Flu shot frustrations (that's putting it nicely)

Yesterday afternoon I called Ella's pediatrician to talk to them about getting her a flu shot. The nurse pulled Ella's chart and confirmed that she did get one last year, noted that she'd only need one shot this year since she got one last year, and said that I could come in this morning because they have a flu shot clinic on Wednesdays starting at 8 AM. So, about 8:10, Ella and I go into Dr. Hill's office, walk up to the counter, and I tell the nurse that we are there for a flu shot. She asks "What kind of insurance do you have?", so after answering her question she says "We only have flu shots available for people on Public Aid. We have the flu mist for anyone though". WHAT?!?!?!?!?! First of all, you can't get the flu mist until you are at least 2 years old, so that makes Ella unable to get it. Second, why the heck wasn't I told this yesterday on the phone? Third, and most importantly in my mind, why do people on Public Aid get a flu shot when someone with health insurance cannot? Why do Rob and I work hard to provide for our family and get health insurance for ourselves, just to get punished for it? Why can Joe Crackhead who doesn't work and has 18 kids, bring them in and all get flu shots? Sometimes the world we live in infuriates me. I left Dr. Hill a message to call me tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear what she has to say about the reasoning behind this "policy".

Luckily, after numerous phone calls today, I was able to locate a flu shot for Ella at the Jersey County Health Dept, so I'll be taking her there tomorrow. If that doesn't pan out, you might see my mug shot on the evening news tomorrow night. Will you help bail me out? :)

Carefree

Friday Favs

Happy Friday!!! This week has been somewhat crazy at work with our extended individual tax returns being due yesterday. That deadline is bittersweet for me. It is a relief to have another deadline behind us, but it also reminds me that tax season is now around the corner...again. :( But, I don't want to talk about that now.

I ordered this cookbook this week from Amazon. I can't wait for it to come in! The cupcakes look so cute!

I think the corn on the cob cupcakes are so cute and creative (sorry the picture is blurry)! I hope I have time to make some of the goodies in the book!

Recently, Rob and I have been talking about buying a new camera. Something that we can have as a "family camera". We decided on this one...

Last Saturday, we celebrated Grandma Brinker's 89th birthday with a yummy dinner at my parents house. It was a great chance to see some family that we don't often see and celebrate an amazing woman who has blessed my life.

3 more weeks of class!!! Hmmm...I need to start thinking about what I want to do to celebrate when I'm done...suggestions?

Its a good thing we love her

This morning I decided Payton was overdue for a visit to her vet. She has been scratching her ears for a while now, and recently started to yipe when she scratches them. I figured it was somehow related to her allergies. If only we could figure out what she's allergic to! Who knew dogs could get allergies?!?! Luckily our vet's office is AMAZING and they got us in at 11:15 this morning. So, my poor dog has a yeast infection in both ears, a staph infection on her belly and needed her anal glands squeezed. Yes, I know that is gross. She also got her nails trimmed while we were there because I HATE doing it. She now has 4 medications to clear up all of her current ailments. So, after paying the vet's office a day's wages, we're back home. Sure is a good thing we love her!

Friday Favs

Hi everybody! TGIF!


I MUST start my favorites with the rainy, cool, fall weather we've been having lately. Call me nuts if you'd like, but I LOVE this weather. I love it even more when I can stay home, in bed, with a good book and some hot tea. Unfortunately, that hasn't been in the cards for me, but I still love this weather.


Other favorites for this week include:


Cindy's chili and spending quality time with my in-laws


Annual Kettle Cooking at the Boda house. You can read more about it here.


Receiving 145 out of 150 points on my presentation in class


My Mom going to Play Pals with myself and Ella on Wednesday.


Getting 3 BIG pumpkins and 2 small ones for $10


Lunch at Olga's with Mom, Rob and Ella


A bedroom ceiling fan with a light that now works again!


Ella randomly walking up to me, standing on her tip-toes, puckering up for a kiss


Saving roughly $40 by using coupons this week


A free lunch from QT thank you to a coupon for a free sandwich!



