I'm going to type ideas as fast as I can, while my Coupon Buddy is busy trying to sort through my purse. Read: looking for money. :) I'm going to continue in the Q&A format.
What's your take on the discount/bargain/clearance bin?
My take is this: how could you NOT love it? :) But, it does take a little time and attention to really score in this situation.
I mentioned in my other post that I shop systematically through the same store every week. I have factored the bargain bins into my run so I do not make some bad choices. Oh, how I love the bargain bin at Kroger...it really could get me into trouble if I let it...but where else can you get an $80.00 toaster for $20.00 by simply using the wait-and-pray method?
First and foremost--have a solid idea of what you are looking for when you dive into the bins. This truly can be something short of an Olympic sport, so be prepared for:
-Items that others have thrown into the bin that are not on sale.
-Looking for a price checker to be nearby if it looks suspicious or has no tag.
-Other people. Sigh, those interlopers between me and my bliss. How dare they paw through the same bins as I, possibly finding the last industrial sized bag of almond M&M's for a nickel? :) All kidding aside, in actuality, 99% of the people I meet at bargain bins are people just like me, getting a kick out of cheap stuff; heck, many times we look for certain items for one another or chat while we breathlessly claw through...I mean, gently examine... the contents of the bin.
-Expired items.
-Getting ready to expire items. Okay if you want to use soon, not so much if it's your headache medicine. Example: had a bunch of cold medicine getting ready to expire this August in the bargain bins in late January. The medicine was normally $5-6.00 and clearanced out to $2.50. I had four $2.50 coupons so I got stocked up for the last of the winter sniffles for free. Any left over would need to be tossed, so more than four would be greedy and wasteful [Politeness tip: don't grab all of something if you can help it. Other people like bargains too!]. It ended up being really nice to have on hand, because who wants to drive to the store to get meds when they are already sick?? I'd rather just walk to my med cabinet. And then...back to bed. :)
-Dented cans. Don't take a chance.
-What you have a coupon for.
-Lastly, and this is the most important, be prepared to "wait and pray." if you don't have to have it.
Take, for example, my toaster. Our toaster was acting erratic, so it was time to buy a new one. Imagine my surprise when I saw a huge pile of kitchen appliances at my local Kroger's bargain bin: can openers, toasters, blenders, etc. However, I was a bit chagrined to see the $15.00 can opener was only clearanced down to $13.99. This isn't a clearance in my mind, but a marketing ploy. People see things in the bargain bin and pretty much automatically think: "oh my goodness, cheap cheap cheaaaaap!"
Not so. 10% off is not a clearance, that's a sale. Take into consideration that you are paying 6% sales tax, and you might as well not even bother. I must not have been alone in my thoughts, as the bin was still mostly full the next time I went into the store.
About 2 1/2 weeks later, a few items were left in the bin, and some of the toasters were still there. I had previously shied away from them, as they were originally $80.00, and were clearanced to $40.00 at week 2 (my second visit). While $40.00 was 50% off and a good price, it was beyond my price point that I wanted to pay; I do use my toaster often, but not enough to justify 40 bucks.
My wait and pray paid off at visit three, as there were two toasters left and they were now $20.00. As someone can buy the standard, nondigital, non-Cusinart, two-slot model for $11.88 at WalMart, this was indeed a good deal, and it ended up in my cart.
The Wait and Pray method:
-Involves NO actual prayers. Please, your diety of choice is busy enough with other prayers than to concern themselves with your bargain dilemmas. Thanking your diety of choice is okay, as compliments and gratitude go through the Holy Customer Service Department and reach your diety in the form of a summarized report.
-Involves knowing actual retail price (Yay, years of watching the Price is Right). That toaster is probably normally retail ~$70.00, so 50% off of an inflated price is an even worse deal. Be prepared for this in stores that are selling items that are beyond their norm. YES, grocery stores selling appliances to prepare the food you buy within IS out of the norm, that's why they charge you a small premium. See my last post's argument about "time is money" to figure if this convenience is worth it to you.
-Involves having the fortitude to walk away. If my toaster ended up pooping out totally, I would have just grabbed the $11.88 Black and Decker one at WalMart and been satisfied, never giving that *50% off!!!!, $40.00* toaster another thought. In this case, a little patience got me a 4-slot goodie for just a little more than that 12 bucks.
-Remember, again, that time is money, so paying a low price now for an inferior product will mean paying out more money overall in the end. Sometimes a few dollars difference really does end up being the cheapest deal. In my toaster example, Black and Decker is not an inferior brand, but when I think kitchen, I think of Cuisinart more than B&D. I also scored several settings beyond the norm (one sided bagel toasting, for example. No more burnt sesame seeds), a defrost function, 9 level settings, and 4 slots versus 2. Yeah, that thing is sitting on my counter and acting cocky as we speak. :)
Let me reiterate: a clearance is defined by the Retail Dictionary of NurseAdrie as "Something that is usable, highly desirable, and at a price that you are unlikely to ever see again, at least any time soon."
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Extreme Deal Seeker
So many times, I get asked how I saved $163.00 on my grocery bill, or can find good deals with seemingly little effort. Well, I decided to come on in and write it for you in one handy-dandy location for your viewing pleasure. I think I may make it an ongoing thing, since I actually have a lot to share!
Let me start with saying that I am, by no means, an extreme couponer. I watched one show of the Extreme Couponers and I about barfed. It was a LOT of waste (one guy had something like 15 years' worth of deodorant in his basement. Unless he has hyperhydrosis, I don't see the point. Donate it already!) I am also: pressed for time, usually accompanied by a toddler, and cheap. When it comes to myself, I am cheap, cheap, cheap. When it comes to other people, I am not AS cheap, but I will do all I can for as inexpensively as possible. Hope that makes sense. In short, I don't buy things just to buy them.
What you will need:
-At least one Sunday paper. Two is better. Three starts getting to be too much work for a new couponer, leading to possible abandonment and, thusly, money out of your pocket.
-A place to store said coupons. I use a small, accordion-style holder that is the height and diameter of a checkbook. I organize it by aisle at Kroger, since that is where I do 99% of my shopping. So, the first section has: vitamins, then digestion aids, pain killers, oral care, contact lens coupons. That is the first mini-group of aisles of the far left of the store, so I just grab that coupon section and have it in order, putting them in the back of the pile as I pass an aisle.
~~~~~~~Other people have used baseball card plastic sheets to organize, but this requires a 3-ring binder to tote to and from the store. Why make yourself encumbered, I say? It's more likely to make you want to, again, abandon the project.
Now, onward for more details.
