Didn’t leave the house.  Didn’t spend any money.  Worked, read, and baked cookies 

I skipped church today in favor of giving The Husband a day off by volunteering to drive The Son to his baseball game.  The Daughter, who does childcare at church, was able to drive herself.  The Son’s game was way up north; our path up there lead right past The Husband’s office.  So The Daughter did her duty and earned a little cash, The Husband got a full day of work in, and I got to watch The Son catch a fly ball and make his pitching debut for the season (with only one game remaining in the season).  He pitched a great inning and I hope the coach feels like the jerk he is for putting the son off with his repeated promises to pitch “next game.”

The team suffered a humiliating loss, The Daughter got some coveted time home alone, The Husband got lots of work done, I got to watch The Son play ball, and best of all, we came home to leftover deli tray delights, a yummy fruit salad, and the rest of the chocolate cake — none of which I could partake in but c’est la vie.  At least it was a “no spend” day 

We’re having a big party over here later today — part Father’s Day celebration that didn’t happen last week because our whole family was sick and part birthday celebration for the granddaughter and the grandson having birthdays in the next few weeks.  So this morning while The Son folded laundry and vacuumed, The Daughter and I headed out to the grocery store for supplies.

Kroger — $129.79

• Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal — $3.79
• Cascadian Farm Purely O’s cereal — $3.50 (saved $0.79)
• 2 pkgs Roman Meal hot dog buns — $3.19/ea.
• 2 pkgs Coleman hot dogs — $5.49/ea.
• Tostitos corn chips — $2.50 (saved $1.11)
• Ruffles potato chips — $3.79
• 2 bags french rolls — $1.89/ea.
• French’s mustard — $1.00 (saved $1.39)
• green bell pepper — $1.00 (saved $0.59)
• red bell pepper — $1.00 (saved $0.59)
• yellow bell pepper — $1.00 (saved $0.59)
• green onions — $0.99
• cucumber — $1.50
• celery — $1.59
• red cabbage — $1.71
• 1.33# loose carrots — $0.78
• 1.98# red grapes — $7.90
• 2 boxes Driscoll blackberries — $3.00/ea. (saved $2.99/ea.)
• 2 boxes Driscoll raspberries — $3.00/ea. (saved $2.99/ea.)
• 2 boxes Driscoll strawberries — $3.00/ea. (saved $1.99/ea.)
• watermelon — $6.99
• .5# deli sliced colby jack cheese — $3.00 (saved $0.75)
• .48# deli sliced mild cheddar — $2.88 (saved $0.72)
• .54# deli sliced turkey breast — $3.23 (saved $1.08)
• deli sliced virginia baked ham — $6.55
• 1.05# deli sliced roast beef — $7.34 (saved $2.10)
• Breyer’s chocolate ice cream — $4.90 (saved $0.72)
• 12-pk Sprite — $3.67 (saved $0.72)
• 6-pk Propel — $3.99 (saved $1.00)
• 9″ double layer personalized chocolate/chocolate cake – $12.99

Kroger — $4.09
A tub of prewashed organic baby Romaine lettuce — that I forgot to pick up during the first trip to the store.  I didn’t mind the second run, however, because it gave me a welcome respite from cleaning house and an excellent excuse to stop by and catch a few minutes of The Son’s baseball game.

Whole Foods — $23.36

• bag of organic pastry flour — $2.49
• 2 whole chicken legs — $2.00
• 1 large whole boneless, skinless chicken breast — $8.46
• Applegate Farm sliced smoked turkey — $5.69
• Bluesky soda — $.89
• Odwalla B Berrier — $3.29

Indoor Skate Park — $25.00
A $25 gift card for The Husband’s grandson whose birthday is later this month.

Walgreens — $34.72

Tuesday night The Son played right and left field during a 8pm baseball game.  Something out in the grass made a real meal out of The Son — particularly his ankles.  Yesterday they itched; today he was in agony.  Poor kid has bite after inflamed bite on both legs.  And they’re huge bites.  Obviously he’s having an allergic reaction to whatever poison those bugs pumped into him.

Every 3 or 4 hours today I’ve nursed his bites with a regimen of ice, rubbing alcohol, and then a generous dollop of StingStop.  But I knew that wouldn’t get him through the night so after dinner I ran out for some serious supplies.  I don’t like giving my kids medicine.  I especially don’t like giving them things that will make them drowsy or will affect their moods.  The Son has only had Benadryl one other time in his life — a few years ago he had a reaction to an antibiotic (something else I rarely give to the kids) and he broke out all over with terrible hives.

