 transactions. Well I was so smart I didn't give the cashier my Kroger card to scan for the second transaction and so I only got $.35 off. It's still a good deal but I only got it because it was free.

The biggest mistake I so far is when I was doing the Walgreens P&G deal and didn't check my shopping list so I didn't buy the $1 Crest toothpaste to get the total to $20 to get $10 RR back. Instead, I bought $19 of stuff and got $4 back. I was so so mad but I used $10 RR to pay for it so I didn't want to return the stuff and make a big deal. Plus I decide to keep them to teach myself a lesson!!

Other mistakes I've made is taking Hieu and Ky-An with me so I feel rushed and distracted. I rather go on the days when I telecommute at home. I can browse the aisles for clearance stuff and take my time gathering my coupons.

My sister gave my a little calculator and I carry it everywhere with me now. I also carry my coupon binder wherever I go. My sister said she would be intimidated if she sees that but I rarely let the cashier see it. I always check my items and make sure to gather all my coupons before I checkout.

I also learned to scope out the cashiers before I checkout. I would gladly wait for a nicer cashier rather than a meanie. From reading on HotCouponWorld Forum and learning from experience, I find that teenage boy cashiers are the best. They don't nitpick about your coupons and would scan them as long as they don't beep. I always try to read my coupons and make sure I used them correctly so no problem there. The next ones would be teenage girls, then middle-aged women, and last would be middle-aged men. It's strange but true, middle-aged men cashiers are more anal than the women. Everytime I get them they would scrutinize each one of my coupon and check it against the items to make sure I got them. This one guy at Walgreens refused to let me use the $3 off coupon on top of my B1G1F. I told him they've allow me to do that there before but he called the manager anyway. I said that's fine and she came telling him it was okay. Even THEN he goes, well I am going to do this for you this one time...like he's doing me a favor. I was thinking your manager just said it was fine, what is your deal? I've avoid him from then on to avoid any other problems. Too bad school is starting soon so all the younger kids won't be working during the day anymore and I don't want to be running out at night. Maybe I'll have to resort to that after Ai-Vy came though. That's probably the only time I am free to shop.

If doing CVS deals and paying with their ECBs, make sure the amount you calculate is correct and triple check it to get some fillers if you need to or you'll lose money. I keep losing money off my ECB because of this and didn't realize it until I get home. What they do is adjust your ECB down if your total is lower. This week I lost $1.46 out of my Extra Care Bucks and have to pay $.98 OOP for tax. That's $2.44 total and that goes a long way at CVS! Dumb mistake. Also, give them the ECBs to scan in before your manufacturer coupons if you can. The ECB can't count toward tax but the manufacturer coupons can. At least that's how it work in Texas anyway.

Here are some other rule sthat someone else wrote at the forum and I think it's so true:

Rule #1: Always bring extra coupons
It's true, it's only whenever I forget some coupons or didn't bring some that I find them on clearance and kick myself for it.

Rule #2: Always bring your ad flyer
I always do this now just to make sure I am getting the right type of item with the right size that is on sale so I don't have to do any returns nor get any surprises.

Rule #3: Have "Plan B" scenarios just in case
This is true when doing the CVS deals. They always run out of stuff so you have to have backup deals just in case. There has also been a case when an item was suddenly in-stock so I had to redo my deals right in the store.

Rule #4: Pull your coupons and double-check them vs. cart items before you get to the cash register.
Yup this this with the Walgreens deal. Forgot a toothpaste and instead of getting $10 back, I only got $4.

Rule #5: Don't forget the fillers!!
Especially true at Walgreens. I just start doing their deals and they are really a pain. Walgreens count all their coupons are a manufacturer coupon, I am very irritated at this because I keep forgetting! Target and CVS will let you use 1 store coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item. At Walgreens, every coupon is a manufacturer coupon regardless if it's their coupon or not. I keep having to run around to find a filler so that my last coupon would work or end up paying more Out-of-Pocket because I can't use a coupon. Very annoying! I only do Walgreens whenever they have super good deals.

