that stupid feeling of annoyance

I'm not sure how productive I've been, but I am slowly getting stuff done off my stupid list. I have a lot of distractions. Bulk of list is my promise of completing our main bathroom, but there are odd things I have never finished.

itchy face

Think I spent too much time in the sun today. Weird parts of my face itch and my lips seem burnt. Stupid overcast day!
We were at a festival where K's pack raised the flag. K was actually participating and later did stuff with the activities, while B was whiney and pouty most of the time. It was like Freaky Friday or something, for they were opposite just two days earlier!
Great weekend! Sad to think summer will end, eventually.

$2.15

So K has a letter in his bag sent home from the school cafeteria stating he owes money, though I know he wouldn't eat anything there. It's  a pittance, so I don't care to argue. K had a fit when I gave him money this morning. I think it was more about being late for his spot in line for the bus than his letter from school.

J was home yesterday. She is off Friday for the kids' last day of school. She worked Sunday, and she is representing her work Saturday. Weird timing, but she's able to do her own schedule now. We ran errands between downpours. Felt bad at Aldi as the older gentleman in front of me in checkout had to return $20 worth of stuff for he was short. He only had EBT and a wad of cash. EBT had $32 on it and his wad of cash was less than $62, evidently. He apologized to me because the ordeal added 5-10 minutes to my shopping trip. I wish I had cash to have given him, but I imagine that would have made him feel worse.

Rain yesterday meant work was dead. I had three days off and didn't feel like staying the whole 5 hours I'm allotted. Tonight is gonna be horrid because I got pit  duty.

Got the new phones from Walmart, and we're doing the Family Mobile plan that's under $40/ line for unlimited calls, texts, and web searching. I hate Walmart, but their service is actually T-Mobile. I hate Walmart for the lack of employees capable of doing customer service. Just because the item is said to be available instore, doesn't mean it is. Ordering for instore pickup of Internet purchases is easy but actual pickup takes roughly 30 minutes to check out since they don't staff the Walmart.com counter. The "T-Mobile" tech support is probably in India. They are helpful, unlike their website https://www.myfamilymobile.com/.

pain and other odd things

Something about getting six or more hours of rest seems to be the difference between today and yesterday. Sure my hands hurt and typing isn't smooth, but I don't have the burning between my shoulder blades, nor the void autopilot feeling in my head.

Having friends is a struggle for me. Being a social misfit/ social retard has amplified my idiosyncrasies into quirkiness that I am mostly oblivious. K has a lot of my traits, hence he's in Cub Scouts.

Scouting has been good for my interactions as well. Odd thing happened at the Pack Meeting last night in that a dad I speak to most often commented a) I was tan and b) I am "cut"

Felt awkward.

See, I don't get out much and I don't work out what-so-ever, hence the above is odd. Only explanation: a) On Sunday, I dug up and planted arborvitae while it was warm and sunny. b) I have a physically demanding job and I usually have layers on since we don't meet much during late spring and summer.

Though I seem to have a lot of free time, I don't allot it well to be doing fun stuff with the kids. It's been a long winter, hopefully I get into a better frame of mind and seize more days than let pass by, as the weather gets better and such.

not a snow day

K and B had a dentist appointment this morning scheduled for 8:40. K's school starts at 9:05, so I was hoping he'd have a 2-hour delay due to the cold weather so he'd maintain his perfect attendance. Though the high for today may be up to 12 degrees F, no delay or closing came.

When I was driving K to the appointment, the Journey said it was -5 outside, so I didn't mind driving him in late and his avoiding a wait in the cold for the bus.

In hindsight, I wish I never bought stuff as a kid

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I used to collect comic books at one point. I didn't go nuts or anything seriously devoted. I got sucked into the fad and bought a series that I liked. I had the first 8 issues of the comic, and was broached by a classmate who was much more serious about a swap. I got 16 comics for my  8. The ones I got had a central theme to them as being The Punisher, Wolverine, or New Warriors. I subsequently bought a random comic regarding Wolverine, Punisher, or Venom, but I soon forgot about my comics once I moved out of my parents' house and went to college.

I got married while in college, so I never had the complete removal of personal stuff from my technical permanent residence. I basically just abandoned my stuff thinking my folks would leave my room as is and I'd get around to it when I felt like it. I was wrong. My mom isn't sentimental and tossed my treasured things or let her animals pee on them for some in-explicit reason. My baseball cards and coin collection were salvaged from the demise, but my drawings and comics didn't.

