Making Money While Grocery Shopping

I love to make money while I grocery shop. How do I do it? If you follow my easy 4-step plan, you too can make money for yourself while grocery shopping.

1. First, you need a husband that hates to carry change around in his pants pocket.

2. You need him to collect that change somewhere.

3. You need him to bring all that change home to you. Our latest haul is 11.5 pounds of change that Steve accumulated at work.

4. You need to shop at a grocery store that has one of those CoinStar machines to get rid of the change. It's worth my 9 cents per dollar not to roll that stuff myself.

Tonight's bag of change, and it was in a sandwich-sized bag, held $56.82.
Grocery total was $27.91

I made a profit of $28.91!

I keep a running total to let you know how much 11.5 pounds of change is worth.

Just a Thought

Do you really think Heath Ledger is dead? I'm wondering if it's not all a conspiracy to build up the hype for the release of Batman this weekend.

Sometimes it Pays to Write a Letter

About two weeks ago now, roughly, Steve and I went to dinner at the Carrabba's Italian Grill nearby, which is about eight miles, not really that close. Anywho, I kind of got the impression that our waitress, Cheryl, was ADD, ADHD, or something. She brought us drinks and bread before even taking our order, which was a little bit odd.

Now I would describe Cheryl as having "hay hair." That's the best description I can think of--that kind of hair that doesn't really lay flat and dries to a frizz, and it was blonde and just about shoulder length. On with the ADD--

We get our food after people that got there after us got theirs and we weren't really complaining about her at this point. Not until I saw her delivering a tray of food to people nearby, then I FREAKED!!! And it may have been a little unnecessarily freakish, but to me, not at all. Cheryl was carrying the large tray of food on her shoulder and HER HAIR WAS SITTING ON THE EFFIN' FOOD TRAY!!!!!

I nearly yakked at the table in front of Steve, but I kept my calm and didn't do a think except scream really loud, on the inside. I then proceeded to immediately examine my food for hair. I can't help it. I'm a bit paranoid that way. Hair in food is the absolute worst. I don't need to be ingesting someone else's DNA, especially Cheryl's.

When it comes to hairballs, I'm a gagger. I remember years ago when Steve and I were "living in sin" in Ypsilanti, behind the Greyhound Bus Station no less, and I decided I'd really clean out the claw foot tub in the apartment cuz the water wasn't draining very well in the shower. I was seriously on the verge of puking once I pulled out the biggest hair ball out of that frickin' shower drain. I had the whole salivating mouth action going on. That shit is just nasty.

So, after dinner, and Steve didn't leave a generous tip for Cheryl either, I told Steve what I saw and that I didn't want to mention it during dinner for fear we'd have a pair of chain reaction pukers going at it near the front door. By the way, Steve's a gagger too, just give him the slightest bit of grisle (sp?) in his steak and he's off and I have to look away because the whole chain reaction thing will set itself in motion.

Long story short, I looked up the manager of the Carrabba's, wrote him a letter and told him about Cheryl's hair and today I received an apology letter with a $50 gift card to the joint. I wasn't expecting a gift card and didn't ask for one. I was more concerned about the hair.

Steve says we'll take it to the other Carrabba's in town. The manager kept jingling his keys while he was at the bar talking to customers and Steve nearly went postal on his ass because of it.

30 Days of ColdPlay

If you have XM Satellite Radio, then on Channel 51 they just started 30 days of continuous ColdPlay.

I LOVE ColdPlay but I could never see them in concert. I don't know anyone that's seen them live, but I don't think it'd compare to their albums. Their music puts me in a place (I can't explain it) that I think would be destroyed if I saw them in concert and I don't want to spoil that.

Does that make sense to anyone?

This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE song of theirs, nothing will top it and it doesn't have nearly the same effect on me if I'm not in my car driving somewhere. I NEVER get sick of this song.



I know, cuz I'm crazy like that!!

My All Star

Carlos Guillen, originally uploaded by kbreenbo.

Sometimes I get surprised looks from people when I tell them who my Tiger is.

The ONLY Detroit Tiger chosen for the 2008 All Star Team this year. Need I explain more? And look how cute he is too!

The Most Valuable Hat, for a Complete Idiot

Wow is all I can say. Darwin is definitely at work here.