What a great week! I hope you each have a great weekend!

I'm trying to squeak when I walk

Cheap, frugal, tight-wad, thrifty, penny-pinching, economical...call me whatever you want, but I LOVE saving money. My Mom likes to call me the Coupon Queen. I don't think I'm that good yet, but I certainly try to save wherever I can.

A few tips that I have learned about using coupons and saving money:

• Look to combine coupons and sales. This may mean multiple stops each week (i.e. WalMart, Target, Walgreens, etc), but it will be worth it.


• DO NOT buy an item just because you have a coupon for it.


• View coupons as free money on items that you would normally purchase


• Stock up when you find a great deal (I believe I currently have about 6 bottles of shampoo and 6 bottles of conditioner at home because I got each for about 50 cents). Stocking up will also prevent you from needing to rush out and buy an item and probably pay more than necessary.


• CVS and Walgreens are AWESOME! I could do a whole other post about just these two places, but for now I'll note a few of the highlights. At CVS, you will get MUCH better prices if you are a member of their ExtraCare program. Typically their sale prices are only valid if you present this card. It is free of charge to join. Often, store coupons will print at the bottom of your receipt when you checkout (one of my most recent ones was for a free toothbrush). As an ExtraCare program member, they will sometimes email you a coupon to use in the store (for example, $5 off a purchase of $20 or more). Walgreens has what they call Register Rewards. You purchase a certain item (or a combination of certain items) and when you checkout you get a coupon for money off your next purchase. The best way to shop at CVS and Walgreens is to check out their weekly ad. In my most recent trip to Walgreens, I purchased $36 worth of items and paid $11; for CVS, I purchased $26 worth of items and paid $8. Not too shabby!


• Keeping coupons organized is key. I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me in this area. As of now, I have an expandable file type thing that I have divided out into sections.


• Use websites. I have one BIG favorite on where to find coupons http://hip2save.blogspot.com/. This lady is amazing. She tells you where to find coupons, a lot of which are printed from the internet, and couples them with items in stores to help you find the best value. She does a weekly post called Follow Me Monday. This past Monday's post was about coupon organization. I'm definetly going to use some of her tips to help me organize my coupons! The week before, she went to Walmart and bought $180 worth of items and paid less than $50! WOW!


• Some other good websites include: http://www.stlmommy.com/ and http://www.coupons.com/


• A lot of times you can print a coupon only after entering your name, DOB, and an email address. I have setup an email address that I use only for putting in this blank, otherwise your inbox will get very cluttered, very quickly. I do sometimes check that email account because occasionally they will send more coupons to you via email.


• As for the rest of my coupons, I get them from the Sunday Alton Telegraph and my Grandma saves the coupons from the St. Louis Post Dispatch for me. If you are dedicated to using coupons, it would more than pay to pick up a copy of the Sunday paper.

Do you have any more tips that I can use?

Starting yesterday, each time I use a coupon to purchase an item, I am going to set aside the amount I saved in coupons as savings toward our dream house. I figure if I'm saving toward a specific goal, I will be more inclined to save even more money. I hope to post an entry each month with the amount of money that has been saved toward the house.

Wish me luck on saving for our house!

Friday Favs

Seriously?!?! Its Friday?!?!

This week's favorites include:

Cooler weather! Fall is my favorite season so I've been waiting for these temperatures! Now I'm anxious to take Ella to get pumpkins!

$2.99 taco salads from MotoMart

Being half-way done with my last class of my MBA

The merger at work - The merger was effective this past Thursday, the 1st. So far, everything has gone relatively well. I have a TON of emails that I need to keep up on with new policies and procedures, but it was great to not have IT issues so far. This week has been a little sentimental, knowing that GMCH is no more. But, I trust that LarsonAllen has great things in store for me!

Packing away most of Ella's summer clothes

Great friends

Less than 3 months until Christmas!

What a great week! Thanks for reading!