braggin' rights ...

ok, real quick ...

both of the boys went to military camp this year, and they not only loved it, but they also WON AWARDS ... THAT'S RIGHT - the eldest received an award for his rappelling ability (43 foot wall, mind you) and the younger received an award for holding his push-up formation the longest. how long, you ask? 25 minutes!

MISSOURI SALES TAX HOLIDAY AUGUST 7-9

well, it's that time of year again ... where some counties/municipalities participate in the sales tax holiday, and where others, well, simply don't.

so here is what you need to know (that is, if you care) ...

cities that will not participate in this "holiday" are:

Alton
Ash Grove
Ashland
Aurora
Ballwin
Battlefield
Bellerive Acres
Berkeley
Beverly Hills
Black Jack
Blackwater
Bland
Bloomfield
Bolivar
Boonville
Branson
Brentwood
Bridgeton
Byrnes Mill
Cabool
California
Camdenton
Cameron
Canton
Cape Girardeau
Carl Junction
Carthage
Cassville
Centertown
Chamois
Charlack
Chillicothe
Claycomo
Clayton
Clinton
Collins
Columbia
Cool Valley
Crystal City
Des Peres
Desloge
DeSoto
Doniphan
Edmundson
Eldon
Eldorado Springs
Ellisville
Ellsinore
Elsberry
Everton
Fair Grove
Farmington
Fayette
Fenton
Ferguson
Festus
Flint Hill
Freeman
Fremont Hills
Frontenac
Fulton
Garden City
Gerald
Glasgow
Granby
Grandin
Grant City
Green City
Greendale
Half Way
Hartville
Hawk Point
Hayti
Higginsville
Hollister
Holts Summit
Houston
Ironton
Jane
Jefferson City
Joplin
Kennett
Kingdom City
Kirkwood
Koshkonong
Ladue
Laurie
Leadington
Liberal
Licking
Loma Linda
Malden
Manchester
Maplewood
Marble Hill
Marceline
Marlborough Village
Marshfield
Marthasville
Merriam Woods Village
Meta
Moberly
Montgomery
Moscow Mills
Mount Vernon
Mountain Grove
Mountain View
Naylor
Neosho
New Haven
New Madrid
New Melle
Nixa
Noel
Norborne
North Kansas City
Northwoods
Oak Grove
Oakland
Osage Beach
Overland
Owensville
Ozark
Palmyra
Paris
Pattonsburg
Peculiar
Pevely
Platte City
Platte Woods
Poplar Bluff
Purdy
Qulin
Reeds Spring
Richmond
Richmond Heights
Riverside
Rock Hill
Rockaway Beach
Savannah
Sedalia
Seligman
Shelbina
Shrewsbury
Skidmore
Smithton
Smithville
Springfield
St Ann
St Elizabeth
St Mary
St Peters
Ste Genevieve
Stockton
Sugar Creek
Taos
Thayer
Town & Country
Trenton
Twin Oaks
University City
Urich
Vandalia
Velda
Walnut Grove
Warson Wood
Washburn
Waynesville
Webster Grove
West Plains
Willard
Willow Springs

so, i'm thinking that the only mall available with no taxes whatsoever would be chesterfield mall, and the mills mall, and maybe even the outlet mall in warrenton (but i'm not 100% on that one) ... right?

west county i believe is in des peres, the galleria i think is in richmond heights, northwest plaza is in st. ann, the mall in st. peters is out ... if you can think of any other ones, please let me know.

and the rules for this holiday are as follows:

Back to School Sales Tax Holiday - Information for Consumers
Section 144.049, RSMo, establishes a sales tax holiday effective during a three-day period beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at midnight on the Sunday following. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by the statute, are exempt from sales tax for this time period only.

The sales tax holiday applies to state and local sales taxes when a local jurisdiction chooses to participate in the holiday. However, local jurisdictions can choose to not participate in the holiday if they enact an ordinance to not participate and notify the department 45 days prior to the sales tax holiday. If the jurisdiction had previously enacted an ordinance to not participate in the holiday and later decided to participate, it must enact a new ordinance to participate and notify the department 45 days prior to the sales tax holiday.