Q&A
What's your take on Sam's Club and similar bulk stores? Are they a good deal?
It depends on your definition of a "good deal." As you know, there is a yearly membership fee to join these places, and that $39.00+ needs to be factored in to your decision.
The draw of places like that is not so much a good deal, but bulk. Why buy just one peanut butter when you can buy a two-pack in industrial-sized jars? The price per unit (in this case, ounces) compares to most regular prices of stores. So, what are you saving?
Time. Time is money, my friend. How much do you make, figured per hour? If unemployed or a stay at home mom, figure a reasonable salary for yourself. If you are desperate, use minimum wage as a guide (about $7.00/hour). Okay, now that you have your per-hour figured, figure out how much time you spend driving to and from the market every week for your family. If you are going more than twice a week, you are going too much. Gas is approximately $3.70 a gallon, and if you figure in minimum wage as your hourly "worth", a 30 minute drive to Sam's Club alone will be something in the neighborhood of $4-5.00. If you add in Wal-Mart, Meijer, and maybe a stopoff to get gas, it's more like $10-15.00 each time you go, just in driving costs and " driving labor". STOP IT!
Using peanut butter as an example, if your family eats peanut butter by the metric crap ton, by all means, this is a great deal. If you can find several objects in Sam's that your family eats like it is going out of style, AND you have a place to store it, a monthly trip to Sam's to stock up is financially sound indeed. How many times have you made a special visit to the market because you were out of a condiment, and then ended up buying other stuff on impulse? That $2.00 ketchup turns into a $25.00+ debacle. Again, STOP IT! :)
In short, compare your own "driving costs" and compare that to the $39.00 yearly fee for Sam's. If your driving costs significantly outweigh that $39.00, then it is a DARN GOOD deal!
Which coupons do I cut from the paper? How do you decide?
Obviously, if you hate peas (like yours truly), a coupon for peas will do you no good at all and can be avoided. Of course, you clip the ones for products you use, and definitely for ones that you would like to try if the price is right.
Usually, the best time to purchase a new item (something that just came out in the market) is it's first couple of weeks on the shelves. When it's new, they price it low to reel you in...and that's usually also when the coupon hits the paper. Try something new for low cost (unless it's peas).
I avoid coupons that are for some small amount, such as 20 cents. Even if I get that doubled, think about your overall "cost" (see the time is money argument above). Now, if someone mails me a pre-clipped 20 cent coupon, I may be inclined to use it, although grumbling that the darn coupon probably cost them more to print and distribute than the 20 cents, and they could just lower the price of the product and save everyone money, but I digress.
I also avoid coupons that say X off of 2 or more products, unless I usually buy 2 or more of said products (remove the temptation to buy more than you need!!!) Cereal companies, I am glaring at you on this one. $1.00 off of three boxes of cereal is just a slap in the face, especially since three boxes will probably run me about 9 bucks or more. It can pay off occasionally; for example, Kroger has cereal bonanzas from time to time that offer 3 boxes for $5.00. That's insanely good to begin with, and that $1.00 is a cherry on the sundae.
Pillsbury is also another offender, offering 35 cents off of 3 cans of Grands. Seriously? For 6 dollars of biscuit goodness, you want to offer me 35 cents?
Lastly, if you get in any way distracted in the store, you may miss that you need to buy more than one, which will make your coupon beep, and the cashier to warily ask you if you did indeed buy the product (or, as happened to me, pull the register tape and look for it, moving the speed of smell as he did so. Maybe he was jealous that I paid $45.00 for $200.00 of groceries that week?).
My little coupon buddy is beckoning me from upstairs, so I am going to wrap up this installment here...more to come. Leave me a note and give me some feedback or ask some questions if you like!
Let me start with saying that I am, by no means, an extreme couponer. I watched one show of the Extreme Couponers and I about barfed. It was a LOT of waste (one guy had something like 15 years' worth of deodorant in his basement. Unless he has hyperhydrosis, I don't see the point. Donate it already!) I am also: pressed for time, usually accompanied by a toddler, and cheap. When it comes to myself, I am cheap, cheap, cheap. When it comes to other people, I am not AS cheap, but I will do all I can for as inexpensively as possible. Hope that makes sense. In short, I don't buy things just to buy them.
What you will need:
-At least one Sunday paper. Two is better. Three starts getting to be too much work for a new couponer, leading to possible abandonment and, thusly, money out of your pocket.
-A place to store said coupons. I use a small, accordion-style holder that is the height and diameter of a checkbook. I organize it by aisle at Kroger, since that is where I do 99% of my shopping. So, the first section has: vitamins, then digestion aids, pain killers, oral care, contact lens coupons. That is the first mini-group of aisles of the far left of the store, so I just grab that coupon section and have it in order, putting them in the back of the pile as I pass an aisle.
~~~~~~~Other people have used baseball card plastic sheets to organize, but this requires a 3-ring binder to tote to and from the store. Why make yourself encumbered, I say? It's more likely to make you want to, again, abandon the project.
Now, onward for more details.
Q&A
What's your take on Sam's Club and similar bulk stores? Are they a good deal?
It depends on your definition of a "good deal." As you know, there is a yearly membership fee to join these places, and that $39.00+ needs to be factored in to your decision.
The draw of places like that is not so much a good deal, but bulk. Why buy just one peanut butter when you can buy a two-pack in industrial-sized jars? The price per unit (in this case, ounces) compares to most regular prices of stores. So, what are you saving?
Time. Time is money, my friend. How much do you make, figured per hour? If unemployed or a stay at home mom, figure a reasonable salary for yourself. If you are desperate, use minimum wage as a guide (about $7.00/hour). Okay, now that you have your per-hour figured, figure out how much time you spend driving to and from the market every week for your family. If you are going more than twice a week, you are going too much. Gas is approximately $3.70 a gallon, and if you figure in minimum wage as your hourly "worth", a 30 minute drive to Sam's Club alone will be something in the neighborhood of $4-5.00. If you add in Wal-Mart, Meijer, and maybe a stopoff to get gas, it's more like $10-15.00 each time you go, just in driving costs and " driving labor". STOP IT!
Using peanut butter as an example, if your family eats peanut butter by the metric crap ton, by all means, this is a great deal. If you can find several objects in Sam's that your family eats like it is going out of style, AND you have a place to store it, a monthly trip to Sam's to stock up is financially sound indeed. How many times have you made a special visit to the market because you were out of a condiment, and then ended up buying other stuff on impulse? That $2.00 ketchup turns into a $25.00+ debacle. Again, STOP IT! :)
In short, compare your own "driving costs" and compare that to the $39.00 yearly fee for Sam's. If your driving costs significantly outweigh that $39.00, then it is a DARN GOOD deal!