What kind of idiot thinks he can retrieve a frickin' hat by scaling not 1, BUT 2!! six foot fences at Six Flags Over Georgia theme park??

What kind of friends does this kid have that no one stopped him? He was with a church group for pete's sake!!!

No excuses that he was just a kid, he was 17, and with a church group!

My guess is that when he got on the ride, they told him to remove his hat. He probably did, but then as he left the station to start the ride, he put it right back on again.

I used to work at Cedar Point. I know these idiots well.

Nothing is worth losing your head over. I'd like to say I feel sorry for someone here, but I don't. I rarely have sympathy for idiots, even the best of them.

THERE IS A REASON why amusement parks have all these rules in place, FOR YOUR SAFETY PEOPLE.

The Buick Open--Made in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh

I went to the Buick Open Friday. The weather was on the hot and sticky side about 85 I think was the high. We parked in a school lot and took a shuttle to the main gate and I took this "Save Your Back Bag" with me.



It's easy to carry, not heavy, not awkward, etc. Anywho, as soon as I got off the shuttle, the "security" man there asked me if it was a backpack. Backpacks are not allowed at the Buick Open. I don't know why.

"No, it's my purse."

Then he asked me if I had anything in it I needed to check at will call. So, I voluntarily told him my cell phone was in there. I didn't need this thing searched only to let him find my video camera and digital camera. So, he pointed me in the direction of where to submit those items and they could be picked up at Will Call later before I left. I did. I had no problem with that. I gave my my digital and cell phone. How did he know I wasn't a doctor on call or that I knew someone on their death bed and I had to have my cell phone in case of an emergency?

Mind you, my sister walked right past the same "security" guy with a somewhat big purse. No bother.

We made our way to the 17th hole cuz my brother was coming later. We got beers and had a seat in the shade. Thank goodness there's shade on a golf course cuz even though it was morning, it was HOT.

I noticed a somewhat large group of people coming towards the 17th hole and then saw him there, gut and all, John Daly. He's a class act. Ya know, when Kid Rock offers his accommodations for you while your golfing the Buick Open, what's classier than that? Yeah, I thought so.

So, I still had my Flip Mino in my "backpack" so I thought, "Hmm, catch some video of him as he's walking up to the green to putt. I should be able to get away with that. BUSTED! A "marshall" in a blue Buick Open shirt walked right up and took the camera out of my hands. I didn't even get to turn the thing off before he took it. Thankfully, he thought it was a cell phone and not a camera. I was prepared for this guy to yell at me, but he took the camera and gave me a matching Will Call ticket to pick my shit up at the end of the day. FFF!!!

Also, my camera has an auto shut off, so I didn't lose the video, but I am disappointed that I didn't catch the "marshall" walking up to me and taking the camera on film. I'd post the video of John Daly, but I'm not sure if it "violates" any copyrights or anything like that.

What if I was a doctor on call or something to that effect? Would I have to slip someone a $20 to be able to keep my camera? I made jokes that when I went to Will Call to pick up my stuff at the end of the day that I fake that I had a bunch of missed messages on my phone, pick them up while standing at Will Call and feign that someone left me a message that John died and start crying there on the spot. It wouldn't matter. I don't know John. Sounded like a good story at the time anyways.

No long after that, my brother appeared after my nephew, or "phew," as we like to call them in our family, went and paid top dollar, that is, captive audience prices I like to call them, for Big Boy sandwiches. $6 apiece and $3 for pops and water!

After Daly left the 17th hole we wandered around a bit, up to the back of the 17th hole to find the merchandise booth. Now I was on a roll on Friday and I said something to the fact that "I'll get a baseball cap, but only if it's made in America." So my phew and I found the merch stand. The first shirt hanging on a rack--Made in China. All of the baseball caps--Made in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and China. And because I was on a roll, I was reading the labels out loud for people to hear me. Not loud enough to cause problems. I didn't need to be kicked out of there. I didn't have a ride home and I'd have to sit by the "Homeland Security" van at the front gates until my family was done for the day.

On our way to the 8th hole, you walk through a large merch area. There was a Sprint calling center, some cigar stand, a Buick trailer with I don't know what in and then I saw it. A Croc stand with a chance to register to win 2 pairs of Crocs!!! Here's my chance!!! I'm going to register! Steve absolutely HATES this shoes and I think they are the ugliest things since, since, I don't know, mutilated roadkill is the first thing that comes to mind I suppose.