If one or all of your local taxing jurisdictions are not participating in the sales tax holiday, the state's portion of the tax rate (4.225%) will remain exempt for the sale of qualifying sales tax holiday items.


The sales tax exemption is limited to:
Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less
School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase
Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less
Personal computers – not to exceed $3,500
Computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $3,500
Qualifying Items
Section 144.049, RSMo, defines items exempt during the sales tax holiday as:

“Clothing” - any article of wearing apparel, including footwear, intended to be worn on or about the human body. The term shall include but not be limited to cloth and other material used to make school uniforms or other school clothing. Items normally sold in pairs shall not be separated to qualify for the exemption. The term shall not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles.

“School supplies” - any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes, including but not limited to, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, backpacks, handheld calculators, chalk, maps, and globes. The term shall not include watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture, or fixtures. School supplies shall also include computer software having a taxable value of three hundred fifty dollars or less.

“Personal computers” - a laptop, desktop, or tower computer system which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, and a keyboard and devices designed for use in conjunction with a personal computer, such as a disk drive, memory module, compact disk drive, daughterboard, digitalizer, microphone, modem, motherboard, mouse, multimedia speaker, printer, scanner, single-user hardware, single-user operating system, soundcard, or video card.

17% off at Walgreens!

now through march 20, walgreens is offering an extra 17% off all online purchases. in case the link that i have supplied doesn't work, the coupon code is CLOVER (clever, i know).

an odd percentage, i know ...

FREE QUIZNOS SUB !

Quizinos is giving away a free small sub to the first 1 million people who go this website:

www.millionsubs.com

You have to give them your name, email address, zip code and birthday. They email you the screen to print the coupon.

Enjoy.

i didn't know it had raisins in it ...

there were complimentary bagels at work today.

although i like my new job, i think that they are secretly trying to fatten me up (they've done this bagel thing before ... and i had TWO!)

anyway, i went back, expecting to get the same cinnamon crusted bagel with the honey wheat reduced fat cream cheese spread as before. well, THIS time, i touched one just as i noticed that it had raisins in it. and other people were in the kitchen area. so i was obligated to take it.

so i buttered it (with butter-like spread) and took it back to my office - expecting to be able to just take out the raisins. how many could there be?

well, to put it nicely, there were a whole crapload of raisins. had the owner bought these from the grocery store, perhaps there would have been fewer. but these were CLEARLY bread company bagels. chock full of raisins. not just the brown ones you can buy at the store, but also the "golden" ones that my mother searched forever to find (not at the grocery store or sams -- i think she found them online). and when i say chock-full, i mean CHOCK-FULL. it was like a raisin lovers dream.

now, i'm in my office, trying to pick out the damned things and just ended up having to throw it away. i would pick a piece, and even though it was a small piece, there was still a raisin in it. there was nothing i could do about it. they were EVERYWHERE (that's right, CHOCK-FULL-O-RAISINS).

and, i guess the universe was trying to tell me to "step away from the bagel".

the moral of the story is -- wait for everyone to leave the "kitchen area" before feeling around on the bagels.

you know you got that problem ...

so, i enjoy shopping.

i enjoy shopping, A LOT.

WAY more than i probably should.

and more than anything, i really like getting a DEAL.

about a month ago, a really good friend of mine, i'll call her "emily" (not her real name), was on the telephone with me. emily had never voiced an opinion (to my recollection) about me shopping. and of course, i was going shopping while she was on the phone. anyway, when she heard where i was going, she said, and i QUOTE

"should you be going there? you know you got that problem ..."

and although that was the FUNNIEST thing i had heard in a long time -- it did give me pause.