Which coupons do I cut from the paper? How do you decide?
Obviously, if you hate peas (like yours truly), a coupon for peas will do you no good at all and can be avoided. Of course, you clip the ones for products you use, and definitely for ones that you would like to try if the price is right.
Usually, the best time to purchase a new item (something that just came out in the market) is it's first couple of weeks on the shelves. When it's new, they price it low to reel you in...and that's usually also when the coupon hits the paper. Try something new for low cost (unless it's peas).
I avoid coupons that are for some small amount, such as 20 cents. Even if I get that doubled, think about your overall "cost" (see the time is money argument above). Now, if someone mails me a pre-clipped 20 cent coupon, I may be inclined to use it, although grumbling that the darn coupon probably cost them more to print and distribute than the 20 cents, and they could just lower the price of the product and save everyone money, but I digress.
I also avoid coupons that say X off of 2 or more products, unless I usually buy 2 or more of said products (remove the temptation to buy more than you need!!!) Cereal companies, I am glaring at you on this one. $1.00 off of three boxes of cereal is just a slap in the face, especially since three boxes will probably run me about 9 bucks or more. It can pay off occasionally; for example, Kroger has cereal bonanzas from time to time that offer 3 boxes for $5.00. That's insanely good to begin with, and that $1.00 is a cherry on the sundae.
Pillsbury is also another offender, offering 35 cents off of 3 cans of Grands. Seriously? For 6 dollars of biscuit goodness, you want to offer me 35 cents?
Lastly, if you get in any way distracted in the store, you may miss that you need to buy more than one, which will make your coupon beep, and the cashier to warily ask you if you did indeed buy the product (or, as happened to me, pull the register tape and look for it, moving the speed of smell as he did so. Maybe he was jealous that I paid $45.00 for $200.00 of groceries that week?).
My little coupon buddy is beckoning me from upstairs, so I am going to wrap up this installment here...more to come. Leave me a note and give me some feedback or ask some questions if you like!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
You Know What REALLY Grinds My Gears?
This is going to be a collective rant of a few things, so if you are in a hurry to get somewhere, please, by all means, come back to this later. I may end up writing a lot.
It seems like the focus of much of what I read, watch on TV, and talk about is a lack of taking responsibility. It becomes a blame game. For example, as much as I dislike our current administration, I also know that he/they were VOTED in. He/they did not just walk in and seize the government; WE as a population put him/them there. Some people did not question the "hope and change," and are now stuck with the surprise gift of what that hope and change really is.
I question any candidate that runs on the platform of blame: "Well, so-and-so really did a number on you all; well, I'm here to tell you that I am NOT so-and-so." Well, great. But, who are you? Now, you find out who they are and you are displeased? Well, I have news for you: you are no better than Ms. Pelosi, the "we have to pass the bill to find out what is in it," queen. No better than a presidential admonishment that we "all need to tighten our belts, even the federal government," then turning around and spending $100,000+ on a bar bill (what were you drinking, Pelosi? Liquid gold??).
This brings me to my next topic: the vilification of those who "have" not sharing with the "have nots." Michael Moore, I am looking at you. You make a movie based on those big bad medical companies, healthcare on the whole, and also corporations, but you also seemed to make a pretty penny on your endeavors. You seem to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You do not appear to be, in any way, starving (not an attack on the man's weight; a medical observation here). You make a career of making documentaries that have some basis in fact, twist it to sensationalize it, and then laugh all the way to the bank. Then you have the cojones to tell people how money should be spent. How about you "donate" all the money from your "informative" documentaries (after, of course, deducting costs and a reasonable pay rate for expert opinion, etc). No, you would not do that; that's your money that you earned, correct? You worked hard to gather facts and to present it to the public at large. Your gift, you may argue, is that you are informing everyone of the big, bad whatever your movie is about.
So then, the argument turns very moot when people such as Mr. Moore want to decry that physicians and hospitals want to overcharge people. Physicians, for example, certainly have had to have more training than, say, a movie director. Physicians have to give up most of their adult life to train for their profession; about 12 years. More for specialties and to build a patient base and also to eventually strike out into private practice. They come out of school with a student loan in the neighborhood of $250,000 and, if they are general practitioners, make around $50-70K to start. Yes, that's good money if you are used to McDonald's pay. Not so great when their student loan payments come due and are more than most people's average mortgage payment every month. Do some basic math and figure out how many $25.00 co-pays it takes just to cover, say, one $1500.00 student loan payment. Now figure that the physician has to eat, live, drive, and possibly marry and have children. These are life events that most of us have; however, the physician graduate is at the disadvantage of probably starting a family later than the average person due to their educational sacrifice. When I hear people holler that housing, food, etc are "their right" it just makes me cringe. When I hear people vilify docs and accuse them of making oodles of money and stealing from the poor, it REALLY grinds my gears. Let me emphasize:
Nobody is stopping anyone from being a doctor, themselves. It takes good grades in high school, acceptance to med school, and 12+ years of dedication. There are student loans available (which was not always the case) and now the president had added in affirmative action language into the healthcare bill. So, what is stopping you? Too much work? Don't want to give up so many years of your life? Too many student loans? Too hard? Well guess what? If they made med school easier, you would not want that person as your doctor. You want the lazy guy who got chosen because of some quota doing brain surgery on your mom? Welcome to idiocracy. You know how people get their panties in a wad because someone at McDonald's screwed up their chicken McNugget order? Yeah, now imagine both of those parties being your doctor. Both the guy behind the counter who could not count to 9, and the person who thought it was a good idea to verbally abuse the McDonald's cashier for a minor mistake, which would have been easily rectified with a polite request. A missing McNugget is not a personal affront.
Moving on with my rant...I know I am very straightforward and can be abrasive. However, I also try very hard to have good manners. It saddens me when a simple "thank you" brings a look of shock to, say, a cashier's face. Another story...I happen to have a serious weakness for New York style pizza. It's a big treat for me to go to the mall and have a slice. Well, one day I went to get my pizza and the credit card machine was down, so they could not accept my debit card. Did they tell me to go get cash out of the 5th 3rd ATM nearby (which would have caused me to incur a fee)? No, they must have seen the crestfallen look on my face, because they very nicely told me to have the pizza and gave me a little wave with a "eh, pay for it the next time you are in." So gracious!
