You can have too little of this

So today was one of those days. I should leave it there, but I won’t. You know I won’t. How can I?

Today we had Admiral AC come and check our AC units (2 of them). Essentially, this was the annual “make sure everything is working correctly” thing that needs to be done. It is always better to be safe than sorry in Gulf Coast Texas. If you’re sorry, you’re miserable. Need I say more?

Now, I should know better. An “inspection” is to tell you anything that is wrong, right? Well, they proceeded to just that. To the tune of $7500. *gasp* Yeah, that is not very funny. Not one little bit. I’m not kidding. Naturally, we’re not going to take this option as a “take it or leave it” kind of quote/bid. Nope, not going to happen. There will be at least 2-3 more quotes/bids on this here project.

I called up a friend and asked for the company she used as I knew she had replaced units few years before. She was happy to provide me with the information and had nothing but wonderful things to say about them and their service. Thanks, Linn! I truly appreciate it. I called them up and while I got voice-mail, I left a message. I had a return call within 10 minutes. Pretty darn fast. He said he could come this evening, I told him I would need to leave by a certain time. I wasn’t sure if Ben would be home from work at that point so I needed to make sure I wasn’t late getting the kids to karate and whatnot. He said he’d try to get there by about 4:30. He called saying he was stuck in traffic but he was on his way. Ben got home about 10 minutes before he arrived.

This was a totally different experience. While we don’t have a “firm” estimate/quote/bid, the initial numbers are radically different that I had gotten from Admiral this morning. The guy is sending out his “best” technician to check the units out and test for the freon leak that we have. I am not sure what time he will be coming tomorrow, but I am truly interested in what his take on the “state of malfunction” our units are facing. I mean this morning I was hearing “doom and gloom” but this guy was bringing back some shimmery sunshine to the day.

To hear such big numbers is emotionally draining. I mean I was WIPED OUT after getting the first quote. I was exhausted. I was truly saddened and stressed. This is a big deal. At least after the other guy came I felt hopeful that this wasn’t truly as bad as it was made out to be.

Honestly, I do believe that the AC industry is filled with bigger crooks than your average, run of the mill lawyer.

After running the boys to karate and crashing at mom’s house for a little while to finish cutting/pulling coupons…I was feeling a bit better. Grocery shopping isn’t always the best cure for the mood. I’ll confess, I had no real desire to go. I was tired. I was emotionally spent. I just didn’t want to go. Motivation was totally GONE at this point in the day. I pushed through though. I had to. I had to go get milk, bread, and toilet paper. If nothing else, I was getting those things.

I quickly printed my list at mom’s and then packed up my things to go pick up Andrew and Kyle. I dropped off Andrew at the school for his cello lesson and dropped off Kyle at home. I went back to sit and wait for Andrew. While there I sorted my collected coupons into their appropriate transactions. I then dropped Andrew off at home and headed out to Randall’s.

I ran into mom at the store. Looks like she got the motivation to venture out to the store as well. Toilet paper is important after all. On so many levels. She reported on the things that she found to be missing in action (completely out).

Not a big deal on the one part as it was the paper towels that were out. Since I still have paper towels and we do not go through them very fast, I was not worried about this. I’d just catch it on the next cycle.

They were out of the batteries that were the best deal, but I know how to settle for a good price when necessary. There was about $1 difference but when you’re talking about batteries at less than a certain price even with the $1…*shrug* I know that going into Hurricane Season batteries will be important so stocking up now is better than later. Of course on that logic I should have bought different size batteries. Well, maybe, book lights are important too. There, we will be able to read to pass the time. Entertainment is important during the passing of any hurricane.

The worst part…the cereal…They were out of Cinnamon Toast Crunch when mom and I were there on Saturday night. They were still out today. *sigh* So I didn’t buy as many boxes of cereal as I had planned on tonight because Lance really wanted CTC so I’ll hang onto the coupons for what will hopefully be another rotation soon.

Getting a great deal on certain items can really bring a smile to your face. I have 108 double rolls of toilet paper to add to the 32 single rolls of toilet paper that I already had in the house – unopened.

The 32 single rolls are essentially my “emergency stash.” If we have to open one of those packages, I am off looking for the best possible price to purchase ASAP. Now, we’re not going to go through 32 rolls in 2 days, but it gives me enough time to watch for the sale on toilet paper. I will confess that the emergency stash has grown a little bit over the past few months. *giggle* I just can’t help myself.

This actually made my day much better. Well getting a great price on toilet paper and running into my father in the grocery store too. *laugh* I know where to go to get toilet paper if we run out. *evil laugh* Why did this cheer me up? Well because in the time I’ve been doing The Grocery Game, I have yet to stock up on enough toilet paper to go 12 weeks. I’ve been able to cut back on having to buy toilet paper at short intervals, but still not able to go 3 months. Tonight, I got that. I think. Since we have 3 extra children with us this summer, that might be questionable at best.

According to the TGG associated book, sales tend to run 2-4 weeks in a roll between various stores. So if this is week 1 of toilet paper and I am able to get as much each time, I should be set for close to an entire year. Of course, the question then becomes “where am I going to put all this?” *laugh* We’ll have to wait and see what the coupons in this next newspaper will yield. *grin*

So if you’re having a bad day, go find yourself a great sale on toilet paper, combine it with some coupons, and feel happy again.