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14th Costco shopping in 2018 – $122.33 (today) / $658.16 (this year)

Today is the first day of Costco Coupon Book savings. I saved $15.20 on Doritos and vitamins.

I am still not sure if Focus Factor works for me.  I have a decent job where I work with people 15-20 younger than I am.  I desparately would like to perform at my peak level.  They are little over $15 a bottle.  I have no problem paying for them.

I bought 2 pairs of Kirkland Signature Brushed Twill Pants for $16.99 each (Item #7407740 – Free Shipping – link while available).  These pants are very good and I don’t have to iron them.  These are better than Calvin Klein or Buffalo David Bitton jeans.  You see, brand name clothes you find at Costco are made just for Costco.  They don’t have the same quality and integrity of expensive Calvin Klein clothes you will find at official retail stores.  So, when I “like” Calvin Klein pants from Costco, my level of satisfaction is somewhere between 75% – 85%.   I used to like them more, but I feel that the quality had gone down noticeably.  Sometimes I feel insulted because of lacking quality on CK items at Costco.  Some CK items at Costco are plain ugly.  I buy them because they are cheap.

These Kirkland Signature Brushed Twill pants are cheap ($16.99) but high quality.  With these pants, you are separating yourself from the “Jean People”.  Compared to jeans, these pants will make you look more matured and professional.  They are the ultimate office pants for men. I highly recommend Kirkland Signature Brushed Twill Pants. I repeat, you do not have to iron these (*If you know what you are doing).

These pants are thin. They are not for cold weather.  Yesterday was a cold day.  So, I wore a pair of thermal pants under them to work – and it worked out fine.

13th Costco shopping in 2018 – $13.45 (today) / $535.83 (this year)

I dropped by quick, after work, for a rotisserie chicken.  On my way to the chickens, I saw beef jerky on sale.

12th Costco shopping in 2018 – $98.02 (today) / $522.38 (this year)

I bought 2 pairs of Calvin Klein Twill Pants (item #1173014, link while available).  They are made out of thin stretchy cotton. They are slim straight fit and comfortable. Most of all, they look pretty good out of dryer without ironing.  So, they pass as realistic, everyday pants for normal people. I like these pants.

I am sick.  I may be slow with my blog updates for a while.

As you know, this flu season is different.  My flu shot couldn’t save me this time. I am miserable and have no will to live.

I am taking medication and… I’ve been eating this Super Food Veggie Cakes (Costco item #966072). They are frozen cakes that I microwave for 1 minute. They are convenient and good for me. 

I received these cakes from GardenLites.  GardenLites makes healthy, gluten free, allergy friendly, frozen food.  They are sold in Costco nation wide (#966072).  They have good reviews. I like them.

I am supposed to review them (I will).  But, I am so sick.  I am just eating these cakes before I review them.  I am glad I received these Veggie Cakes just in time.  It’s so quick, easy, and good.  I am almost glad I have flu. Haha.. cough.

I’m gonna lay down now… (cough)

12th Costco shopping in 2018 – $29.47 (today) / $453.83 (this year)

I bought a pair of really nice Calvin Klein pants (Costco Item #1147567).  They were made with a unique material and were shockingly beautiful. They looked even more beautiful when they were on me.  The pants were stretchy and super comfortable.  I immediately ran them through washer and dryer.  I was curious… (fingers crossed)

Soon, I discovered that these pants have to be ironed.  There is no way around.  If I want to enjoy these beautiful pants every day, I’ll have to iron 5-7 of these pants every week.  I iron a few shirts every Sunday morning for fun.  Adding several pairs of pants means I will spend one hour every Sunday morning ironing.  So, Sunday morning will no longer be my fun magic moment, but it will become a grind.

Currently, I wear black or gray jeans to work.  I never iron my jeans.  Unless you are Martha Stewart, not having to iron is a huge luxury in life. I will not buy any more of these pants.  I will keep this pair for special events.

Yesterday, I had a quick chat about frying bacon with a friend far away.  I made pancake breakfast for my friend years ago.  She wanted to imitate my style.  That gave me a craving for bacon as well.  So, I made a pancake breakfast after my glorious Sunday morning Costco shopping.

One thing lead to another, we ended up exchanging pictures of our bacons.  How naughty!