The next time I was in the mall (the next week), I made a point to get a piece of pizza, and I mentioned to what I think was the owner that I owed him for a slice from the previous week. After reminding him that the credit card machine was down, he recalled the day and was downright shocked that I came back. He even told my daughter that she "should be proud of her Mama for being so honest." It made me happy to be honest, and, further, to bring a smile to the man's face, but really....why would I NOT be honest? The fact that someone would take advantage kind of saddens me as well. I love their pizza; I want them to stay in business. They cannot do that if they are giving out free pizza!
So, the pizza story can kind of parallel the healthcare debacle as we have it today. A service rendered on trust, from highly educated individuals. Ones that are not getting paid, and have to pass on the costs of not getting paid to those who can pay. I think of hospitals declaring bankruptcy or shutting down wings because of dire monetary flow. When we discussed healthcare being a right versus a priviledge in nursing school, I think I was the only one in the class who said it was not a right. I wonder how many of my fellow classmates have come to the same conclusion now? We ALL want paid our worth, or, at best, enough to cover expenses and maybe some wants. That's why some people have unions, yes? Why pick on medical workers? You know it will NEVER stop. You never know who will be targeted next for "making too much money" or "robbing the poor for their (real or imagined) right."
For me, I want that nice Italian guy to make my pizza. I want my brain surgeon to be the one who graduated at the top of his/her class and earned their right to be there. I want my kids' teachers to be taken care of, not bogged down by teaching to the test, red tape, and not being able to interact freely with parents based on their education. I want anyone who is incompetent to be fired without having to worry about some extraneous reason that will keep them in their job until they get sick of it and leave on their own. I want for everyone to do their best at any job that they have and take pride in who they are and what they do. From the garbage collectors to the doctors, we all have our place and need in society.
For now, I am sad because the "donating" that is mandated to the public at large diminishes any concept of real charity. This Robin Hood mentality strikes only a desire in others to do the same: "You have, I want, I'll take." So, don't be shocked by the news, with it's stories of tax evasion, corruption, theft, rape, anything. It's a culture borne of a mentality from "above" that we are entitled to anything that we want and need. Misters Obama, Moore, Reid, and Ms. Pelosi, I suggest you get out our own black/gold Am Ex card and do the giving that you expect of others. In the meantime, we can take care of our own. I vote myself in charge of my own economics and charity. I promise not to go to the ER and flake on the bill when I scrape my knee. I promise to not use excess energy, to recycle all I can, and to give to those around me that need what I can give the most.
How about YOU start with that $100,000.00 bar bill and look yourself in the mirror as you try to justify taking our tax money that could have helped, for example:
-2500 babies to get a deluxe-size box of Pampers? (3333 babies if you want to get Luvs brand; 4,000 babies for generic.)
-Anywhere between 4,000 and 4,500 cans of powdered formula for babies. How about 50,000 gallons of milk for breastfeeding moms?
-I know of a local charity that says it can feed a family of 4 for $5.00 because it can get bulk deals. 20,000 families of 4 would have a meal. That's 80,000 people!
-50 families in our neighborhood would have been relieved of property taxes.
-Medical: that would have covered 4,000 people's $25.00 co-pay, 25,000 people's coverage of one of WalMart's $4.00 drug formulary, or 500 vaccinations, depending on type.
-A public library could have purchased about 9-10,000 books.
Yeah, maybe next year I'll pay my taxes in Crown Royale.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Woolite Rug Stick: Hope It Can Double as a Cane Later!
So, back to life. I'm trying new things again, and enlightening my small mass of friends with my dubious commentary on said things.
A friend of mine fretted for a bit over my OCD-style of cleaning in comparison to her own. (She needn't have worried, as she is just as clean as I.) But, her comments to me made me chuckle a little, thinking of how the wife is often the one who worries how the house looks, while the husband will often survey the homestead and just be happy that he can find the toilet and the 'fridge. And, why not? If the house looks like a tornado hit it, no matter how many hours the wife works and takes care of the kids, she is usually the one that people will whisper about: "Tsk, tsk; she sure isn't much of a cleaner, is she?"
Anyway, on to the Woolite Rug Stick.
The 'stick retails for about 16 bucks at Kroger, but it was on sale for $13, and I had a $3.00 coupon. I figured that 10 bucks was not too much to spend for another foray into The Cleaning Unknown.
It was easy to assemble and set up, but it did not seem to make much sense at first glance. From where was the foam spray coming? I was afraid to look for a nozzle, as I am very prone to getting shot in the eye when I attempt such things. I found the "lock" button, though, and went about trying to figure out how this could work as well as it appeared on the All-Knowing Commercial.
Taking a deep breath, I unlock the safety knob, and attempt to clean the carpet area coming into my living room from the foyer. A medium-sized stain had mysteriously appeared there in the last few days, and nobody wants to own up to it. (As an aside, I think that's why some people have babies: easy to blame for stains, hard to be angry at.)
There are no buttons, no way to make it "go." Just make a sweeping motion with the brush side up, the instructions read. I did so.
Nothing happened.
Okay, it's a new can of foam. Even though I shook it well per directions at setup, I took it out and shook it again.
Nothing happened.
I checked if it was unlocked. It was. I quickly put it down; I like my eyes.
I made one huge, deep pressure sweep on the carpet, much like one would do while hoeing a garden.
Success!
Now I have on my carpet a scenario that looks like I was trying to grow cucumbers, failed, and tried to cover it with a blast from a fire extinguisher.
I do a few more sweeps with a little less pressure in an area that was about 2' X 3'. I made sure to go over the Mysterious Stain very well. But, not too much; this stuff has to dry and be vacuumed later.
I flip over the 'stick and start about trying to use the brush side. Here is where I started to get VERY aggravated. I swear to all dieties that I am not a tall woman. I'm about average; pre-kids, I was 5'6", and since I have had them, I am told that I am now 5'5". I had to bend waaaaaaay over to brush the carpet, which is the major selling point of this device. "Fluffs the carpet!" it churps, never mentioning that you basically have to be bent in half to do it effectively.
Not pictured above: The chiropractor's bill. Apparently, he demands payment in bananas.
However, as I am a trooper for The Great Cleaning Quest, I braved my screaming back and swipe, swipe, swiped the area. It looked a little more fluffy. The stain was still visible, though; in fact, it looked darker. Okay, this is explained away with simple chemistry (or is it biology?) and not a huge worry. I decided that I was going to walk away and let it dry, and then make my final assessment.
Later....
I come back to the spot, which is now a 2'X 3' area of slightly lighter carpet than the surrounding carpet, with a still-obvious stain in the middle. But, it is very fluffy!
