New Costco coupon book is out.
It’s valid from January 5 – Jan 25, 2009.
But, there is a twist.
This coupon book is recycle friendly. It was printed on non-glossy paper. Papers are not coated with plastic like any other fancy coupons.
This proves my point yet again.
Costco is saving money by using cheaper paper. At the same time, these papers are recycle friendly.
Everybody wins – Costco is setting standard yet again.
I needed to refill my juice supplies (apples, pears, carrots).
I needed to purchase more Costco tote bags because I gave two to my sister on Christmas day. Also, I’ve been having a big craving for chocolate since I came back home from Christmas dinner.
On Christmas day, I brought a jar of chocolate to my family? The whole jar disappeared. I am so happy that people enjoy stuff I bring to them. Anyway, I had to buy another jar – this time it’s for me.
Gas was $1.679 / gallon
Merry Christmas everyone.
I was looking forward to family dinner at my parents’ house. You see, I was home alone for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed my day off and all, but..
Anyway, This is how my day went as a Costco shopper.
I had my usual breakfast (eggs, sandwich, & juice). You see, I’m a single man. I try to use less amount of dishes possible, so I have less to clean up later. It works for me.
I brewed Pumpkin Spice Coffee for the road.
Check out my poor man’s coffee maker from Rite Aid.
I don’t need expensive coffee maker.
2 bags full of Costco products & gifts for Christmas dinner
Later, I ended up filling one more Costco tote bag with bottles of water and sodas.
My nephews loved the cars I bought from Costco
Before the turkey was ready, 3 containers of Costco shrimps were gone.
You can also see table cover, cups, plates, and napkins I brought.
Oh, and there is a piece of Cosco’s turkey jerky
My oldest sister took the jar of "Chocolate of the World" by Kirkland Signature. She emptied the entire contents on the carpet and picked out her favorite flavors. Then she hid her stash. ha ha….
I also gave my sister 2 Costco tote bags
This is what I came back home with. Ham and mustard are from Honeybaked. So, out of all the Costco products I brought, all I had left was 2 pieces of chocolate. I even gave out 2 Costco tote bags to my sister.
It was a glorious day. I felt sad that Christmas came and gone so fast. It was past midnight before I knew it. 
This is a Christmas gift I gave to myself.
It’s Das Keyboard – the best keyboard available.
I bought the "Ultimate" model. As you can see the keyboard is completely blank.
It was $129.00, delivered from www.daskeyboard.com
It’s a little expensive, but Christmas gift should be fancy.
I am loving this keyboard.
I spend 12-16 hours a day typing (programming & blogging). I am thinking about getting one for work as well. It’s a beautiful keyboard. The quality is amazing.
I am getting ready for Christmas dinner at my parents’ house in 2 days. I thought it would be too risky to go to Costco tomorrow (Christmas Eve). Costco will close early tomorrow. Also, pumpkin pies may run out.
I think I’m all set. Oh, I need to pickup Honey Baked Ham from Ventura tomorrow.
Costco has quality ham. Kirkland Signature hams are pretty good. I feel sorry to betray Costco, but I had to pay big bucks and order Honey Baked. What can I say…
After taking this picture, I fixed a quick dinner with Beef Steak Strips and couscous (pictured below, six pack). I love good instant meals I get from Costco.
OK, Merry Christmas everyone.. I’m out.
Below is an excerpt from the article I found at The Christian Science Monitor. I thought it was interesting. Click here for a full article
This year between Dec. 1 and Dec. 8, Costco President Jim Sinegal received e-mail from 124,000 AFA members who objected to an alleged Costco policy to avoid the term "Christmas" in promotions. By Dec. 10, an operator at Costco headquarters in Issaquah, Wash., was answering all calls with a "Merry Christmas!" greeting. "They recognize now that these advertising yuppies out of college were steering their companies wrong," says Randy Sharp, AFA director of special projects. "I believe we’re beginning to win the war [for] Christmas."
