The price of vision
I have to apologize to Irony Queen for unwittingly putting a Vulcan mind meld on her this week. Whoops! Sorry! She wrote:
You’re so pretty! And so smart—your new site is fabulous! Maybe you can answer this question for me…where can I find attractive, stylish glasses (frames and lenses) for a reasonable amount of money? My insurance covers the trip to the optometrist, but not any of the acoutrements, like AN ACTUAL PAIR OF GLASSES. And I’m not a Sam’s Club/Costco member, though I’ve heard there are some deals to be had there. Oh yes, and I of course need new prescription sunglasses, too, or I’ll only be allowed to drive when it’s not sunny. And I live in California, so that’s about, oh six days of the year.
I was just buying glasses yesterday, so obviously my sphere of influence is expanding at an alarming rate. If you ate three popsicles last night, Irony Queen? That was me, too. Sorry.
They say that men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses, but that really doesn’t explain the financial rape that occurs every time one of us with vision challenges goes to the optometrist, now does it? Hmph. read more…
Too much free time?
I can help you with that.
I myself am about to enter a 12-step program to overcome my Sudoku addiction, but if you’re able to do just a puzzle or two and then walk away, this one’s for you.
Download GameHouse Sudoku from RealArcade, absolutely free (a $19.99 value). Sorry, Mac users. You are far too pretty and smart for this offer; it’s for us disadvantaged Windows users only.
Fancy goodies, free shipping
Ohhhhhh my pretties, I must be strong. I MUST BE STRONG.
Get free shipping on a purchase of $25+ at Sephora with code VOTENOW. Coupon expires June 25th.
Check out the “Last Chance” section for steals and deals. Think gift closet! Think teacher gifts. Think little girl birthday party favors (the Sephora Girl line is so cute it hurts). Search around the site, too—the Seaside Body Scrub is $5 (regularly $26!) and isn’t showing up in the Last Chance items.
Mmmmm… the world smells a little better now, just thinking about it.
Expensive little tushies
I was recently exchanging some email with the lovely and talented mc, who—in addition to being pretty—had an adorable baby about six weeks ago. The kicker is that (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, mc!) Baby Ess’ due date was actually today, but she was just impatient, I guess. Anyway! On to the question!
While I’m here, I may as well ask a total new mom question for the site: what’s the cheapest place to buy diapers? And from my limited experience, I’m looking for Pampers, since even the Huggies we tried caused multiple leakages, and the ensuing costume changes, in one day. But if there are other cheap brands out there that would actually work for a baby with skinny little legs, I’d love to hear about ’em.
Ahhhhhh, diapers. Gosh, I miss those. HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. I crack myself up. Heh. Sorry, what were we talking about? Oh! Right. Diapers. read more…
Free lunch!
Clicky click to get your coupon for a free Panera Kids™ meal, valid only on the first day of summer—tomorrow, June 21st.
Valid for a kids’ meal with the purchase of any regular price menu item. I always knew that Panera had all kinds of food that I love, but I didn’t realize they 1) have special meals for kids and 2) offer organic milk.
I am—as some of you know—a wanton fool for organic milk. I say kudos to Panera for insisting on healthier choices, and how nice of them to have this freebie. Yeah, it’s a marketing ploy to get me in there to fork over $7 for a fancy sandwich tomorrow. I know. I’m still gonna do it. Because they’re pretty, and I require fortification with gorgonzola and fancy bread to start off my summer with the kids home.
Pinching clean, shiny pennies
Today’s question comes from the lovely Stephanie:
I have a question about cleaning. (whining) Do I have to do it? No, seriously, how many products do we really need? Is it necessary to have separate cleaners for bathrooms/kitchens, tile/hardwood floor, carpet/upholstery, etc? Do we HAVE to have a special spray and wand for dusting? Are more expensive and single-purpose cleaners better? How do you keep your home so sparkly and shiny without having to sell a kid? Although that probably would solve a lot of cleaning problems… Hmmm…
What puzzles me about this question is that Stephanie seems to believe my house is sparkly. That’s the dead giveaway that we’ve never met in person, right there. If Stephanie had even been here, her question would’ve read something more like “Hi! What’s that smell?”
I’m kidding. Of course. Oh look! Over there! Something SHINY! read more…
Stock your bomb shelter
I’m certainly not going to be buying these, because my feeling is that if the bird flu or nuclear holocaust or another Bush president hits this country, I’m going to have problems a lot bigger than whether or not my lasagna is self-heating.
But if I were the sort of person to buy such a thing? I’d do it now, because all of the varieties of preservative-free, shelf-stable, self-heating, multiple-hyphened foods are 32% off with free shipping. And at the end of the world, there’s only two things you really need: Self-heating dinner and the knowledge that you saved some money.
Doing Disney?
DisneyShopping is currently having their semi-annual sale, plus they’ve got this customer appreciation coupon thing going on until midnight on June 21st (save an additional 20% with code APPRECIATE).
If you’re planning a trip to Disney in the future, go check out this sale. I’ll give you three guesses—and the first two don’t count—about which is cheaper and more convenient: Buying everyone t-shirts now, in the comfort of your own home, on sale and with a coupon (and don’t forget free shipping on orders over $75)… or fighting through crowds when you’re hot and tired and feeling very broke so that you can spend $30 apiece for shirts at the park.
I mean… it’s up to you. I’m just sayin’. (I’m just saying don’t be a sucker, in case you didn’t catch that.)
[Sale note: Be aware that DisneyShopping can be a bit wiggy about coupons. LOG IN before you start shopping. If you’re not logged in, the coupon won’t work; if you log in after shopping to activate the coupon, you lose the contents of your cart. It’s dumb. Just log in, first.]
Allocation is justification
If you’re like me… well, you have a hard time spending money on yourself. Many parents, and in particular, many single parents, are stretching every dollar and feel as though money spent on themselves is somehow money taken away from the kids.
This is utter hooey. I believe the technical term is Equine Stercus.
Look. I’m not going to tell you to carry a Coach purse while your kids carry their school books in brown paper bags; there’s a finite amount of money in your budget, and certain needs that must be met, and some things will remain more than what you might be able to afford.
But I’ll bet you can afford more than you might think. And at least here in America, we’ve all been granted the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and a bit of retail therapy. read more…
Free Razr phones, today only
For Father’s Day, Wirefly is offering all sorts of deals on cellular service where you get a free Motorola Razr phone (a $249 value). Some plans allow you to get more than one free phone, and you can get them in a variety of colors. Check it out of you’re shopping for new service or are ready for renewal on your current service.
(But don’t go locking yourself into a year or two of service just because you were lured in by the pretty, shiny phone. As always, do your research, read the terms carefully, and don’t make me come over there and smack you.)
Sale ends at midnight tonight.
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