Final Assessment
My back smarts just looking at my stain-ensconced-in-fluff area. This product is touted for "high traffic areas," but in my high traffic area, it did little to nothing. It did not lift and pull any major dirt out of the carpet; I suspect the lighter colored carpet comes from the extreme fluffing. The fluffing, while nice, could be achieved with a vacuum cleaner and some tenacity. Vacuums, I note with a bit of snark, seem to be more friendly for people who are taller than 4'10".
In short, I paid 10 bucks for a glorified hairbrush for my carpet.
Edited to add: I totally forgot to remark on the smell. How could I?? Anyway, the one good thing that this product had going for it was the smell. There seemed to be none. :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Help, Help! I've Been Bitten By the SHARK!!
So, I noticed that it has been a long time since I have updated my blog. Frankly, I haven't had the time to try anything new, much less write about it; work and the kids have been keeping me busy per usual.
Mother's Day came around and Rick and Baby Ricky came home with a brand new Shark steam cleaner for me. It was so cute: the baby was on the floor with the box, kind of offering to me with a little smile.
Now, some people think that a cleaning apparatus for Mother's Day is insulting. In some cases, I would agree. However, I am a "As Seen on TV" junkie, and I have been jones-ing for this shiny new promise of eternal cleanliness and sterilization for some time now. I just never go out and buy anything above 10 bucks for myself, or even simply pick up the phone at 2 am and dial in to the 1-800 operators manning the phones for nutjobs like me who have money to burn on cleaning fantasies. In short, this gift tickled me to no end.
It was a few days before I got to try it, but it's box sat on my living room chair beckoning me the whole time. It was almost like I wanted to savor the moment of the first use, and part of me was a little afraid that it would not work, and I would be as deflated as a popped balloon.
So, I finally got caught up with work and the kids and realized that some major cleaning had to be done. I had been doing minor cleaning, enough to be clean where one could see, but nothing like moving the couch and cleaning underneath.
I posted on Facebook my impressions of the first use, which ended up being BEYOND expectations. I was giddy with glee and sweating from the steam. But, I wondered, how did the Shark fare on it's other claims? For example, it says it steam cleans curtains, mattresses (killing dust mites), and pillows. Also, how would it clean the shower door? It has an included squeegie for that. The possibilities were endless!! I have attachments that I still haven't tried, or know what they are for. I could theoretically spend weeks testing this thing!!
I debated for a few moments turning on the video camera to show a "before and after" shot. My own infomerical, if you will. However, the steam really does make you sweat when you use it. I didn't want a video of me floating around the internet looking all hot and bothered. Especially since it would have been a cleaning video.
To start, I decided to try the bathroom off of my bedroom. It's an unpleasant place as Rick smokes in there, so you know how that goes. A good cleaning of it can take me all day to get all the nooks and crannies. The shower door was an easy job, and I did not even use the squeegie; I used one of the wand attachments, and it was cleaned quickly and easily. Soap reside came off from the chrome fixtures quickly. The drain ended up looking brand new.
Emboldened, I cleaned the rest of the bathroom (double sink, oak blinds, window and screen, baseboards, toilet, floor, mirror, light fixture, and even the walls). Superb results. I swear on a stack of bibles that I put no more effort into it than Harry Potter waving his magic wand, and it was sparkly clean.
Bonus: It got makeup off of the wall, it got handprints off of the wall (with no removal of paint; I tested this on a perfectly clean, perfectly white cloth pocket, and no paint came off at all). It also got smoke residue off of the bathroom cabinets without ruining the sheen/finish.
On to the bedroom. I did the curtains first. The purple attachment that has little fingers on it (for dusting) got some dust off of the curtains and even got a few small wrinkles out. The REAL test? Smell. Did they smell fresher?
YES. They still smelled like curtains, just clean curtains. NICE!
I cleaned Ricky's cloth covered bouncy chair and electric swing. It smelled fresher (not like spilled milk), and I swear it brightened in color.
I then cleaned the lamp's shades. ICK, who knew so much dust could accumulate in them???
Finally, the bed.
I did the mattress, the mattress topper, the pillows, and the bedspread. Here are my MIXED thoughts on that experience.
-GOOD: it does not leave objects wet. It really is a nice steam that creates a heat that stays on the object for a good while after you have cleaned it. I don't know if any dust mites lost their lives in the Great Shark Attack of 2010, but the bed overall did have a cleaner "feel" to it.
-BAD: It does NOT get 100% of the smell out. Now, don't get me wrong; I didn't have a really reeking, B.O. infested mattress to start with. But it still smelled a little "off." It was markedly better, but I think this may be one task that may need repeated in order to obtain the advertised desired results. The pillows were fine, however.
In short, my opinion of this task (deodorizing) is that it does about 75% of the job on the first try. I think objects that are not dense (curtains, pillows, etc), do much better than a mattress in this task.
The task of removing wrinkles is, hands-down, a no brainer. Easy, quick, and 100% true. There is even an attachment to help you steam your clothing.
So far, my favorite parts of cleaning with this include:
-The baseboards. I HATE all the bending, moving, etc. that goes with cleaning them well. You know there is always some ICK left behind, even when you use the vacuum's brush attachment. Not so with this.
-Cleaning mirrors. I always get streaks. This is clean, quick, easy, and no streaks. Also, no nauseating Windex smell.
-Getting cooking grease/grime off of kitchen cabinets and range hoods. I can't tell you how much manpower (womanpower?) I have spent on scrub, scrub, scrubbing cabinets and still having a heavy, greasy feeling in the kitchen. Or, all the time I spend getting dizzy cleaning the underside of the range hood and dismantling the fan/filter etc. I cleaned the range hood and cabinets in 10 minutes or less!
-That tiny little area between the sink faucets and the back of the sink. Also, the nooks and crannies of the faucet itself. Annoying to the Nth degree in most cases, but that little wand attachment gets it all in one or two swipes.
Grade?
I'm not even going to ding it for the mattress experience. I kind of expected it to happen, nothing is a perfect cleaning tool. BUT! This comes darn close. I got all of the bathroom and bedroom objects mentioned above all done in about an hour and a half, and I even spent part of that time on the phone with a friend!
10/10, no doubt at all.
Mother's Day came around and Rick and Baby Ricky came home with a brand new Shark steam cleaner for me. It was so cute: the baby was on the floor with the box, kind of offering to me with a little smile.
Now, some people think that a cleaning apparatus for Mother's Day is insulting. In some cases, I would agree. However, I am a "As Seen on TV" junkie, and I have been jones-ing for this shiny new promise of eternal cleanliness and sterilization for some time now. I just never go out and buy anything above 10 bucks for myself, or even simply pick up the phone at 2 am and dial in to the 1-800 operators manning the phones for nutjobs like me who have money to burn on cleaning fantasies. In short, this gift tickled me to no end.