Always make sure the filler ring up right also. I grabbed some $.25 sticky pad that was on clearance and $.19 pencil for fillers once and they rang up as $1. Of course I didn't realize it until I got home because it was the last thing that got rang up so I paid $1 for something that I don't even need.

Rule #6: Stick a tiny calculator in your purse so you can double-check the math!
Yup, do that. Always want to know what I will be paying so if the total is not right, I can question them about it or return it right there instead of making another trip. I did a Walgreens deal once and only expected to pay $2 something. The total came out to be almost $5 and it didn't seem right to me so I check the receipt against the ad and sure enough, 2 packs of diapers didn't ring up at the sale price. I point it out to the cashier and the manager gave me my money back.

Rule #7: Double check all your items and coupons once more before checking out.
Not sure if you need this because it seem redundant from Rule#4. Just make sure you check all your stuff against the coupon before checking out. It'll save you a lot of hassel and headache later on.

Rule #8: Ask for raincheck for really good deals. You can do this virtually anywhere. Ask them for a raincheck on good sales and then you can collect coupons to go with the sale later or use your coupons later when the items are in stock. My first raincheck was at CVS for the 10-pk Wriggly gums. They were on sale for $.99 and there was a $1 off coupon but there was none in stock at any store. I got a raincheck for them and got 6 packs today.

Busy getting my deals! 8/5 - 8/11

Ky-An was running out of diaper so I got 2 Jumbo pack of diapers (.01/diaper), 4 gallons nursery water at CVS for $.64. I also did their weekly deal and got 4 Post cereal, 1 Children's Motrin, 1 Children's Tylenol, 2 Nabisco cookies, and 2 Nabisco crackers for $1.39 earning $25ECB.

We don't eat that much cereal at our home so I didn't take advantage of this deal. However, I came home and read that Walgreens is having a glitch on their weekly ad and the Band-Aids were ringing up 22/$3 instead of 2/$3. The limit was 4 per transaction so I ran to 3 stores around the house and got 12 boxes for $1.68. The cashiers were all asking what kind of coupon is that? Is that for $.20 for each box? I just played dumb and said I am not sure, it's your store's coupon. Good thing I ran out that day because they fixed the register shortly after that.

I found some great clearance at Walgreens this week also. I got 3 Gillette Razors, 2 boxes of Wet Ones for $1.05 total. Starbucks decaf coffee for $2.37 each. Fresh blueberries for $1.50 a pint at Target. That's the cheapest I've ever bought it for. Too bad Ky-An decides he doesn't like blueberries anymore so I end up eating them.

I finished Harry Potter!!!!

I finally finish the last Harry Potter book!!!! I feel such a big sense of relief and overall satisfy with the outcome. Relief because I've spent many late nights reading the book and am glad I won't have to lose sleep over that anymore. Can you believe I had to stop at the War at Hogswart chapter??!!! It was so hard to do but it was already 12:30 and I had to wake up at 6 in the morning. I knew if I keep reading then I'll probably stay up all night and suffer the next day at work. I did take a 2 hour lunch on my last day reading the book trying to finish it up though. Of course everyone who comes into the lunchroom has to make a comment about it slowing down my reading. They were making comments such as "so who die?!!" "oh you are almost done, it's the best part!" and "Is that Harry Potter?". I was smiling while making small talk with them but I was impatient to go back to my precious book..hehe.

I love the ending of the book. The author did such a great job tying everything together and left nothing unanswered. I am very satisfy but sad to see a wonderful book serie ended. I hope there will be other books that I get excited about.

Week of Deals - 7/29 - 8/4

There are so many good deals this week and I am exhausted!!!! While I was at Walgreen's they tried to get me to switch my prescriptions to their store and gave me a $20 voucher check for it. My CVS is across the street and I am loyal to them so when I went over there, there's a big sign at their pharmarcy that said "No need to switch your prescription, we take all competitor's coupons." A light went off and I gave them the Walgreens voucher and got $20 in CVS gift card. I used it to print out 134 pictures and still have about $2 left. $2 can get you a lot of stuff at CVS!

