Saving...

I've been trying lately to start saving money by clipping coupons and looking for good buys in the stores. So far, I'm not doing too badly, though I've just started.

So far, I'm waiting for some manufacturer coupons to come in the mail, and am going to start picking up the sunday paper for the coupons as well.

I'd like to ask that if any of my readers end up with manufacturer coupons that won't use them, please think about handing them over to me. I'll be glad to take them off your hands...

If you're looking to try and save a little cash, you might try clipping coupons and checking out this last Tuesday's Food Day in the Oregonian. There were some great tips in there about how to best use coupons.

Also, there's plenty of online, printable coupons out there. Keep in mind, though - WinCo does NOT take internet printed coupons, nor do they price-match or take competitors coupons. Only manufacturer coupons.

You may also try to grow a little something to help out your kitchen. Even herbs can help, and are easy to grow on a porch. I know, because I'm growing some myself. They're going to be so much easier to keep this way, won't get stuck in my fridge forever until they rot, and are less expensive to keep than $2/package of herbs...

So, there's my two cents worth for attempting to save some green. :-)

~M

Updated 11:45am 3-27-09

http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2009/03/cutting_costs_with_coupons.html

According to this lady, there are organic coupons available, if you search for them. So, if you have issues with purchasing foods that are pre-processed, there are still ways to cut costs.

And onto the next phase...

So, Friday the dental clinic finally called me back - at 5pm... They said they couldn't set up an appointment or make decisions regarding my care until they got my chart back from the other clinic where I had the urgent appointment on Wednesday...

I'm sorry, what? You don't have my chart back to the regular clinic, and it's been 48 hours? Why didn't they send it back that evening before closing - seeing as how it's only 2.5 miles away from you... Their answer? "I don't know..."

I see...

So, supposedly, I'm to hear from them today. I'm not going to wait - I'm calling at my first break, and then if I don't hear back, I'll call at my lunch, and lather, rinse, repeat until I get somewhere. This has to be some of the worst customer service and patient treatment I've ever had in my life, I swear to the good Goddess above.

This will make appointment # 5 that I've had to make to get ONE tooth fixed. OMG. This falls under the "That's just sad" category.

~M

Murphy... Paging Dr Murphy...

So, the whole thing with the tooth... Yeah... It's still going on. My Dr's name is apparently Murphy - as in "the laws of"...

It wouldn't be so bad but for the pain, and the ever-present worry that something worse is going to happen now that the top of the tooth has been removed and only a temporary cap has been placed on top... Like, oh, say, the whole tooth deciding that it's had enough and it's going to split in half... fun stuff.

Yesterday was an exersize in frustration trying to get the clinics to understand that I wasn't going to wait until April (yes, APRIL!!) for another appointment, nor was I going to go in and pay an extra $50 for an "emergency" appointment just to have them do something "temporary" on it to "get me through"... They can give me drugs and I'll be happy.

So, after spending over an hour arguing back and forth with them, it was determined that I'll go in next Wednesday morning and, barring even MORE complications, I'll have the root canal done then. Yay me.

I feel certain that my boss is loving me right now... I warm the cockles of her heart, I'm sure...

~M

Yikes!

So, I'm currently on large quantities of Ibuprofen and vicoden. Why? Because I'm in the midst of a root canal, and apparently I'm super special because I have what's known as a "hot tooth". It has to be one of the more painful things I've gone through, barring giving birth.

They've managed to take the cap off the tooth, and start removing the stuff in it, stuck stuff into the tooth to kill the root, and stuck a cap back onto the tooth. Why? because they were unable to anestetise me enough to keep working on the tooth... So, I have to go to a specialist next Thursday. Yes, Thursday... That means a whole 7 days with this BS to go through, and hope that I have enough pain meds to get through to then. Otherwise, I'll be screaming over the telephone at them to get me more.

Currently, I've lost 3 days to this, and am not looking forward to losing more. I've had to ask for FMLA to cover the time off, so that I don't get hit with attendence points, because I'll be damned if I will get in trouble for this darned thing.