It was a few days before I got to try it, but it's box sat on my living room chair beckoning me the whole time. It was almost like I wanted to savor the moment of the first use, and part of me was a little afraid that it would not work, and I would be as deflated as a popped balloon.
So, I finally got caught up with work and the kids and realized that some major cleaning had to be done. I had been doing minor cleaning, enough to be clean where one could see, but nothing like moving the couch and cleaning underneath.
I posted on Facebook my impressions of the first use, which ended up being BEYOND expectations. I was giddy with glee and sweating from the steam. But, I wondered, how did the Shark fare on it's other claims? For example, it says it steam cleans curtains, mattresses (killing dust mites), and pillows. Also, how would it clean the shower door? It has an included squeegie for that. The possibilities were endless!! I have attachments that I still haven't tried, or know what they are for. I could theoretically spend weeks testing this thing!!
I debated for a few moments turning on the video camera to show a "before and after" shot. My own infomerical, if you will. However, the steam really does make you sweat when you use it. I didn't want a video of me floating around the internet looking all hot and bothered. Especially since it would have been a cleaning video.
To start, I decided to try the bathroom off of my bedroom. It's an unpleasant place as Rick smokes in there, so you know how that goes. A good cleaning of it can take me all day to get all the nooks and crannies. The shower door was an easy job, and I did not even use the squeegie; I used one of the wand attachments, and it was cleaned quickly and easily. Soap reside came off from the chrome fixtures quickly. The drain ended up looking brand new.
Emboldened, I cleaned the rest of the bathroom (double sink, oak blinds, window and screen, baseboards, toilet, floor, mirror, light fixture, and even the walls). Superb results. I swear on a stack of bibles that I put no more effort into it than Harry Potter waving his magic wand, and it was sparkly clean.
Bonus: It got makeup off of the wall, it got handprints off of the wall (with no removal of paint; I tested this on a perfectly clean, perfectly white cloth pocket, and no paint came off at all). It also got smoke residue off of the bathroom cabinets without ruining the sheen/finish.
On to the bedroom. I did the curtains first. The purple attachment that has little fingers on it (for dusting) got some dust off of the curtains and even got a few small wrinkles out. The REAL test? Smell. Did they smell fresher?
YES. They still smelled like curtains, just clean curtains. NICE!
I cleaned Ricky's cloth covered bouncy chair and electric swing. It smelled fresher (not like spilled milk), and I swear it brightened in color.
I then cleaned the lamp's shades. ICK, who knew so much dust could accumulate in them???
Finally, the bed.
I did the mattress, the mattress topper, the pillows, and the bedspread. Here are my MIXED thoughts on that experience.
-GOOD: it does not leave objects wet. It really is a nice steam that creates a heat that stays on the object for a good while after you have cleaned it. I don't know if any dust mites lost their lives in the Great Shark Attack of 2010, but the bed overall did have a cleaner "feel" to it.
-BAD: It does NOT get 100% of the smell out. Now, don't get me wrong; I didn't have a really reeking, B.O. infested mattress to start with. But it still smelled a little "off." It was markedly better, but I think this may be one task that may need repeated in order to obtain the advertised desired results. The pillows were fine, however.
In short, my opinion of this task (deodorizing) is that it does about 75% of the job on the first try. I think objects that are not dense (curtains, pillows, etc), do much better than a mattress in this task.
The task of removing wrinkles is, hands-down, a no brainer. Easy, quick, and 100% true. There is even an attachment to help you steam your clothing.
So far, my favorite parts of cleaning with this include:
-The baseboards. I HATE all the bending, moving, etc. that goes with cleaning them well. You know there is always some ICK left behind, even when you use the vacuum's brush attachment. Not so with this.
-Cleaning mirrors. I always get streaks. This is clean, quick, easy, and no streaks. Also, no nauseating Windex smell.
-Getting cooking grease/grime off of kitchen cabinets and range hoods. I can't tell you how much manpower (womanpower?) I have spent on scrub, scrub, scrubbing cabinets and still having a heavy, greasy feeling in the kitchen. Or, all the time I spend getting dizzy cleaning the underside of the range hood and dismantling the fan/filter etc. I cleaned the range hood and cabinets in 10 minutes or less!
-That tiny little area between the sink faucets and the back of the sink. Also, the nooks and crannies of the faucet itself. Annoying to the Nth degree in most cases, but that little wand attachment gets it all in one or two swipes.
Grade?
I'm not even going to ding it for the mattress experience. I kind of expected it to happen, nothing is a perfect cleaning tool. BUT! This comes darn close. I got all of the bathroom and bedroom objects mentioned above all done in about an hour and a half, and I even spent part of that time on the phone with a friend!
10/10, no doubt at all.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The WalMart Debacle
Anyone who knows me, knows how much I detest WalMart. No, it's not for how they treat their workers. No, it's not because the store is always crowded, full of interesting people who have difficulty understanding there is a world around them that involves other people.
Little did I know that I would be on a civil rights crusade this past week. This was the straw that broke my ever-loving, WalMart-hating back.
My story starts as a typical day; I need a few odds and ends and head to W-World with Dad and Baby Ricky. As babies do, my son decided to throw a hissy fit just as I was checking out of the store. The cashier, to her credit, rushed me along pleasantly and quickly as I apologized for my son's banshee yells.
Then I get to the exit.
I now have a baby in the cart who is full-on, Exorcist-like yelling; so loud, I am sure that they could hear him back in electronics. Yeah, that bad. I am trying to navigate my cart, which contains only about 3 BAGS. (I write "bags" in all caps because this is pertinent for the next part). So: to recap, screaming demon baby, and cart not even full with bagged items.
The door greeter stops me. "I need to see your receipt."
I am not exactly proud of what transpires next, but I was at my wits' end and this abomination of an accusation threw me over the edge.
"What?!" I exclaim. "Are you kidding me???" I add, motioning my head towards the 3 BAGS and my now even MORE screaming baby, who has now noted the stopping of the cart and is even more pissed off. Now, I didn't have anything that beeped, I didn't have any X-Boxes or computers or anything remotely scandalous in my bags. Just groceries. IN BAGS.
I must have given that lady the Glare Of Death, because she took a step backwards. "I am just doing my job," she replied feebly.
This incensed me more. I don't know why.