I am scheduled to fly to see her on April 2024.

Above is my friend’s plate.

Below is my plate, I cook pancakes with butter, so I don’t need additional butter when I eat. Eggs were fried in bacon fat. I warm up my syrup in a small container.  I don’t slobber syrup all over the cake like a savage. 🙂

I think my bacon looked better because they are Costco bacon.  I bet her bacon was cheaper quality brand.  Acutally, everything on my plate was from Costco (bacon, eggs, syrup, pancake mix, butter… even the pan I cooked with).

That beautiful plate was $1 at a garage sale.  It’s from England.  I like pretty plates.  So does my friend.

11th Costco shopping in 2018 – $68.59 (today) / $424.36 (this year)

It was a glorious Sunday morning Costco shopping.  I did car wash first.  I bought my normal green stuff, lunch salads, strawberries, and a bag of coffee.  For my annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner, I bought a bag of Bill Bailey’s® Irish Brand Corned Beef Brisket.

I used my Citi Visa Costco reward rebate check and recevied $279.94 in change (cash).

I came home before noon.

I received this year’s Citi Visa Costco reward rebate check amount of $340.54. This check doesn’t make me happy.  To me, this is a reality check.  I spent 60% more money compared to the year before. 60% is a huge jump on credit card spending. I need to be careful with money. Seriously…

Below is rebate checks from last year, (2017)

I started to wear dress shirts with cufflinks at work.

We have “T-Shirts & Jeans” dress code at work.  But, I enjoy wearing white dress shirt with cufflinks that match my shoes. All my cufflinks are vintage sterling silver with some kind of gemstones. My shirts are…. expensive.

So, out of 700 – 750 employees at work, I think I am the only person who wears cufflinks.

*I am still planning to tell you about my shoes… later…

My father had this watch for about 10 years.  The battery ran out and he moved on to another watch.  I got this watch from my father and kept it for about 10 years.  I finally put in a new battery last month.  It works.

10th Costco shopping in 2018 – $47.29 (today) / $355.77 (this year)

Fit Crunch guy looks like Mr Clean.

I’ve been using Vitamix twice a day, non-stop, for last 6 years.  Below is a picture of my typical mix (one serving – 2 tall glasses)

First of all, I don’t use Vitamix for taste.  Vitamix is a chore.. I just gulp it down and move on with my life.  I make one when I wake up, and make another one when I come home from work (before dinner).

It takes so little time to make Vitamix juice. I cannot think of any faster way to eat.  So, in part, I do this because I am lazy.

I put some ice and water to start.

I put:

• Flax seeds (of Chia seeds) – About 1 tbl spoon.
• Celeries – 3 or less (depends on how thick)
• 1/2 apple – normal size
• some carrots
• Spinach to fill the container to top (or green mix)
• Ginger to taste (when I feel like it)
• Lemon to taste (when I feel like it)

There is no rule.  I may buy random vegetables whenever I see them on sale.

9th Costco shopping in 2018 – $32.78 (today) / $308.48 (this year)

Happy Valentine’s Day.

I bought my usual greens for my everyday diet.

I bought roses for Valentines Day ($15.99 for a dozen).  I trusted that there would be roses at Costco, and Costco didn’t let me down.  Costco continues to provide me a convenient and economical life-style.  Roses were so cheap that I felt little guilty.

8th Costco shopping in 2018 – $44.05 (today) / $275.7 (this year)

Nothing special today.

I put 2 CK shirts in the cart at first.  Then I changed my mind and bought just one.  They are slim fit.  As a grown man, I favor tailored fit over slim fit.  I find slim fit shirts too young and hip (facial hair, vaping, etc… ).  This skinny fit trend will go away soon.  I will just keep one.

7th Costco shopping in 2018 – $28.15 (today) / $231.65 (this year)

What you don’t see is a take and bake pizza at the bottom.  I am getting ready for Super Bown 2018.  I bought a bag of chips and salsa.  Super Bowl is not the same without pizza, hot wings, chips and salsa.

Go team~!!

I don’t even know who’s playing on Super Bowl.  I will give NFL a chance if players stop being political.

6th Costco shopping in 2018 – $21.66 (today) / $203.50 (this year)

Boring… I buy same things.. ZZzzz..