Though I was angry when I learned of the above unfortunate events, I forgot about them much like they were the recollections of a stranger until reading an article about adult nerds being upset their retirement savings(comic collection) were being sold at pennies on the FACE value of the comics. I got angry about the loss then remembered that they were probably worthless anyways.

Getting mad about money spent on disposed items is not as silly as regretting paying for things that intended to be disposable. I bought a lot of toys that gave me many hours of joy, if I hadn't bought them, then I wouldn't have the memories and would have spent the money elsewhere.

Today, I had a couple errands which I figured K and B could tag along and give J some rest as D was napping between feedings. They both wanted to go to Target. K had a giftcard while B had toothfairy  money, while I had to see if they carried newborn diapers in the quantity boxes advertised.

My mission was a wash, so we ventured to the toy section. K wanted Lego Minifigs to the Lego Movie. he had enough to buy three, while B didn't have enough to buy one(but I would spot her the difference). K quickly picked three mystery packets and was content, while B wanted specific characters, a mermaid or girl with a stripe in her hair. I started feeling the packets for telltale signs of ones to discard. K assisted in the search until we came to a packet that didn't have moveable legs much like the girl with a stripe in her hair would have. B was content with the finding so we left with those four.

K would soon be crying when we got home, for he picked two minifigs he already had from our trip to the Lego Store on New Year's Day. Sad that B was patient to get a figue she wanted while the older K was haphazard with his decision. Maybe one day he'll be better with his money. Just last week he wanted to spend $4 on a digital edition of a 25 page Star Wars Comic, which I am glad I talked him out of purchasing.

Neither kid wanted to go get Pizza Pizza, but they wanted Crazy Bread. they didn't eat the Crazy Bread the last time I got it, so I didn't get it. Sure it's $1.99 if you bother to go to their website and print the $2.00 off coupon that is always there, but $1.99 is better saved than wasted in my book. Ironically, I bought two pizzas for $5 since I got my pizza card filled last time I was there.

Tonight, I watched the Playoff game in hopes of seeing Tom Brady cry, but the game was a blowout in his favor. I could have used that time spent elsewhere besides the tv screen.

Monday- a day to ponder weekend events

*When I got work on Saturday, the shift manager told me that our assistant manager had given his two weeks. I was shocked. Sure, the guy was a horrible person in that he treated people poorly and couldn't fix anything, but he was the sort of guy that seemed to have plans to move up.
Since I started in January, ALL of my four supervisors have resigned. This latest dude was the one I'd have figured to have left first until the other three left allowing him to move up the pecking order.

Weirdest thing is that it's rumored that he doesn't have another job lined up.

*Saturday was a long day. It started earlier than normal with my be up and on the go with K to the camping grounds. I'm glad we didn't spend the night. Their breakfast was burnt and they only had instant coffee. 

After being there 6 hours, I was bored and tired. K was wanting to leave before we arrived so just putting forth the effort was something to be considered positive.

*I think I napped when I got back from Cub Scouts, but I don't remember.

*B spent the night with her grandparents since J was at work and I didn't feel B would be fun to bring camping.

I really missed B. Thankfully she came back before I left for work.

*Sunday, I slept until noon and got moving around 12:30. didn't feel up to doing anything but I forced myself to mow the grass and to get some necessities from Kroger. 

J baked an apple pie. I love her. Pie is something that reminds me of how lucky I am, but I count my blessings regularly.

*I did other things, but I don't recall. I do know that I didn't watch any football or baseball.

My boy loves me.

Surprise, surprise, I was in a sleepy mood this Thursday morning. I like to think it was due to the fact I knew that I'd have to be adding an extra stop during my day that I wasn't thrilled to undertake.
Last week J got an email from a mom in K's class about volunteering to help for their Valentine's Day party(they get two "parties" a year, so it's sort of a big deal unlike when I was a kid). J couldn't but ventured to volunteer me since I am free during the day aside from B's pre-school drop-off/pick-up. I didn't exactly want to go for I didn't want K to be embarrassed( I would have been if my folks went to my school functions), but K said he didn't mind. Without going into drama that occurred in K's math class on Monday, I can say that I had reason to not want to draw attention to K. Regardless, he leaped from his desk, ran to greet me while gleefully saying "daddy" until he wrapped his arms around me.
I wasn't expecting a reaction from K, so I am a bit surprised by his hugging me. Don't get me wrong, I love my boy, but I wonder about him at times. It's not like I'd been away or anything, and the two of us tend to butt heads.
On another matter, B decided to cut a prize K got from his party so that she could give an orange piece of it to a friend of hers at school since his favorite color is orange. She didn't ask. She didn't say a word. She just used her scissors and destroyed K's toy. B is very sneaky, and she doesn't feel guilt so much as she dislikes getting caught. She eventually said she was sorry to K, but she threw a tantrum before she was ready to do so.

