New Shopping Addiction

My students know how much I love books, so I get Borders gift cards pretty frequently.  Back in April, I was shopping on their website when I saw a USED book tab.  I was just looking for book club books, so they didn't have to be in pristine condition. Why not?  When I clicked on it, I found multiple copies of the book I wanted for $1.06.  So, I selected the six copies that were described in best condition.  I went ahead and bought a couple new books to bring my order up to the $25 free shipping limit and then completed my order.

My new books came within 48 hours and my used books took about a week to two weeks to get here, but most of them looked BRAND NEW.  In fact some of them were hardbound!  (Okay, this is the silly teacher part of me getting excited.)  If I was at a bookstore I would be spending between $5-15 for most these books and I was getting them for a DOLLAR!

Now, I inherited this thing from my dad where I can't resist a good deal, so I got on the site again and started filling up my cart with used books.  I'm a teacher.  I can't have TOO many books.  (I think my current collection at school is up to about 600+ chapter books by now.)  Anyway, it turned out that there was an unspoken 20 book limit in your cart, so I wasn't going to be able to get the free shipping buying only used books.  SO, I went ahead and upgraded to a Borders Rewards Plus membership for $20 for the year, so I could get free shipping on all orders.  I've been shopping away ever since.

No joke, the postman either loves me or hates me because my mailbox was stuffed with books basically EVERY DAY for a while there.  I kept on meaning to take a picture because it cracked me up how good he was getting at fitting them all in there.  Using mostly gift cards, I've bought over 70 used books (hardbound too!) in practically brand spanking new condition for a few cents over a dollar each.

Sometimes I feel a little guilty whenever I see the cost of shipping on the label.  It usually costs a little over $2 to ship the average book... and I only paid $1 total for the whole thing with NO shipping cost to me at all.  So I know that SOMEONE has to be losing money.  I can't be the only teacher that has figured this out.

Cookie Imposter!

It's that time of year again!  Yes, Girl Scout cookies are being sold at every elementary school, church, and door step in America.  I was surprised to find out that the boxes this year are smaller and more expensive because of increased costs.  Did you know that Girl Scout cookies can be bought for different amounts in different places?  The price can vary anywhere between $2.50 to $4.00 a box depending on the location where they are sold.  Each year I am approached by several students and each year I buy TWO boxes; one box of Samoa cookies from a Girl Scout at church and one from a student in my class.  I was, after all, part of this massive army of cookie selling girls.  Uniform and all.  So I can understand the pressure from the troop to SELL ALL cookies.  It also helps pay for things like Girl Scout Camp, oh the memories...

Each day that I commute with Doug, we treat ourselves to two Samoas a piece during the trip home.  Being the thrifty person that I am, I decided to calculate cost per cookie.  A box of Samoas costs $4.00 here in Northern Virginia and there are 15 cookies (Why such an unfriendly odd number??) in a box of Somoas.  Divide 4 by 15 and you find that each cookie is costing you a little more than a quarter (27 cents to be exact). 

We were at Walmart buying only the necessaries for the week when we stumbled upon these...  They were *surprise* on special during this time of year for $1.98 a box plus tax.  Usually we don't splurge on such items, but we wanted to see if we could tell the difference between a bonifide Samoa Girl Scout cookie and it's recently released imposter "Coconut Dreams."  When I opened them in the car, I was pleasantly surprised to find 18 cookies (bonus points for an even number) inside.  Let do the math.  Divide 2 by 18 and you find that each imposter cookie costs 11 cents! A whopping 16 cents less than a Samoa!

After careful analysis, Doug and I decided on the main differences between the two.  The real Samoa definitely has more crunch to it and uses a darker chocolate.  The Coconut Dream has a milkier chocolate and seems to have a little more caramel.  If you place them side by side, they are the same size and thickness.  Both cookies are also 70 calories a piece.

 

Can you tell the difference?

So the real question is, will I continue to buy ridiculously overpriced Girl Scout cookies each year with these babies on the shelf?

YES, of course!  Have you seen the uniforms they have to wear?

e.l.f.

I usually don't use my blog as an advertisement for stuff, but I found something that I thought was a great deal and wanted to share it. This is probably not for you if you're really picky about make-up.

I was reading a friend's blog earlier this month which showed a make-up deal. I don't know much about make-up, but I do know that I like things that are cheap. I went ahead and checked out their website, ELF, and browsed what they had on there. Just about everything is a dollar and lots of people have given specific comments about the products. I used the coupon code CAROLINA which gives you 50% off orders up to $15. (I'm not sure if it's still available.) I picked out exactly $15 worth of stuff which with the coupon code was only $7.50 and then it cost like $6.95 for shipping.

I got 2 coffee eyeliners, nail polish, a travel mirror, an eye lash curler, blush brush, blush, 3 cover sticks, 2 concealers, 2 things of foundation, and a dual pencil sharpener for $14. I was skeptical about quality, but I went ahead and risked it because make-up is way too expensive. If this was worth it I would save money in the long run. I received the package last night, tried out everything, and I really don't have any complaints. I haven't really figured out the eyelash curler... who invents such things! It seriously looks like some sort of torture device.

Honestly, I really don't know ANYTHING about make up. I don't even know what the difference is between concealer, foundation, and cover sticks. They all basically look the same to me... I just know that I need it most days and I don't want to spend too much money on it. This stuff worked for me.

There are two things that I don't like so much about e.l.f. Basically everything was smaller than what I thought it would be (you can see the size in the pictures) and I think I've gotten like 2 emails a day from this company. I'm just waiting for the spam to hit my mailbox at home...

Google Maps Traffic Amazingness

Yesterday, the first day of my Spring Break, I cleaned all day after the drywall inspection so now the house is sparkling. Today, I decided would be my "lazy day" so after making some yummy french toast, I sat in bed all morning reading books that I took from my classroom before break. I have now read 5 out of the 10 or so books that I brought home. I love to read when I get the chance!
Doug called during his super long commute today because he was stuck in really bad traffic. Usually traffic is pretty non-existent on his route which is the only thing that makes the hour plus commute bearable. Traffic on I-70 West was at a stand still to the point where he had been in the same place for 20 minutes and decided to turn off his car. We have not purchased a GPS system (yet) so he called in frustration for some help. I figured I would make my book reading, spring breaking, teacher butt useful and get online to check Google maps for an alternate route.
While on there, I discovered a neat Google Maps traffic feature. It showed right where the accident was so I was able to route Doug back onto the road after the accident.
Here is a screen shot of the amazingness that is Google maps traffic:

Google never ceases to amaze me!