Sam's Club

[dalthauser]

My mom took herself off the family Sam's Club account so I could be added (thanks mom!).  I went today to get my card and check it out.

I now see why everyone is in such credit card debt.  I wanted everything.  I was beginning to get that weird feeling of deprivation (you know - woe is me, I don't have everything in the world I want), so I decided I'd choose $50 worth of what I really needed - and take pictures of the rest so I could own it virtually.

I really would love to have outdoor speakers instead of just playing the little boom box outside.  These were a steal at $159.00


I saw this gazebo which was $899.00 but it was really much more sturdy than a normal one - more like a whole room. 


Now, of course I didn't actually virtually buy the the above gazebo - that would be even out of the fantasy range for me.  Instead I added to my digital shopping cart the Enclosed Universal Canopy - which was $199.99 and reminded me of something Indiana Jones might have slept in.


This Brass-Look Trellis came complete with a solar lamp.  Perfect for honeysuckle vines!  (clock not included) $59.99


I had to pick up this Phillips Digital alarm clock which you can load mp3's and pictures to.  It also can play nature sounds. With this I wouldn't need to wake up to my Zippa dee Doo Daa ringtone on my cell phone anymore :-) 


I'm not sure if this is an excellent deal or not, but I put it in my digital shopping cart anyway.  Made by Serta, and my current mattress is rather uncomfortable (Sierra would attest to that as she had it first back when we lived in Japan even) :)


*Here is what I checked out with and took home with me - total came to $40.50
*Long handled Dustpan and broom set (the broom stores inside the dustpan)  $10.75
*Digital Postal Scale which weighs to 1/10 of an ounce (because I promised myself I'd make soap this summer and I need an accurate lye measuring device) $18.99
* A big 400 count bottle of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride 25mg (Generic Simply Sleep) which is a year's supply and was a super good by at $11.00 but when I looked at the receipt when I got home they only charged me $3.12 for it. So Super Duper Deal.
* A Gallon of Aloe Vera Juice.  This was a splurge - It just sounded good at the time - and it was $5.88


I left for home perfectly satisfied :-)

Comments

Walking the talk!

[sahlah.livejournal.com]

from the other day...

To know you have enough...is to be happy

You make me smile. I love the idea of virtually owning the objects. Cool, and I bet after 30 days you change your mind and delete some to add others.

What kinda soap are you making? Is the lye necessary? I'm curious to know more when you get around to it.

Re: Walking the talk!

[eats-veggies.livejournal.com]

It's soap "from scratch". You can create soap bars using melt-n-pour soap, but what's the fun in that - it's like ceramics, you're pouring into a mold instead of actually creating something. My sister and I are soap enthusiasts - we like the artisan bars from small soapmakers because they are made without unnecessary chemicals or preservatives, and the fragrances and botanicals are all natural. My sister bought me soap making books last Christmas....hint hint.... hahaha. Around August it's too hot to garden - and the bugs have taken over anyway, so it's a good time to stay in the shade and do something different. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I have the books and walksbeauty, who is an expert, to pester for advice. If I get the hang of it - and someday I sell at the Farmer's Market - this could be a value added item I could sell.

Did you know it's almost impossible to buy Lye in the stores anymore because it is used to produce Crystal Meth. Lucky for me there is a big manufacturer in Austin I can get mine from.

[k2rider78.livejournal.com]

Cool

[joebanks.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, carefull in there.

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

I can see you really are a gardener!

I'm liking you more and more - no wonder Sahlah recommended you to me!

You will need those scales to make soap - my friend makes soap, so you can ask advice here, too!

He makes his own lye. He buys caustic soda and mixes it with pure water. You must make sure you add the caustic soda to the water, NOT the other way around, or it can explode. What if you got caustic soda in your eyes?

Caustic soda is not an environmentally kosher product, I don't think. It is a by-product from when they make chlorine, as far as I know. I think they make chlorine from salt, I'm not sure.

Aaaaanyway, the only other way I know to make it is to use your ashes from your fire. You would have to make sure they were absolutely white, and to make it strong enough, you have to add a lot of ashes. And then you'd need a measuring thing to find out the alkalinity.

What oil/fat are you going to make the soap from? Can you produce something like that on your place?

[eats-veggies.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere you can make lye from the ashes of hardwood. They say soap was discovered when they used to cremated people and the fat mixed with the ashes and flowed down the river until it stopped. or somethign like that..... hahaha

I'm going to experiment, but at first it will be a mixture of Soy, Coconut, and Olive because they are fairly inexpenive and still good for the skin. I want to do some Shea Butter bars, and I want to experiment with adding clay to the bars too. At first though I just want to be able to produce a bar that lathers and cleans.

It wouldn't be feasible to grow the plants to produce the oil, but I'm going to use some of what I grow for botanicals in the soap - like Rosemary, sage, patchouli, etc.

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

OK. Sounds cool!

I've heard that theory about the first soap...or maybe it was just cooking meat on fires?

That will be nice to grow some herbs. Most should like your climate :)

My friend has used a few different oils, but has settled on olive oil. He hopes to get it from a local producer just west of here some time in the future.

I reckon some kind of oil or fat would be the most difficult crop to produce in quantities...Here it would have to be avocado or macadamia or something like that (expensive!).

[reyvin.livejournal.com]

LoL. I do that with online shopping when I get the rare shopping bug. I add all this stuff to my cart and then close the web browser. LoL. Vicarious shopping.

[walksbeauty.livejournal.com]

This is one of the cleverest ways to give yourself all the goodies & not feel deprived! That clock does look SO cool... and exciting that you're gearing up for soap! Let me know if I can help. A friend who's moving away and didn't want to take her precious oils, just gave me 2 gallons of comfrey infused Olive oil which will be part of my next big batch. It may as well have been gold!

[seridras.livejournal.com]

Excellent job done there ... smart, responsible & yet being able to add things to a virtual cart makes for a fun bit of whimsy ... besides giving you reasons to save LOL I have to admit ... I would really want that gazebo too ... talk about having a nice outdoor room :)