So I walk up to the girl in the booth and here's how it goes.

Me: How do I register to win the Crocs?

Her: I can do that for you. I just need a little bit of information from you. (She had a portable mini wireless computer.)

She got my name, address, and email. I wasn't going to give this girl my phone number. I can only imagine what would happen if Steve saw the caller ID and decided to pick up the phone. I've witnessed this harassment before, not pretty.

Her: How many pairs of Crocs do you own?

Me: None.

Her: Why?

Me: Because I think they're ugly. My husband thinks they are the ugliest shoes in this world. (She didn't really respond at least there was no surprised look on her face.)

She mentioned something about Crocs now making golf shoes so then she went on.

Her: What do you look for when buying golf shoes? Appearance? Price? Style?

Me: I don't own any golf shoes.

And we were done! She probably deleted my name from the list of registrants I'm sure.

Anywho, back to the 8th hole, and then we figured Rocco Mediate was going to be making his way to the 2nd hole pretty soon so we secured some shade between the putting green on the 2nd hole and tee off of the 3rd hole. Not much of a wait and Rocco was there with a following of people as well. My phew mentioned that he heard someone ask Rocco for his autograph, which he of course turned down.

Sidebar--I'm not really sure what the value is in an autograph. I guess this is something I don't really understand. I have plenty of autographed Chris Isaak shirts, but it's not like I'm never going to wash the shirt. I suppose I'm jaded by autographs these days, must be me. I only got autographs of Chris Isaak to get up close and personal with him. I wouldn't have cared if he signed my stuff John Doe.

I digress.

So, after Rocco went through, we made our way up to the 12th hole for a while. I think it was the 12th. I just followed my posse to wherever they went. And of course, as always happens when I'm with my brother, with the exception of Tiger's game so far this season, he ran into people he knew. This happened when we went to the Rose Bowl in 1998. He and I were walking around looking for scalpers and he saw people there from his church. I think he knows a lot of people.

Rocco came up to putt at the 12th hole and on his team, nobody putted well on this hole, but I think that seemed to be the theme of the day based on what other people around me were saying. I was standing on one side of the putting green and my brother was a distance away, talking to his peeps and my phew and I made our way over there and chatted for a bit with them. And when I thought we were getting ready to leave the 12th green for the day, I caught this kid, about 8 maybe, hurling about 10 feet away from me. He took a few more steps and spewed again. Obviously the heat of the day got to this kid and the fact that my phew and I determined that he had a "Very Strawberry Chill" that they were selling on the course, based on the color of his puke. HEY! If you know my family, you will know that this is normal behavior among us, so deal with it and move on.

Back to the clubhouse and I asked where Will Call was. Of course, Will Call was on the other side of the driving range at the other gate entrance. So I told my peeps to stay put, I'd go get my goods and meet them back at the clubhouse. I made my way to the other entrance and asked them where Will Call was--outside the gate and there are signs posted that read "No Re-Entry With Hang Tags" which is of course the kind of ticket I had. I asked the security guard who the marketing genius was that placed Will Call outside the gates and he said that it's like that every year and he doesn't understand it either. So, a bit frustrated and hot and sweaty and my blood at a low boil, I walked back to my peeps and told them the situation. I'd have to leave the gates, get my stuff, and take a shuttle back up to the front of the other gate. Oh yeah, they told me when I first left that gate near Will Call that I'd be able to take a shuttle back up to the other "front gate." So that was my plan.

I walked back to will call, more frustrated and blah blah blah. Got to Will Call, gave them my matching tickets and got my first two voluntarily given up items and they were looking for my Flip Mino. Not there, OF COURSE is isn't. They said it's still out on the golf course somewhere. That answer didn't work for me. I told them when it was taken and where and about what time of day, so they got on their phones and started calling around to find it.

My blood was starting to boil, literally, it was effin' hot out there.

So, I waited patiently at Will Call for about 30 minutes at least. Nothing yet. They kept calling around. The "lady in charge" said it'd be here for sure tomorrow. Tomorrow's not gonna work lady, I have to drive back to Grand Rapids tonight. Meanwhile, I did have a little bit of entertainment to occupy my time while I waited. They was an older man, probably in his late 50s, early 60s that wanted to leave tickets for someone that was coming tomorrow, except he was drunk enough that he couldn't remember who he needed to leave them for. After about 15 minutes of consulting with his friend, they finally figured it out.