"Your JOB," I said through clenched teeth, "is to stop people with screaming babies who just want to get the hell out of here, with everything in a bag?? What kind of stupid shoplifter would I have to be, and what kind of stupid people would have to work here, for me to not only steal groceries but to BAG them neatly? Don't you think, somewhere along the line, SOMEONE would have said, "Hey, stop that lady; she is stealing groceries, WalMart bags, and is packing them away neatly!!" Are you kidding me, lady?"
The lady is now pretty scared, and part of me felt sorry for her, but the other part of me, the one who believes in innocent before proven guilty, won out. She is still standing there with her hand partly out, still expecting me to hand her a receipt.
I open my purse, get the receipt out (I know; my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have packed it away, but who in the hell gets stopped for bagged groceries? I could see it if I had something that would beep, or was unbagged, or was a big-ticket item. I don't think I was wrong in assuming that I would not need to be stopped.)
I give her the receipt and say calmly but still with That Look In My Eye, "Hurry it up, then." She doesn't even give it more than a millisecond of a glance before she hands it back to me.
That infuriated me even more!!
"Was it worth it?" I snapped.
"I'm just doing my job," she tried to explain again.
"Look lady, let me give you a bit of advice," I said, more calmly. "In this economy, people aren't spending money. They sure as hell are not going to go somewhere, where they are accused of shoplifting when everything is above board. They also are not going to go somewhere where the door greeter, who should have common sense and a sense of discretion, stops a woman with a howling baby and bagged groceries who just wants to get the hell out of there. Lastly, you didn't stop anyone else, so your picking on me was just asenine. Your job is dependent on people like me coming in and blowing 50 bucks on crap, entering and leaving with the minimum of stress. People don't talk about a good experience, but they sure will tell lots of people about a bad one. When the economy gets better, you think people will forget stuff like this, about the lady at the door who did not use common sense or discretion, which I know you should have? No, they won't forget, and your job will be done for; not because you didn't do it, but because there is no money to pay you, or you pissed off the wrong person."
I left. I doubt I will go back. Honestly...I know that is an empty statement usually uttered by the pissed off special snowflakes who do not get their way, but I am so honestly done with that place.
Rick tells me that I should have just let it go. I can't. I work my butt off to be the best instructor, mother, wife that I can be. I want those who know me to know I have integrity, honesty, and truth. When someone doubts that, I tend to get really mad.
I also shudder over this phenomenon in our society that we just ACCEPT crappy things because "that's just the way it is." No, it's not. We let ourselves get this way. Our apathy got us this way. Case in point: politics. Reps and Dems, hate most of them, but I think we should hate ourselves the most. We can't blame the government for everything...WE put them there. We allowed the status quo. Now we take notice and get involved in government, because NOW, we have something to lose. And, we ARE losing.
Pastor Martin Niemöller (circa 1959-1960) is quoted as saying:
In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
With that said, I spoke up to that W-World door greeter, because it's NOT okay to be treated this way. I did not agree to a search when I walked in the door; there was no implicit or complicit contract that I agree to these shenanigans just to save a buck. Sam's Club, yes; it's explained, it's understood, and if I don't like it, I don't have to shop there. But Sam's gives you a CHOICE; it's not random, it makes sense. I refuse to play by willy-nilly rules, especially ones that are detrimental to my own sense of security and privacy.
I don't need my morality dictated by people who cannot even manage themselves. And, if you are going to accuse me of something, look me in the eye and call a spade a spade. Make it part of the WalMart shopping experience, so people know what they are in for and can choose accordingly, not stressing over whether today will be the day where they randomly choose you; and you know that day will be the one with the screaming kid, your receipt put away, and you just want to LEAVE because your business has been conducted.
My business with Walmart has been conducted, and now concluded. Am I proud I probably upset that lady? No, not personally; however, as a representative of WalMart, who has discretion that she chose not to use, she was the target of my anger and indignation. Am I going to make a difference in their bottom line by never returning? Still, probably not. I wish more people would stand up for their own rights, though. THAT would make a difference. Power is a perception; WalMart does not have the power to ignore the law. Most people give up the receipt because of stories they hear on The Consumerist and are afraid to get tackled in the parking lot.
WHY? I ask. WHY! When, in our history, was it okay to conduct business and then have to prove it 3 seconds later? Why is it okay to randomly stop someone who neither look suspicious, or even has any visible indicators of wrongdoing? Why should someone even have to post on the 'net that they got into a brouhaha because they refused the request (and, legally, that's all it is: a REQUEST. They can't even stop you for REAL shoplifting until you have left the premeses).
Do a search sometime on The Consumerist for walMart stories. (Web address: http://consumerist.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&limit=20&search=walmart ). Are some people just dinks? Sure. But, I urge you to read the stories and make your own opinion.
Happy Sunday!
Little did I know that I would be on a civil rights crusade this past week. This was the straw that broke my ever-loving, WalMart-hating back.
My story starts as a typical day; I need a few odds and ends and head to W-World with Dad and Baby Ricky. As babies do, my son decided to throw a hissy fit just as I was checking out of the store. The cashier, to her credit, rushed me along pleasantly and quickly as I apologized for my son's banshee yells.
Then I get to the exit.
I now have a baby in the cart who is full-on, Exorcist-like yelling; so loud, I am sure that they could hear him back in electronics. Yeah, that bad. I am trying to navigate my cart, which contains only about 3 BAGS. (I write "bags" in all caps because this is pertinent for the next part). So: to recap, screaming demon baby, and cart not even full with bagged items.
The door greeter stops me. "I need to see your receipt."
I am not exactly proud of what transpires next, but I was at my wits' end and this abomination of an accusation threw me over the edge.
"What?!" I exclaim. "Are you kidding me???" I add, motioning my head towards the 3 BAGS and my now even MORE screaming baby, who has now noted the stopping of the cart and is even more pissed off. Now, I didn't have anything that beeped, I didn't have any X-Boxes or computers or anything remotely scandalous in my bags. Just groceries. IN BAGS.
I must have given that lady the Glare Of Death, because she took a step backwards. "I am just doing my job," she replied feebly.
This incensed me more. I don't know why.
"Your JOB," I said through clenched teeth, "is to stop people with screaming babies who just want to get the hell out of here, with everything in a bag?? What kind of stupid shoplifter would I have to be, and what kind of stupid people would have to work here, for me to not only steal groceries but to BAG them neatly? Don't you think, somewhere along the line, SOMEONE would have said, "Hey, stop that lady; she is stealing groceries, WalMart bags, and is packing them away neatly!!" Are you kidding me, lady?"
The lady is now pretty scared, and part of me felt sorry for her, but the other part of me, the one who believes in innocent before proven guilty, won out. She is still standing there with her hand partly out, still expecting me to hand her a receipt.