I found out that Walgreens has a deal where you buy $20 of Proctor and Gamble product and get $10 back. However, there was a glitch on Sunday and Monday so you actually get $16 back when you buy $20. I had a bunch of B1G1F coupons that were expiring at the end of July so I did 7 trips to keep rolling the money I earned back. I tell you it was crazy. Here's a list of what I got (you are welcome to skip over it if it doesn't interest you):

Trip 1 - 2 Gillette Venus disposables, 2 Infusiums shampooo & conditioner for $7.57 and got $16 back.

Trip 2/Trans #1 - 2 Lamisil cream, 1 Benefiber, and 1 candy bar to cover the coupon items for $3.69 and got $10 back.

Trip 2/Trans #2 - 4 Gillette Venus disposables, 1 desktop airplane for Ky-An, & 1 newspaper for more coupons for $.97 and got $16 back.

Trip 3/Trans #1 - 3 Maloox, 2 Gas-X, and 1 newspaper for $1 and got $12 back.
Trip 3/Trans #2 - 4 Gillette Venus disposables, 1 hopping ball for Ky-An and he loves it, & 2 candy bars for $.28 and got $16 back.

Trip 4/Trans #1 - 2 Infusium shampoo & conditioner, 1 razor, 1 Satin Care shaving gel for $.31 and got $16 back.
Trip 4/Trans #2 - same as above

Trip 5/Trans #1 - 2 Infusium shampoo & conditioner, 2 Herbal Essence Shampoo & conditioner, 1 Crest toothpaste, and 2 Huggies wipes for $.66 and got $10. (The glitch is fixed by now so only $10 back instead of the $16).

This next one is my last transactions and I was so mad that I screwed up. I forgot to check my shopping list again before checking out and my total wasn't $20 so I only got $4 back. Turned out I forgot a $2 toothpaste!!! I was so upset at myself..oh well.

Trip 5/Trans #2 - 2 Duracel batteries, razor, 1 Satin Care shaving gel, and a box of envelope for $.56 and got $4 back. There is also a $6 rebate from Walgreens for the batteries. The poor old Asian lady was trying to comfort me by saying "It's still a good deal" when she saw that I was upset I only got $4 back. Doesn't she understand that's not a good enough deal??!!!! LOL. During all this I forgot to get my change back from her and didn't realize it until that evening. I called the store and speak to the manager. She did a cash receipt on her register and it was over by the exact amount I need back. I was lucky so I went back and got my money. Whew, now I have a box full of razors and a shelf full of shampoo.

I used all those other extra money I got back at Walgreens for some clearance stuff I found. I got 4 Oil of Olay Body quench and lotions for $2 OOP. I also got 3 Huggies CleanTeam shampoo, 2 boxes of Gerber milk bags, 2 box of trash bags, and a newspaper for $1.46. I also got 1 set of tumblers and a 1 rubber duck for Ky-An, and 1 gel for Hieu because he ran out.

That was Walgreens, now at CVS I got 2 Infusium shampoo & conditioner and 4 Febreeze for NOTHING and earned $8 ECB. I also got 2 Speed Stick deodorants, 1 Irish Spring bath bars, 3 Olay Ribbon bodywash, 2 Olay washcloth cleanser for Hoa, and 1 Swifter carpetflick starter set for $1.14 and earned $22 ECB.

THEN I found out CVS will give you $10 ECB for buying the OneTouch Ultramini they have for $19.99. There is $20 off coupon for this making it free and you earned $10 ECB! I went immediately on ebay to find the coupons and purchased 10 for $5. The limit is 5 per card and I already had 2 coupons on my own so I traded the extra 2 for diaper coupons. It was such a hot deal that it was hard to find in-stock! Luckily I was on the other side of town because I had to go to the Gyno specialist so I hit 3 CVS stores around there and found all 10 of them. Now I have $50 ECB to spend on each of my CVS card while paying nothing!! Diapers will be free for a bit!!!