And, about 10 minutes later, some "security" guy came up with my camera. Then I asked them if the shuttle takes you back to the front gate, it doesn't. So I said, "I can walk along this road then to get to the front gate?" And I was frustrated beyond belief at this point and upset that my peeps are waiting at the front gate. Thankfully, the security guy gave me a ride back up front in his golf cart and apologized profusely for the delay in getting my camera. DAMN RIGHT he'd better apologize. Something about after Daly went through the 17th hole, someone got hit, he didn't say with what and then there was chaos, blah, blah, blah. Whatevah!

So that was my day at the Buick Open. I don't think I left any details out. I had a good time despite everything, REALLY.

One last note, why do you have to be so quiet on the course? I think the people holding the "QUIET" signs thought that my walking on grass would be a distraction. I don't really get it. I just call them "Quiet Nazis."

Buick Open 2008

buick open 2008 019, originally uploaded by mvanproeyen.

This is what I hope to see on Friday when my brother, his family, and my sister and I head to the Buick Open. Tiger Woods won't be there, but John Daly, Jim Furyk (sp?), and Rocco Mediate will. Without Tiger, the crowds will be manageable and I'm planning on bringing my camera and Flip Mino as well to see what pics/videos I can get. Here's to hoping the weather is dry and warm and the beers stay nice and cold!!

This Labatt's is for you!!!

I Have the Weirdest Dreams

I really do.

When we lived in our house, I dreamt about plane crashes somewhat often, but we also lived under a flight path for Kent County International Airport. Last night I dreamt that my car was stolen. I'm going to a Detroit Tiger's game on Wednesday night with my sister too. So of course, in anticipation/anxiety that my dream might come true, I stopped at the car wash on my way home and cleaned out my car. If it does get stolen, I don't want to lose everything else I had in the car as well, my iPod, dry cleaning, yarn, a sweatshirt, a coat, lots of Diet Cherry Coke cans (empty ones), and anything with my name on it. I cleaned out the glove box too.

I've already planned out the parking garage I'll park at, it's pretty secure in that you have to swipe the ticket you obtained when you entered, a minute security measure. But I'll also preface this by saying that my brother always prefers to take his car downtown instead of mine in case someone wants to steal it. I've always blown that comment off. BUT, when my brother did work downtown, the car RIGHT NEXT to his was stolen one day last summer. Right out of the employee parking lot!!!

Am I being paranoid or what?

You'll really freak out if I post a blog entry that reads, "MY FRICKIN' CAR WAS STOLEN LAST NIGHT!"

I am glad that I haven't had any dreams about being eaten by tigers or the sort.

Am I Supposed to Feel Sorry For This Guy???

By Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ed McMahon, who for decades appeared as Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show," is fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home, according to published reports.

The former "Star Search" host was $644,000 behind on payments on $4.8 million in mortgage loans when a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp. filed a default notice Feb. 28 with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office, The Wall Street Journal first reported late Tuesday.

McMahon, 85, has been a pitchman for the American Family Publishers' sweepstakes.

However, he has been unable to work as a pitchman for various products since he broke his neck 18 months ago, said his spokesman, Howard Bragman.

"There are plenty of people affected by the weak economy, bad housing market or bad health," Bragman said.

McMahon has been in "very fruitful discussions" with the lender to resolve the situation, Bragman said. But it's unclear whether McMahon and his wife, Pamela, will remain in the home.

A telephone message left for Countrywide early Wednesday was not immediately returned.

The six-bedroom, five-bath house is in a hilltop gated community overlooking Mulholland Drive called The Summit and is listed for sale at $6.25 million. It has been on the market two years, according to real estate agent Alex Davis, who has the listing.

The house is near that of pop star Britney Spears, which doesn't always work in its favor.

"When we were trying to sell the house one time, there were about 100 paparazzi there," Davis said.

REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?

How am I supposed to feel sorry for someone that supposedly has millions and can't figure out how to make his house payment?

Here's an idea--sell all that "memorabilia" collecting dust from The Tonight Show!