KBRA Christmas Special

So yesterday as we were opening presents, Abra noticed me writing down a list of who got what from whom. She came over, looked at the list of everyone's presents, and said "Who's winning?"

Santa Just Left!

Here's how it looks at our house, after Santa has left and before we leave it to the cats:



Merry Christmas, all!

Cheap, Cheap, Cheap!

OK, today we start a new recurring blog theme called "cheap cheap cheap!" As many of you are aware, I am one cheap bastard. I'll go out of my way to save $5 (as long as I dont have to spend $5 in gas to do it!). Perhaps the only person I know that's cheaper than me is my buddy Mark -- and it's close.

So whenever I score some particularly cheap savings, I'll crow about it here. Today's feat of cheapness, courtesy of Walgreen's, was a doozy.

Last Wednesday, I notice (courtesy of slickdeals.net) that the Walgreen's website has a "$5 off $20 in in-store purchases today-only" coupon. So I print it out, go to the local Walgreen's and load up on some on-sale knock-off meds (you think I'm gonna buy the brand-name stuff??).

When I get to the checkout counter, the clerk says "sorry, we dont take internet coupons."

Say what? It's from the Walgreen's website and can only be used in-store.

Naturally, I tell the kid to call the shift manager. The shift manager agrees, they don't take internet coupons.

OK, so I walk out (leaving everything behind -- I'm not buying things after that!) and go home. The wife comes home to find me drinking a 7&7 and typing out an email to Walgreen's corporate office. You can imagine the content: "false advertising", "bad customer service", "i'll continue shopping at CVS after this", all the usual.

Yesterday morning, I get an email from the head store manager apologizing, saying the clerk and shift-manager i dealt with were wrong, and that they *do* accept the coupons, and here's a $20 gift card for your trouble. OK, that works for me.

Then today, again courtesy slickdeals, I see that Walgreen's is offering an even-better "$10 off $30 today-only coupon". So off I go to Walgreen's to stock up on on-sale store-brand meds and vitamins. And here's the haul:

Equivalent price of name-brand meds :~$75

Pre-sale price of store-brand meds: $52

On-sale price: $43

After $10 coupon: $33

Final price, after $20 giftcard: $13

Oh yeah, that's sweet. And to think they could have had me at $5 off!

Cognitive Tips from KBRA

Abra, to Thalia this morning while unsuccessfully searching for a toy:

"Hang on, Thalia, I've gotta go potty. That will help me think better."

School Picture Time!

Yes, it's kindergarten school picture time! So before we get started with this little tale, let me take you back, oh, about 37 years ago to a small hamlet named "Annandale, Virginia" where a young, aspiring astronomer-to-be in kindergarten was going to be getting his school picture taken. So his father cut his hair. Yes, you read that right -- nothing like a Dad-haircut to get one ready for a school picture. I think he put a bowl over my head to do it. (God love you, Pop, but I honestly think you did.)

Anyway, you can imagine how that turned out. And I'm sure that one of my oh-so-helpful siblings will be happy to post the picture online for everyone to see. It's the kind of thing that ends up first in an FBI-file somewhere before eventually being burned into the social consciousness of a nation after an unfortunate event: Faculty member snaps, beats pre-med student senseless with salami after one too many requests for extra credit; tragedy traced back to psychologically damaging childhood picture. That sort of thing.

So when Abra came home clutching the order form for her upcoming class picture, I was very excited to see how it would turn out, of course. Being as cheap as I am, I naturally instructed doting mother to buy the minimum, and I'd just scan them. (No, I'm not going to pay an extra $4.95 for a sepia print with wild west borders, the $8.95 it would take to get the keychain fob, or the $15 for the mousepad. Yes, I'm a bad, cheap parent. Go fix me a turkey pot-pie!) So we sent her to school on the big day (no, I didn't cut her hair), prepared for full entertainment value in return.

We were not disappointed. When she brought her pictures home, Brenna immediately send me an email using the phrase "horribly awful" if I remember correctly. I was pleased as punch -- she looks like a kindergarten Clint Eastwood who had a few too many boxes of Juicy Juice and is now being made to sit still:




Priceless!

Brenna of course insisted we send it back for a retake, which you can bet I was only willing to do after I scanned it. I mean, this thing is going into the long-term files so that I have it ready for the first time she has a boyfriend over.

Anyway, so we sent it back and had her do a retake and here's how the next one turned out.




Aww, very cute, this will be the one the grandparents get. But I'm never gonna give up the Clint Eastwood shot -- it's a classic. Plus, the FBI might need it at some point down the road....

Maybe I yell too much?

So yesterday Abra was drawing pictures and decided to draw a family portrait that involves, yes, me yelling at Thalia.

(be sure to click on the picture to see a bigger version!)

I can't help but think that Dad looks like a homicidal Fred Flintstone, while Mom is portrayed as a Cyclopian Stepford Wife with the Marilyn Quayle hairdo -- I shudder to contemplate what this says about Abra's view of her parents. Thalia clearly is not taking her scolding well, and I must say that Abra has captured little sister's expression quite well! Meanwhile, Wacko has left the house and is off running around in the yard -- maybe I'm yelling because Thalia let the dog out?

Anyway, just another typical day of peace and tranquility at our house.

I should point out that, unlike most of Abra's drawings where, upon completion, she proudly shows it around, I found this one sitting quietly on the dining room table after she and Thalia had left to play. Hmmm.....

Yet Another KBRA update

(left: Tom Waits. right: not Tom Waits)

So I'm listening to some Tom Waits ("...i got sixteen shells from a thirty ought six...") and Abra walks into the room and says "Why is Oscar singing?"

If you've ever heard Tom Waits sing, you know she is pretty much spot-on with that comment.

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

So today I walked Abra and Thalia (and Wacko) to the bus stop, where we met Lily and her dad Richard. After Lily and Abra got on the bus, Richard and I walked back with Thalia, both of us holding her hands, as the stream of morning traffic passed by.

It occurred to me: two men, walking down the sidewalk with their dog and a child of chinese-extraction, we looked like the perfect example of the modern gay family.

So we started scratching our crotches and loudly talking football. (OK, not really. At least not the crotch-scratching part.)

She's Out of the Will -- Part II

In school last week, Abra was asked to draw pictures of food she liked and food she didn't like. Here is one of her pictures:


DOESN'T LIKE SUSHI????

Gawd.

Well, the sushi lovers still rule this house 5-4. It's a good thing I have the cats on my side.

(I will say, however, that she drew a pretty good likeness of herself whenever I cook.)

Calling Bob Vila

Anybody know how to fix this? It's on the upper story roof, which means it will be a pain to get to. Do I sawzall out that whole section of rafter and try and shape a new piece of wood to fasten into its place?

KBRA broadcast update

So we're in the rec center last night waiting for Thalia's ballet class to finish. Abra sees this rather well-sculpted gentleman working out on a weight machine and says (loudly):

Wow, look Daddy! He has big muscles! I'll bet he'd be good in a bar fight!