DO i shop too much?

m a y b e ...

i have asked myself that question time and time again.

my most current "main" haunts are sams and costco, target, and the occasional marshalls/tj maxx - bypassing department stores and malls altogether ...

doesn't that count for something?

i just don't know.

for example, i was recently at target (my new job is right around the corner from target -- i can get there in like 2 minutes flat -- that's what i said), and they had %30 off of their clearance items for kids. how could i NOT buy kids stuff -- i mean, i DO have kids.

an aside ...

there was a time when i didn't have a little girl, and actually considered buying little girl clothing "just in case". but now, i HAVE a little girl -- WHEEEEE! so, i actuality, had i BOUGHT those items, she could have worn. but i didn't.

isn't that what's important?

i almost left out home depot and lowes. i lean more towards the depot, but lowes does have it's moments ... but i'm renovating my house ...

can you BLAME me?

and then there's the internet -- it makes comparision shopping SO MUCH EASIER AND BETTER ... and with e-mail alerts and free shipping, what could be better? WHAT? please tell me, because i don't believe that there IS anything better.

is this really a problem?

so, if most of the stuff that i buy is on sale, or discounted, or something for somebody else, or something like food -- then i can't possibly be a shopaholic (such a dirty, bad word)

look, if loving shopping is wrong,

well, i don't want to be right.

happy belated inauguration day!

and how about that new president of ours?

honestly, i was on pins and needles just waiting for him to be sworn in so it would be a reality. and so, now that he's REALLY TRULY in office, i can breathe a sigh of relief, and go back to living my usual high-stress, worried-about-things-that-i-can't-control, rushed and hurried LIFE.

one of my friends really hates that obama has such a large following. he actually would LOVE to see him fail miserably.

the thing is, that our country is in SUCH a bad state, there's really little obama can do to screw things up even worse.

so, since we're at the bottom, the only place to go is up.

so happily, i'm not too worried about things going wrong in his administration -- i'm sure things WILL go wrong, that's how life is, but, nothing that he can't handle.

and aren't the girls BEAUTIFUL?

and i REALLY like that michelle is built like a real girl. she's a big girl. not a stick, or an almost boy, or "barbie". and she's not fat. i think she's built like the typical american woman, and i think that's a great thing for little girls to see.

yes, i had a happy inauguration day.

and i LOVED the president/first lady first dance.

i like that he seems to keep michelle on his mind. it was a wonderful thing when he said how beautiful that she was.

yep. all is well.

disco fever ...

so i've got a new job, which is pretty cool.

but what's even MORE cool you ask?

well, for the past week, the building has been piping DISCO music through the speakers. that's right, good old-fashioned 70's music.

*sigh*

i LOVE this place!

i'm sure it won't last, but i'm REALLY appreciating hearing songs that i grew up with.

and here's a little secret ... sometimes, when no one is looking, i sing and dance in my office. yep, that's what i said - i sing AND dance. i'm not singing loudly, or dancing wildly - but i AM enjoying myself.

yep - i'm working, singing and dancing.

don't hate.

store closings (st. louis steals and deals) ...

ok, so here are some st. louis stores that are closing.

YAY for me! but, unfortunately, not for the people who are losing their jobs, and the communities that are losing local retail options ...

but, as always, back to me -- WHEEEEE!

so

SEARS, at jamestown mall is closing and will be closed early next year. ONLY this location is closing. there's another one in another part of the country, but we don't really care about them right now ...

VALUE CITY, everywhere in the st. louis area is closing and will probably be closed by the end of this year. they are already at the 50% off stage.

LINENS AND THINGS, everywhere is closing. they are at the 20 - 40% off stage. with 40% off of curtain rods -- the cheaper ones are gone, but the more expensive ones are still there -- at least at the chesterfield valley location. they will also be closed (probably) by the end of the year.