I had a day off from work today, so I went to Costco to enjoy myself.
I am getting ready for a Christmas dinner party at my parents’ house. I will bring disposable party supplies so my parents will not do dishes. They are getting old, you see.
Construction papers are Christmas gift for my niece. Those will go well with the colored pens I bought earlier.
I treated myself with a fancy robe. I wish Jehovah’s Witness will visit me Sunday morning. So I can greet them in my new robe. I couldn’t resist this robe at $19.99. The quality of this robe is amazing. Of course, it’s a Costco quality.
I had to buy an extra set of bed sheet set. This is a part of my "Buying new bed" project. My new bed is too warm with flannel sheets right now. I hope these 600 thread count supima cotton sheets will cool me down a little. This was a totally unexpected extra expense of $69.99. I have a blind faith that $69.99 is a very good price for queen size bed sheets of this quality.
I spent about $180.00 today
On November 26, 2008, I broke my own sushi eating record.
I always go to sushi with my co-worker(s) for lunch. But he was too busy, so I had to go alone.
This is my glorious achievement. I ate them all.
* I am 5’7″, 155lb.
– end –
Beer and chocolate are for Christmas party tomorrow.
Box of pens (84 colors) is for my niece.
Samsonite’s wheeled duffel was only $39.99 – I thought it was an incredible price. I am planning to go to Hawaii next year, so..
I had to buy more chicken soup just in case I catch cold again.
I liked the pillows so much that I had to buy one more set.
* I forgot to buy cold medication.
** I spent well over $200.00 today (with hotdog, salads, & gas)
* The story behind the beer: At Costco, I was looking for something to bring to the party tomorrow. Then I saw this Kirkland Signature’s Handcrafted Beer. It contained four different kinds of beers, including hefeweizen.
I stopped and looked at the beer for a while. Then some other guy stopped and started to look at the beer. I told the guy "These beers have to be good. It’s Costco. Satisfaction guaranteed".
The guy said "I know. Costco didn’t make them. I bet they are from a good beer maker". We chatted a little. He told me that I should try Hefeweizen beer. We both agreed that less than $1 per a bottle is pretty good value. I walked away without the beer. Then I came back later to get a case.
10 minutes later I bumped into the same guy. We both had a case of Kirkland Signature’s Handcrafted Beer in our carts. We laughed.
Unpacking Costco Mattress:
Product information
NovaForm® Pure Comfort Grand™ Queen Mattress
Item # 354280
Regular price – $799.99
Sales price $649.99 – (after $150 off)
###
The mattress and bed frame arrived today via UPS. The bed frame took 11 days and the mattress took 3 days to arrive. They came in on the same day.
As you can see, the mattress was vacuum packed and squeezed into a smaller box so it’s easier to ship. The box actually fit in the back seat of my car. I borrowed a dolly from work to transport this 98 lb box. But I could have done it without the dolly.
Mattress & bed frame delivered at work
NovaForm® Pure Comfort Grand – Vacuum Package
Mattress is folded in half then into W shape
The mattress was vacuum packed. I had to unpack it and let it expend.
I did plenty of research before ordering this mattress. So, I had to go over a few things.
Package comes with opening instruction & a letter opener
Memory foam mattress expending from vacuum – still folded in half
I followed the instruction and cut the plastic bag. As soon as I put a small hole in the bag the mattress started to expend very slowly. As I was cutting the long side of the bag, the mattress started to expend pretty fast. I had to move fast and get rid of all the plastic. It took about 10 minutes or less for the mattress to take a basic form.
The mattress already had a protective cover on it. I’m thinking that cover should cost about $75.00 or more if I had to purchase separately.
The mattress was fully expended in 10-20 minutes. I didn’t have to wait 72 hours. And there were no bumps or irregular corners. I did smell chemical, but it was manageable. I was relieved.
