Expired Coupons, Bad Mexican, Neverending Haircut

Wow. Cami's swimming in expired coupons! I guess that's why lots of people prefer the non-clipping method. Look at all that time and effort I wasted! With all our vacationing and Mom being in town, I didn't pay as much attention to them as I usually do. Sometimes you can use a bunch that are about to expire on travel sizes and get things for free. I'm still torn as to what method to use. I categorized my coupon holder, which is much easier now than it was alphabetically. And I clip ones that I know I'll want on hand, and leave the rest in the inserts in my kitchen cupboard. That way I can go back and find coupons I need when I read about a good deal or sale. It's a neverending learning process.

On another note, Bree referred me to someone she knows from work to be a mystery shopper. I was quite delighted when I got a $20 gift certificate to spend at a local Mexican restaurant (which shall remain anonymous). The only thing I had to do was call the lady after we used it and do a little 5 minute interview about my experience. I decided to take my mom to lunch there, since she's an avid Mexican food eater. Me, not so much, but I'll eat it every now and then if the family wants to go there. Cafe Rio is always my first choice for Mexican, since I can get a yummy salad which isn't straight-up rice and beans with something fried and cheesey alongside.

ANYways....my mom and I enjoyed lunch at this place a couple weeks ago. We got an appetizer of cheesey chips and salsa, my mom got her beloved cheese enchiladas (which she orders pretty much every where she goes) and I wasn't sure what to get. My mom encouraged me to try something new, so I sprang for a chicken chimichanga with beans and rice on the side. Cami loved the rice and beans! I was not a huge fan of the chimi....it was super greasy, and the chicken inside tasted extra "chickeny" or "gamey". In other words, it tasted raw and dark. BLUGH. I enjoyed the chips and salsa, and the whole restaurant atmosphere and staff were all super nice. Mom enjoyed her meal. After we left, however, I started getting that feeling of indigestion, where your stomach kind of churns. That whole night, and the whole next day, I was sick. Never threw up (darn my stomach of steel) but felt sooo yucky. And I blame it on the chimichanga. My mom was completely fine. I had to give a not so good review of my food in the mystery shopper interview. The lady felt really bad for me, and we laughed about the irony of my getting sick when I'm supposed to be grading the food amongst other things, but I told her I'd be happy to be a mystery shopper again! Heck, getting paid to eat somewhere...what could be better? Next time, just please don't make it Mexican!

One more story: The other week, I decided on a whim to get my hair cut while my mom was here to watch Cami. I hopped on over to the Taylor Andrews academy, where I've gone a few times before, to get a cheap little $6 trim on my long hair, which doesn't require a great haircut since it doesn't have a real style. The first time I went there, they gave me a Dr. Pepper and magazine after my relaxing shampoo. It was fabulous. The 2nd time, just a magazine. This time, NOTHin. The girl was clearly an amateur, even though she did a good job, because the haircut ended up taking almost 3 HOURS!!! Can you believe that? And at one point, she said the chair was getting in the way and asked if I could stand. So I stood there in the aisle looking like a wet nerd for like 15 minutes while she cut the back. She had to clip and unclip hairs piece by piece to cut, then to blow dry, then to straighten. Holy cow, I was fighting to stay awake and kept seeing other clients come and go, while my girl took her sweet time. She was a nice girl, bless her heart, but never again do I want a 3 hour haircut. Maybe I should stick with the professionals.