CIRCUIT CITY, in North County is also going out of business. just saw that this weekend. at the corner of 270 and w. florissant rd.

so, if you're looking to cash in on these store closings, start now.

and if you hear of any other store closings, please let me know.

i LOVE a deal.

it's been awhile, i know, and christmas is already here ...

but i've been busy, busy, busy ...

and if you were to ask me "doing what?" i would have to think about it awhile before answering you.

i've been working on my house, working AT my house, working with the kids, and working at work (ok, maybe not working at work, but i've BEEN at work, WHICH, is a job in and of itself).

so, i've been very busy.

right now, i'm tackling the daunting task of buying christmas gifts and making sure that the kids don't see them before i get them into the house. NOT an easy task because i have very nosey kids.

fortunately (or perhaps, UNfortunately, i haven't yet decided), i always have a messy car. so what i've been doing is hiding bags under the mess in the front seat. i've even taken to putting black trashbags in the trunk area of my car, so when i buy something, at least the kids won't see a big ass TOY R US bag. instead, they just continue with the belief that their mom is rather messy and that she's transporting trash around the city (sigh).

anyway, every year i try to figure out what to get them, and this year, i would really like some suggestions. i haven't yet gotten to the dollar store, but that's next on my list (nothing stuffs a stocking better than things that cost a dollar ...)

so, i have three kids (in case you're just tuning in) that are 8 (boy), 7 (boy) and 4 (girl).

send me your gift suggestions (since i'm so busy and since i WORK so much, i welcome your ideas).

thanks!

walgreen's $5 off coupon

yes, yes, i know ...

but hey, who DOESN'T want to get $5.00 off at walgreen's ?

go here:
http://email.walgreens.com/PS!MUfxHj6aAf8FBgIAAAAGCgFICgg0MDYwNzI4MwoKMjA3NjE1OTE3NAkAGV0wCgkzMzEwNTcwNzcF?email_addr=savvythehun%40yahoo.com&ec=hn624_fullonlineversion

i got her on the screamin' eagle ...

yay!



so, we went to six flags yesterday. and it was good.



fright fest, wasn't all that frightful -- well, maybe the PRICES were, but all else was expected. there was a haunted house that was an extra $5 to enter - and we all entered. which, was interesting, b/c you bought the tickets, then walked through this line "maze", and THEN, the ghoul at the end asked for your ticket. AFTER they got your ticket, the one that you paid for, THEN they tell you that kids under 12 might not want to enter. WELL SHIT, why didn't they tell me that prior to me purchasing the damned ticket? regardless, i had heard that the haunted house was a bit hokey, so i wasn't worried, or anything, just a bit outdone by the trickery.



we didn't go on the haunted hayride (another $5 each) but did ride the "terror train" (which was free, and honestly, SHOULD have been free - it was pretty awful. AND cold outside).



but the most exciting part of the day for me, was ...



my sweet little four year old rode the screamin' eagle roller coaster! and she didn't scream, or cry, or otherwise! she just held on to my arm and enjoyed the ride! i was so proud of her.



unfortunately, the roller coaster nazi wouldn't let her ride again. the second time we tried to ride, they did a height check on her. turns out they think that she was 2inches too short (a different ride said that she was half an inch too short - next time she'll have lifts).



we expected this, so she wasn't too heart-broken.



the boys, of course, were fine to go by themselves.



all in all, a good day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME ....

that's right,

fine and 39 ...

Ballot Preview ...

Enter in your address and zip code and it will show you everything that is going to be on the ballot in your area.

Handy to know, there is alot of stuff. http://smartvoter.org/

$10 off $40.00 purchase at Walgreens ...

Ok, yes, this again ...

$10 off $40.00 purchase at Walgreens ...

YAY! today AND tomorrow you can get $10 off your $40 purchase at Walgreens!

Enjoy!

Click here if title link doesn't work: http://www.walgreens.com/hotbuys/default.jsp?ec=hn583_getcoupon

Another $5 Walgreen's Coupon ... YAY!

hey, you're probably going to go there anyway, might as well save $5. just click on the title.

NOTE: sometimes the links don't work if you are getting this in your e-mail, so you might have to either go to the 1savvymother.blogspot and click on the title there, or you may be able to cut and paste the link.

EGG WHITES - not all they're cracked up to be ...

ok, so yesterday, i found out that i am suffering from high cholesterol. not SUPER high, mind you, i'm like 238 and the cut off is 200 (i believe), but, high enough that i need to bring it down (sigh).

i found this out b/c i took a blood test at my doctors office and they MAILED me the results.

