Bargain shopping, no coupon needed

CHB calls me yesterday right after I got to work. She has fantastic news. Wait for it............

The Albertson's (grocery store to the rest of you) in town (one of 2) is going out of business, she says. Everything is 75% off! Wha??? OMG I am there.

Shit shit shit. I am still at work. How the hell am I going to pull this off? Oh yeay! Today is my half day! I did the happy dance and jumped up and down, inside my head of course. Helloooooooooo I AM a professional.

I passed the info along to Moxie as well. So, as soon as I got off work, I hit the door running. I grabbed Doodle from school, hit the potty, and raced to the store.

It was a zoo. Thankfully, with Doodle there, I was able to shop while she looked for a cart.

Most of the aisles were 75-85% empty by the time I got there and most of the perishables and frozen foods were gone. So, I got the cereal I wanted, and headed over to the household goods section.

Motherload! This was better than sitting at home, tediously clipping, filing, organizing and storing coupons! I quickly filled up my cart with all the toothpaste, shampoo, make-up, household cleaner, body soap, kitchen soap, laundry detergent and hairspray that I thought I could use in the next 12 months.

There were a few items in the store that caught me off guard. Stuff I swear I have never seen there before. Maybe that's because the shelves were always full? I don't know. What I can tell you is this: being a woman of a "certain" age, and having to deal with the monthly visit from Aunt Flo, I certainly thought this container was cute:

And a bargain, when you consider the original cost was $5.49. With 75% off, it could have been mine for the low low low price of $1.37. I really didn't care how cute it was. I will proudly stuff my tampons and pantyliner in my pocket and march to that bathroom with my head held high. Well, at least until ChaCha markets and launches the Female Personal Hygiene suitcase.

Back to my loot: I got Halloween candy, sports drinks for the boys and enough Tide pods to last me a while. CHB had been at the store earlier, and this was her cart:

Moxie and I had loaded our carts up, and we got in line. And waited, and waited, and waited. Total time in line? 1 hour, 15 minutes.

See that empty shelf behind me? That was what most of the store looked like. It was kinda weird........

At one point, I actually heard one of the more cranky shoppers ask if the people in the "Self Checkout" line had less than 10 items. It took all my patience not to turn around and say "bitch, please".  Its not MY fault you got here late and therefore have a next to empty basket.

We FINALLY get wrung up, load up our bags and get the hell out of there. Here is Moxie with her loaded down cart and receipt.

Funny thing about this picture? This lady followed us out of the store to get our cart, since there were none left to use in the store.

Even funnier? 3 other people asked us on the way to the car if they could have our cart. You should have seen the looks of disgust/envy/barely contained rage for the woman following us as Moxie and I politely told everyone that our cart was spoken for.

Moxie and I with our receipts. Mine is taller than I am! (A fact I am strangely proud of.............)

When I got home, I unloaded ALL my goodies out on the counter. Grouped by like kind and quality, I took up almost my entire kitchen counter. Can you say SCORE? 

I was very happy with my purchases, and I found a place to put it all away! I was super worried I would have to roll around with the extras in the back of my car for 6-9 months.........

I bought some things I normally wouldn't. So far, my favorites are:

NUT-trition (lol) and Skinny Water. Today's afternoon snack!