But desperate times call for desperate measures and if you could see these poor ankles, you’d know these are desperate times.  With the help of the pharmacist I bought three different remedies:

• Children’s Benadryl — $6.49  (The Son at age 13, 5′10″ tall, and weighing 125 lbs definitely could be given the adult Benadryl except that he cannot swallow pills.  This will be administered tonight at bedtime and will serve both to make him drowsy and relieve the itching.)
• Claritin Reditabs — $19.99/40 tablets (I can’t give him the Benadryl and the Claritin at the same time but the Claritin takes longer to take effect and therefore was less ideal than the Benadryl for getting through the night tonight.  I’ll give him his first Claritin tablet tomorrow morning and hopefully it will provide the necessary relief through the day tomorrow without making him drowsy.)
• Benadryl Gel — $5.79  (This will be applied topically as needed tonight and tomorrow and beyond.  I probably didn’t need to make this purchase and could have just stuck with the StingStop but I figured as long as I was breaking so many self-imposed rules about medicating my children, I might as well break them all.)

On the advice of the pharmasist, I did not get the tube of Cortizone cream.  He said that it suppresses the immune system and could increase the risk of infection due to scratching.  Although he’s doing his level best not to scratch the bites, since The Son is still somewhat lax in his hygiene habits I took the pharmacists advice and went with the Benadryl gel instead.

Well, I think I’ve finally recovered from the virus that so violently attacked my body a few weeks ago.  But, Dear Readers, I feel so awful and my finances reflect that fact.  I’m not quite sure of the reason(s) behind my current state of ill-health but I suspect it has to do with the quadruple-whammy of chronic medical conditions I live with on a daily basis:  Fibromyalgia, a very diseased thyroid gland, sleep issues including insomnia and sleep apnea, and IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Folks, have you ever been so thoroughly fatigued that you literally hurt.  That’s where I am these days.  I’m so tired that my body hurts and any type of activity, even the most basic everyday activities, requires a monumental act of will to accomplish.  On top of that, my sleep is completely out of whack.  I’m so sleepy (a symptom distinctly different from the fatigue) that it’s everything I can do to stay awake during the day.  But if I lie down to nap or to sleep, I simply can’t fall asleep.

I desperately needed to do some grocery shopping today and woke up with every intention of getting that chore accomplished.  But it didn’t happen.  Instead, The Husband came home this evening and he, The Son, and I went to the store together where I bought milk we didn’t need plus a few essentials while the “boys” stocked up on frozen dinners to help them get through until I feel well enough to start feeding my family again.

Movies — $11.00
The Daughter and The Son ventured to the movies together today to see Kung Fu Panda.  The Daughter rather liked it; The Son not so much.  I loved the nearly 3 hours of home-alone time 

I paid for admission; each child paid for his or her own refreshments (The Son was the only one to imbibe; The Daughter munched on M&M’s smuggled in in her purse).

Amazon — $30.00
A gift certificate emailed to my older brother as a belated birthday present.  Hm … after counting on my fingers I calculate that he just turned 46.  I can’t remember the last time I bought him a birthday present; it just seemed like the right thing to do this year.

Kroger — $44.43

• gallon of Horizon 2% milk — $5.39
• 1/2 gallon of Horizon chocolate milk — $3.19 (saved $0.50)
• Breyer’s French Vanilla ice cream — $4.99 (saved $0.70)
• Breyer’s Chocolate ice cream — $4.99 (saved $0.70)
• Kroger cherry ice cream — $2.99 (saved $0.50)
• Kroger sharp cheddar cheese — $1.77 (saved $1.22)
• Kroger medium cheddar cheese — $1.77 (saved $1.22)
• Marie Callendar’s frozen dinner — $2.50 (saved $0.34)
• 2 Marie Callendar’s frozen pot pies — $2.50/ea. (saved $0.16/ea.)
• 2 Marie Callendar’s fish dinners — $2.50/ea. (saved $0.34/ea.)
• Swanson Hungry Man dinner — $1.77 (saved $0.84)
• cherry tomatoes — $3.99

Sharebuilder — $200.00
I bought another $196 worth or 6.7377 shares of GE stock through my Sharebuilder account (that’s my $200 less the $4.00 fee).

Over the past 8 years I’ve made a number of small ($100 - $200) purchases of GE stock and now have a grand total of 25.2054 shares.  Since GE is close to being at a 5 year low, my investments are currently at a net loss.  But I’m in it for the long run (one of the reasons I’ve stuck with a single stock) so I’m not too worried.  Besides sticking to a single stock and investing with only the long run in mind, I’ve also been sure to only invest money that I can afford to lose if that’s the way the cards play out.