Rethinking Target Pharmacy

Disclaimer: I worked at Target at one point in my life.

For whatever reason, I have been to Target to pick up medications twice in the past week only to have to wait though they were called/faxed in hours before my coming to pick up.

I have a regular script I have refilled every 90 days, that I called in on Friday morning last week.
Supposedly, it would have been ready for pickup at 2pm that day, but I didn't get over there until Saturday.
They changed their hours since the remodeling for a produce section, so the pharmacy closed before I came to pick up.
Sorry, but 5 o'clock is early, even on a Saturday.
I made sure that I got there before 5 on Sunday, but my script wasn't ready. I had to wait a few moments for it to be filled.
A couple days ago, K had a visit to a specialist regarding issues he's had since December. Nothing seemed evident upon the doctor visit so blood work was ordered in addition to another test. Doctor sent a script for K that would help his current matters, but we were told to wait until the tests were ruled upon.
Got a call this morning at 9:15 about the blood work which showed nothing out of norm, but the second matter's results weren't in, yet. Those results were relayed at 2pm, and they were positive, so a different script was called in at our Target Pharmacy.
I was going to go to Target before J got home, but I changed my mind upon considering the last time I had K and B at Target. B wanted a toy and was not nice about leaving the toy aisle. I didn't want to relive the episode with it being a day fresh, so I waited until we had eaten dinner to go alone.
I head over there after 6, and they only had the original script ready. I said the other was called in around 2, and I was told they didn't have it in the system. The technician needed to check their voice mail.
It came via fax, and I had to wait a half hour for it to be filled.
Only half of the script was available so I didn't have to pay for it until I got the second half. I paid upfront, for I had a coupon for a $10 gift card since I was filling a new script there. The coupon expired before I needed to fill the second half of the script, and I could use $10 to off set the cost.

I like Target. I like our pharmacists at Target. I just don't care for the waiting and early closing hours.

One thing I do like, we were able to refill a script while we were in Florida without having the medication with us.

I'll stay with Target Rx for now, but there are a ton of pharmacies around that could do just as well if not better.

Don't forget your Pepsi when you go to Holiday World

A few weeks ago, J and K were watching PBS show a series on amusement parks. They featured a park called Holiday World that was in Santa Claus, Indiana. Not sure why, but they were intrigued, and they thought it a good idea to go there this summer.

We went today. Spent most of the time in the water park portion, so I didn't take any low quality pics or vids.

No one likes roller coasters in the family but me, while everyone likes water play, but me. The kids had a good time, so I won't say anything bad. I especially can't complain about the price of admission.

Check out their site. They don't charge for PARKING! They have a FREE PEPSI oasis almost every twenty yards. They have FREE sunscreen as well. Ample places to relieve oneself after drinking a gallon of Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Sierra Mist, Gatorade, or other Pepsi friendly product.

Admission was discounted with the presentation of a PEPSI can. Family of four admission cost less than $150. Only had to pay for food, carny games, and souvenirs.

• Food stands were mostly outdoors, which sucked with the heat index being over 100 degrees.
• Food selection indoors was limited. They didn't have chicken! Burgers, Pizza, and hotdogs were what they pigeonhole you into liking. But beverages are essentially FREE. I had rancid coffee, but only a person like myself would drink coffee when it's 100 out side.
• They had build your own stuffed animals! So we had to get a Penguin and a Poodle, since the carny games were rigged thus making those stuffed animals unattainable.

Kids had fun, but wanted to go home rather than stay another day ( adding a second day was a very reasonable option that could have been decide upon leaving for the day). We got home around 11:40 tonight. We left around 7:30 in the morning, so it made for a long day. It's almost a four hour drive, but it's in a different timezone, so we gained an hour of fun!

Holiday World, a place in the middle of nowhere that is great for kids like mine.

Wednesday the Fourth

Centerville has Americana Festival on the Fourth, and we have gone to it the past few years. They have TONS of things to do for the kids, and there are always tons of people there on a very warm day.

Today was mid-90s and sunny, so swim suits were worn for the trip to the festival seeing that Centerville has a sprinkler park in the proximity of the kids fun area of the festival.