I open my purse, get the receipt out (I know; my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have packed it away, but who in the hell gets stopped for bagged groceries? I could see it if I had something that would beep, or was unbagged, or was a big-ticket item. I don't think I was wrong in assuming that I would not need to be stopped.)
I give her the receipt and say calmly but still with That Look In My Eye, "Hurry it up, then." She doesn't even give it more than a millisecond of a glance before she hands it back to me.
That infuriated me even more!!
"Was it worth it?" I snapped.
"I'm just doing my job," she tried to explain again.
"Look lady, let me give you a bit of advice," I said, more calmly. "In this economy, people aren't spending money. They sure as hell are not going to go somewhere, where they are accused of shoplifting when everything is above board. They also are not going to go somewhere where the door greeter, who should have common sense and a sense of discretion, stops a woman with a howling baby and bagged groceries who just wants to get the hell out of there. Lastly, you didn't stop anyone else, so your picking on me was just asenine. Your job is dependent on people like me coming in and blowing 50 bucks on crap, entering and leaving with the minimum of stress. People don't talk about a good experience, but they sure will tell lots of people about a bad one. When the economy gets better, you think people will forget stuff like this, about the lady at the door who did not use common sense or discretion, which I know you should have? No, they won't forget, and your job will be done for; not because you didn't do it, but because there is no money to pay you, or you pissed off the wrong person."
I left. I doubt I will go back. Honestly...I know that is an empty statement usually uttered by the pissed off special snowflakes who do not get their way, but I am so honestly done with that place.
Rick tells me that I should have just let it go. I can't. I work my butt off to be the best instructor, mother, wife that I can be. I want those who know me to know I have integrity, honesty, and truth. When someone doubts that, I tend to get really mad.
I also shudder over this phenomenon in our society that we just ACCEPT crappy things because "that's just the way it is." No, it's not. We let ourselves get this way. Our apathy got us this way. Case in point: politics. Reps and Dems, hate most of them, but I think we should hate ourselves the most. We can't blame the government for everything...WE put them there. We allowed the status quo. Now we take notice and get involved in government, because NOW, we have something to lose. And, we ARE losing.
Pastor Martin Niemöller (circa 1959-1960) is quoted as saying:
In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
With that said, I spoke up to that W-World door greeter, because it's NOT okay to be treated this way. I did not agree to a search when I walked in the door; there was no implicit or complicit contract that I agree to these shenanigans just to save a buck. Sam's Club, yes; it's explained, it's understood, and if I don't like it, I don't have to shop there. But Sam's gives you a CHOICE; it's not random, it makes sense. I refuse to play by willy-nilly rules, especially ones that are detrimental to my own sense of security and privacy.
I don't need my morality dictated by people who cannot even manage themselves. And, if you are going to accuse me of something, look me in the eye and call a spade a spade. Make it part of the WalMart shopping experience, so people know what they are in for and can choose accordingly, not stressing over whether today will be the day where they randomly choose you; and you know that day will be the one with the screaming kid, your receipt put away, and you just want to LEAVE because your business has been conducted.
My business with Walmart has been conducted, and now concluded. Am I proud I probably upset that lady? No, not personally; however, as a representative of WalMart, who has discretion that she chose not to use, she was the target of my anger and indignation. Am I going to make a difference in their bottom line by never returning? Still, probably not. I wish more people would stand up for their own rights, though. THAT would make a difference. Power is a perception; WalMart does not have the power to ignore the law. Most people give up the receipt because of stories they hear on The Consumerist and are afraid to get tackled in the parking lot.
WHY? I ask. WHY! When, in our history, was it okay to conduct business and then have to prove it 3 seconds later? Why is it okay to randomly stop someone who neither look suspicious, or even has any visible indicators of wrongdoing? Why should someone even have to post on the 'net that they got into a brouhaha because they refused the request (and, legally, that's all it is: a REQUEST. They can't even stop you for REAL shoplifting until you have left the premeses).
Do a search sometime on The Consumerist for walMart stories. (Web address: http://consumerist.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&limit=20&search=walmart ). Are some people just dinks? Sure. But, I urge you to read the stories and make your own opinion.
Happy Sunday!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Chicken Fried Steak, Tracy Style
This week kicked my butt. Granted, my schedule is not hard at work; it's the prep time and getting the family what they need so I can leave that is my problem. So, I spent a better part of the week stopping by Kroger (the Hebron location. Big KUDOS to them--the people who work there are REALLY great folks. Even the teenagers :) ) and getting prepared food for dinner on my way home from work.
So, here is my problem with cooking. Rick is allergic to fish, and does not really like too much chicken. I am not fond of pork. That does not leave a whole bunch of options or room for creativity, especially if one is trying to be somewhat healthy.
Yesterday. I had to be at WalMart on a Saturday afternoon. If you know me, you know this is akin to me sticking an olive fork in my eye for fun. I'm tired, I'm pushing my luck with a baby who has been good and happy for just a wee bit too long, and I have no idea what to get for some basic groceries. I started to browse the frozen foods, and found the little gem that I am going to write about today!
Fast Classics: Country Fried Chicken, Includes Country Gravy Mix
No matter how long I have lived in Kentucky, I still do not consider myself a southern gal. I do like southern-style food from my time in Texas. However, in my "old age", fried foods just agree with me less and less. And, again, anyone who knows me that I don't like things that don't agree with me :) [Note: that really WAS a joke! :) ]
Anyway, I know Rick likes chicken fried steak. As my Facebook info states, I avoid frying things as a general rule, because it tends to injure me. I also do not want to burn my new house down. So when I saw this pre-packaged promise of an easy dinner, I was very pleased.
Comments
It was extremely easy to make. Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes; flip the steaks, and cook for another 10 minutes. To make sure they were crispy, I actually did 11 minutes on each side. They turned out perfect!
The gravy mix that was included had easy directions, and I followed them to the letter. This was a mistake; the gravy that resulted was a little on the watery side. However, with some minor adjustments in the future (less water added), it will be perfect. I am told that some people like a more watery gravy. As I am not a frying guru, I just accepted this. I like a more heavy gravy, myself.
Grade
Despite the gravy, I am going to give this a 10/10! The steaks were delicious, and not salty like some frozen foods. They turned out a perfect "crispyness". The gravy was delicious, and can be modified for texture taste later. What makes me the most happy? I can make a nice dinner that would normally be fried, without all the mess or pain and with all the taste.
It retailed for about $6.50 for 5 steaks and the gravy mix. With the addition of the salad mix that I also bought, two people ate a nice dinner for around ten dollars.
Will definitely buy again!!
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