**** ASIDE****
ok, how impersonal is a MAILED medical report, with a hand-written note from my doctor saying, "hey, that's high", with an attached pamphlet on things to eat to bring down my cholesterol. i mean, i have insurance, she did get paid like $100 at least, and she only saw me for like 10 minutes, hell, she didn't draw my blood or anything, she just said "hey, let's test your blood". i mean, why NOT a call? was she that absolutely busy? i know that, she took time to glance at the report, so why not call while she's looking at it and say, "hey, eat some egg whites dummy!". i'm just saying ... a LITTLE bedside manner goes a long way ... but, back to my saga (and yes, i've decided that my life is a saga) ...
**** END OF ASIDE****

ok, so like i said, on the pamphlet included with my test results, were instructions on how to try and bring down my cholesterol. one suggestion was allowing only two egg whites per week in my diet. so, i tried that this morning. instead of one whole egg, i ate two egg whites. scrambled. with salt and pepper (my sodium levels were normal). and uh, that was not so good.

now, i'm not sure if i missed the yolk itself, or the IDEA of the yolk (which, i think is the best part of a boiled egg) but scrambled egg whites were kinda yucky-bland.

and yes, there were other suggestions included on the handy-dandy pamphlet, however, i figured that i would start slowly and then work my way up to a cholesterol sensible diet.

geesh, like i don't have enough to think about already ...

coupon for t.v.'s change to digital ... grrrr

o.k., i have seen about a MILLION "crawls" at the bottom of my t.v. screen (or at the top) as well as the many, many, many commercials informing me that i am screwed when analog t.v. signals convert to digital.

I GET IT ALREADY!

so, for those of you (and/or your friends) who need a coupon for the damned boxes (if you don't already have cable or satellite), this is the link for the damned coupons: https://www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx

how the government gets to determine how i receive my television shows is beyond me ( i sure as hell didn't vote for that crap - and yes, if you couldn't already tell, this really pisses me off).

whatever.

enjoy.

MO Tax-Free Holiday Starts TODAY!

so yeah, if you need things, this weekend (August 1-3) is the time to get them.

The sales tax exemption is limited to:

Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less
School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase
Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less
Personal computers – not to exceed $3,500
Computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $3,500

Sales Tax Holiday - Local Cities Opting Out (state tax will still be eliminated, but the selfish City will still collect their sales tax - BASTARDS!) -- See, they think that the public is too stupid to realize that they are still charging local tax until check-out time. So, I don't shop there on the tax holiday,

So go to The Mills Mall (in Hazelwood), or Jamestown Mall (in Florissant, or unincorporated St.Louis County) or Chesterfield Mall (in Chesterfield). They are completely state and city tax-free.

Below is the list of cities that will not participate in the 2008 sales tax holiday. City sales tax in these locations will still be collected on the sale of qualifying holiday items.

For a complete list of Missouri Cities opting out click here: http://dor.mo.gov/tax/business/sales/taxholiday/cities.htm

Alton
Ballwin
Bellerive Acres
Berkeley
Beverly Hills
Black Jack
Branson
Brentwood
Bridgeton
Byrnes Mill
Charlack
Clayton
Columbia
Cool Valley
Cottleville
Des Peres (West County mall is OUT)
Edmundson
Ellisville
Elsberry
Farmington
Frontenac (Frontenac Plaza is OUT)
Fenton
Ferguson
Festus
Greendale
Jefferson City
Joplin
Kingdom City
Kirkwood
Ladue
Manchester
Maplewood
Northwoods
Oak Grove
Oakland
Osage Beach
Overland
Ozark
Pevely
Poplar Bluff
Purdy
Richmond
Richmond Heights (The Galleria is OUT)
Rock Hill
Rolla
Shrewsbury
St Ann (Northwest Plaza is OUT)
St Peters (Mid-Rivers Mall is OUT)
Town & Country
Twin Oaks
University City
Walnut Grove
Warson Wood
Webster Grove
West Plains

Any questions? :)