Kids got their hair and faces painted.

Saturday Night at the local Kroger

Ever go shopping because you had a coupon that you had to use by a certain date and that particular date was today?

I had a "save $6 off your next purchase of $25 or more" coupon that expired 6/30/12, so I made a dash for the store on a Saturday night.

We're Meijer's people in the sense that we shop there for food more than we do Sam's Club, Target, Walmart, Cub Food, Dot's Market, Health Foods Unlimited, Gordon Food Service or Kroger, but we buy things when they are on sale if we need something and it's convenient trip-wise.

We live in a very food-friendly shopping area, seeing that we have the above places to choose to do our shopping. We get the Sunday paper for the ads, and we comparison shop.

Kroger and Meijer double coupons and give coupons to save on your next visit a lot of the time.

Kroger generally has the best price for Very Vanilla Silk Milk with a price usually under $3 for a half-gallon. Silk soy milk runs for $3.29 at Meijer, and K drinks at least a gallon a week(K grew out of his milk allergy four years ago, but he still doesn't eat anything with cow milk in it).

Our stainless steel Frigidaire side by side refrigerator gets filled easily with the other things we get, so I don't buy more than 2 gallons of K's milk at a time. With my needing to buy an additional $13+ in food, J made a list from the ad we had and gave me appropriate coupons for my "quick" trip to Kroger.

I get to Kroger and notice that there are a lot of people shopping for a Saturday night, but also, the sale prices quoted by J didn't jive. So I called J for a legit reason for once to see if the ad she used was current, and it wasn't.

Kroger's ad runs from Monday through Sunday, while Meijer's ad runs from Sunday to Saturday, thus ads get confusing at times.

Kroger runs crazy ads from time to time, so I bought 10 random items that I, at least, like, thus saved an additional few bucks upon check out in addition to the original $6 coupon.

Upon checking out, I prefer self-service. I really don't like waiting in line, but I had coupons and several bags worth of things, so I picked a human occupied check lane with a conveyor belt and dividers.

There were two of such lanes open. Both were at least three customers deep, but there was a person lingering kinda between them. I had to ask her in which lane she was, and she picked one that looked slower. I shop enough that I have a fairly good instinct for slow lanes. I always avoid lanes with old people because they almost never use debit/credit cards because doing such is frowned upon by certain age groups.


I get cash back rewards and always pay my monthly bill in-full, so I make money when I spend money using my BankAmericard or Chase Freedom card.

The guy in front of me paid for his $62.57 grocery bill with all fives. Who carries around 13 five dollar bills? Are five dollar bills the  current standard for tipping bartenders, strippers, waiters, and waitresses now?

Not sure what the woman behind me used to pay, but she was the same person I asked which lane she was using. She either chose poorly or she was a quantum physicist that can be in two places indiscriminately like Brian Green.


I supposedly saved over $16 using my Kroger Plus Card. My total came to $35.10 before giving coupons.  I only had to "charge" $27.15.

I say "supposedly" because I bought a few 12 count boxes of Kellog's Pop-tarts for $1.99 that are originally $2.29 when the price for an 8 count box is $2.27.

Grocery shopping is a science not meant for those shopping on an empty stomach.

Magazine finally came!

Titan is now off my list. I was fearing that the next issue of The Star Wars The Clone Wars would come before the missing #11 arrived.

Late Magazine

I have always had a mild obsession with mail. Something about receiving something from the postman seemed to validate my existence. Of course, the younger I was the more likely I was to be getting something fun like a card with money in it. I recall having a subscription or two to things, but I never gave them much thought.
Anyways, my 8 year old has a subscription that his grandparents got him. For the last few weeks, my son has been coming home hoping to see his newest issue waiting for him when he gets off the school bus. At first, he'd ask questions about how long the mail takes to get something if the item is on newsstands.
When he started the stalking the mailbox, and being overtly upset about his lack of mail, I explained to him that we still had to wait. Having worked as a serials librarian, I told him he'd have to wait a while before I could do anything about his missing magazine.
Naturally, he went to his mother, and she called an 1-800 number. She was told to wait 7-10 business days since the issue was in process.
That was 2 weeks ago, so I called today and was told the 7-10 bit to which I had a counter that I had already been told such and was given the impression that now a request was being made for resending the missing issue.
I am prepared to press the matter, for I enjoyed dealing with my vendor and resolving my missing issues when it was part of my job.