Most spring mattresses from Costco come with box springs. That makes mattress shopping from Costco more attractive. Because a box spring goes for about $150.00 delivered. But Costco doesn’t include box springs on memory foam mattresses. I think it has something to do with how they package the mattress. When you buy a full-sized spring mattress, they can slip in a box spring easily. They only need extra foot or so of space. That’s not the case when they ship memory foam mattresses in smaller boxes.
Then you may have to purchase a bed frame, comforter, & sheets…
Anyway, the mattress is all good and I am happy.
** 10 months later (October 15, 2009). I can tell you without a doubt that I love my mattress. I am very happy with my mattress.
I rarely get sick. But I do catch cold now and then. I cannot afford to get sick because I am always working. Somebody is always counting on me.
I woke up with a sore throat Friday morning. It was very clear that I was going to have a full blown case of cold. My cold (flu ?) was slowly getting worse. I started to feel miserable by Saturday.
This is when a single person feels sad to be alone. You imagine how your neighbor will find your dead body. Thank God I don’t have a cat to eat my face. Yikes…
Fighting cold – Costco style – Progresso chicken soup & a T-Bone
I love that griddle from Costco
When I have cold, I focus on 4 things.
I believe in power of chicken soup. Chicken soup will speed up your heeling process, trust me.
Most of my home remedies are from Costco. Look below.
All those products were purchased from Costco
Ready for juicing – Bamboo cutting board is from Costco as well
Anyway.. I took Monday & Tuesday off. I worked from home. By Wednesday morning I was all good and ready for work.
So my entire cold episode lasted 5 days or less. I thought I made a remarkable recovery in short time.
* I still cannot figure out how I got this cold at the first place. It would be ironic if I got the cold from Costco.
I think I am absolutely done with buying new pants from Costco. I think I bought about 17 pairs of pants this year. I may buy a couple more pairs. I am not too crazy about black pants anymore. I would like to have a few more pairs in lighter colors.
I love Costco apples. They are so good and so cheap. They are about $.50 a pound. You cannot find apples of these quality from any supermarkets even if you pay 4 times more.
On my last shopping, 9 days ago, I bought Apples, pears, carrots, and 2 salads. I haven’t noticed any improvements on my eye-sight. 🙂
I love them Costco salads.
I wouldn’t dare going out for Black Friday shopping. The traffic & waiting game ain’t worth it for me. Black Friday shopping sounds fun if you have a shopping buddy (girlfriend, wife).
I went out shopping on Saturday, 2 days after Thanksgiving Day.
1. ROSS
I found medium size (32-34) Jockey underwears. A box of 3 was $5.99. So I bought 6 boxes – Basically, I grabbed everything with M sticker on it. Finally my underwear worry is over (until 2013 ?).
2. Costco
My shopping spree wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Costco. As a part of my current project ‘Shopping for a Bed‘, I bought some pillows and a queen size flannel sheet set. I also treated myself with some new towels.
And I bought a pair of pants for work, 2 fleece shirts & 1 pair of fleece pants.
I ate a hot-dog in the car – there were a lot of people that I couldn’t find a place to eat outside.
4. Bed Bath and Beyond
I already ordered a queen size comforter from Costco. I needed to find a duvet cover ASAP. So I headed out to Bed Bath and Beyond. I was looking for anything in flannel.
Then I quickly realized how expensive queen-size flannel duvet covers were ($100.00 minimum), not to mention that they didn’t have much flannels to begin with. I was discouraged and ready to leave, then I saw this cute little mofo hiding in the back.
I hit the jackpot. With their usual 20% off coupon this $100.00 duvet cover was only $39.99. This duvet cover is almost perfect. The color works nicely with the bed sheets I jut bought from Costco.
I was happy with the savings so I bought some kitchen items with the money I saved (picture below – I put egg there to illustrate the size)
And, later that night, I washed all my new towels and sheets.
Good times…
ZZzzz