That was just one of the great monthly deals CVS have for August. I also bought 5 boxes of Kotex pads paying $.50 on one card and $1.50 on the other. I earned $5 ECB on each card for that. They also had Aquafresh Advance as part of their monthly deal and I had some B1G1F coupons that are expiring so a-hunting-I-must go. I got 5 Aquafresh on 1 card, 1 Irish Spring bars, 1 Speed Stick deodorant, and a pack of gum for $2.64 and earn $10.97ECB. Smart me didn't read that the limit on the Aquafresh ECB is 3, not 5 but there is a $2.99 rebate for them. For the other card I also got 5 Aquafresh, 1 Motrin for Ky-An because he was out, and 2 packs of gum for $.35.

Whewww..that's a lot of stuff this week. I need a rest, LOL.

Got a promotion and a raise!!!!

I have been working at Houston-Galveston Area Council since 2000 and have been getting my annual 4% raise and a couple mid-year raises. However, I never got a big raise even though I was promised one several years ago. The big raise here is about 5-6% because I work at a government agency and we don't get 10-15% raises like private companies.

I came to H-GAC from Arthur Andersen (yes, the infamous one). At the time they were trying to consolidate all IT and want us to relocate to Atlanta or Chicago. My whole group went out trying to look for another job with the help from our manager. In hindsight, it's blessing in disguise because not long after I found a job, Andersen had that whole scandal with Enron. It's so sad about Enron because it was a place everyone wanted to work at. That's a different story though.

When I was offered a job at H-GAC, it was with a pay cut but I was so desperate for a job by then that I accepted. It was during internet bubble burst and everyone is scrambling to look for a job. I sent out over 80 resumes and received 2 interviews.

H-GAC is a great place to work at, especially when you have a family and small children. I get to leave by 5p.m. everyday and go home to spend time with my family. The schedule is also very flexible and I get every other Friday off. On top of that, they pay for all my benefits including a whole 3% on my 401K. When I worked at Andersen, we did have many perks such as free Happy Hour and awesome group lunches but we also had to put in many overtime hours. One time we were on a time crunch so the entire group worked for 32 hours straight. I got to go home for about 1 hour to shower and get a change of clothes but that's it. You can imagine how hard the drive home the next day was. I literally had to keep hitting myself to stay awake on the way home. Good thing we all had no kids then or I don't know what I would do.

Anyways, my old boss at H-GAC just recently left to work for the City of Houston. I thought he had always been good to me so when he told me last year during my review what a great job I am doing and how he wish he can give me a good raise but they just can't afford it, I believed him with no hard feelings. After he left, I found out that he had given someone else a big raise instead. Everyone was disgusted at how the other guy got it because he was undeserving. He left with my ex-boss to go work for him. After my ex-boss left, one of the manager, who is also my good friend, became the Director. I worry for a bit about how this will affect our friendship but we've adjusted well. She does work me much more than my old boss but that's okay. I like keeping busy. She told me she will give me a good raise during my annual reviewbut I didn't see it so I asked her about it and she said at mid-year. I am starting to see the same pattern as my old boss but gave her the benefit of the doubt. She is my friend after all and she've always looked out for me. I sent her an email when mid-year came around because I didn't hear her mention anything about it. She replied and said she already put it in and is waiting for approval. How awesome is that??!! It's finally happening!!!

So I got a 5% something raise and my title is now Agency Web Developer instead of Agency Webmaster. I know, not much of a difference but it's pretty big by government standard. In addition, I will also get an opportunity for another 4% raise in January. I am a step below manager...even though I am not sure if I ever want to be one here. It's just nice to have your hard-work and effort be recognized and rewarded.