Ulta — $15.06
I spent most of the day today driving people here and there.  Between one of those “here’s” and “there’s”, I stopped at the library.  While there I ran across the street and picked up a much needed bottle of Matrix Biolage shampoo for myself.

Safeway — $49.39
Knowing I had a long drive later in the day, I stopped to fill up The Tank’s tank.  Amazingly, the price per gallon was actually lower today than it was yesterday when I stopped to fill up the little car.

I pumped 12.766 gallons at $3.869/gallon.  The Tank’s odometer read 125,168.

Wendy’s — $9.22
The Son had an 8pm baseball game tonight — at a ballpark 45 minutes away from home.  And it started late.  So at 15 minutes ’til midnight, we pulled into a Wendy’s drive-thru window and ordered some dinner.  We had carpooled with another family (well, mom and son) to the game so I bought burgers and Frosty’s for the boys.

Vitamin Cottage — $20.86

• gallon of Horizon 2% milk — $5.39
• 2 #s Horizon salted butter — $4.99/ea.
• 2 cans Crown Prince albacore tuna — $2.49/ea.

Safeway — $40.46

I filled up the Impreza’s gas tank:  I pumped 10.378 gallons at $3.899/gal.  The odometer on this car reads 26,255.

Chipotle — $4.41

A large quesadilla with extra chicken for dinner for The Daughter tonight.

The only out-of-the-house shopping I did today was a quick trip to the grocery store because we were all out of milk.  The Husband paid a couple of utility bills today and gave me the receipts so I’ve included them as well.  My final spending of the day was in the form of a late-night iTunes shopping spree — but all of that was covered by my gift card balance so I had no out-of-pocket cost for the music.

Vitamin Cottage — $35.78

• gallon of Horizon 2% milk — $5.39
• Applegate Farm sliced roast beef — $4.75
• Applegate Farm sliced organic smoked turkey — $5.15
• bottle of probiotic capsules – $18.69

Home Phone — $32.07
One month’s worth of home phone (land line) service:  includes Caller ID and voice mail.  Also includes long distance service charge but no fees for long distance calls.  I’ll have to look into whether I can have that service removed from our service.

Verizon Wireless — $131.41
One month’s worth of cell phone service:  includes three phones sharing 700 minutes (321 minutes used) plus unlimited text messaging.

Water & Sanitation — $70.60
Two month’s worth of water and sewer service plus “operations fees” (we’re billed every other month).  Our water usage is down from the last bill but up from the same period a year ago.  Apparently we average 164 gallons per day.

iTunes — $10.61

• Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals
• She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals
• Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake
• Never There by Cake
• Dreams by The Cranberries
• Linger by The Cranberries
• Love Shack by B-52’s
• Roam by B-52’s
• Lady Marmalade by Patti LaBelle
• The Trouble With Love is by Kelly Clarkson

The Container Store — ($35.31)
I returned four items from my shopping spree last week:

First, the plastic lid to storage box on coasters.  Come on, let’s be realistic here — it will be a miracle if I can get The Son to actually contain his socks and misc stuff in these containers to begin with; asking him to use a lid is beyond unrealistic.

Second, the small concealed book shelf.  I really like the concept of these but I’m more of a book-stack-on-a-chair-I-can move kind of person (see photo).

Third was the large concealed book shelf (returned for the same reason as above).

And fourth, I returned tie rack because I found a cheaper one I liked better at Target.

Waldenbooks — ($16.79)
I returned the book The Daughter bought here because we ended up having to re-purchase it an independent book store so we could also buy a ticket to the author’s book signing.

J.Crew — $21.52
It has become clear over the past few weeks that The Son simply does not have enough t-shirts.  He’s running out of clean t-shirts way before the next laundry cycle happens.

Sur La Table — $21.54
I bought a 24-cartridge box of iSi N20 cream charger cartridges.  Earlier this year when my mom sold her house and nearly all of her possessions, the number one item I asked for was her iSi whip cream whipper.  She only had two cartridges left and I used one of them at The Husband’s birthday party earlier this month.  Now we’re flush with Nitrous Oxide

BTW, I also learned why I got sick the other night after eating strawberries and whipped cream with The Son.  Turns out that commercial powdered sugar contains cornstarch.  [heavy sarcasm] Silly me, I forgot to read the sugar bag for ingredients. [/heavy sarcasm]