The Cutter Rambles

Weekcap: 41 Percent!

I am working from home today, as Mrs. Cutter has developed a nasty infection.  She’s been feverish, and feverish makes it difficult to deal with the needs of an infant.  Fortunately, the Cutlet has been mostly well behaved.  Except of course when I had to make a phone call.  At that point, she decided she needed to scream loudly.

The big news of the week was my trip to Safeway on Sunday. (Yes, a trip to the grocery store counts as big news)  Out of the area grocery stores, I prefer Safeway, mostly because they offer frequent sales on items.  I realize that this probably means that their regular prices are higher than those of the other stores in the areas.  But still, I love those sales.  When I see a tag announcing that an item is on sale, I can’t help but feel like I’m winning.

Safeway is a little tricky in that they also have tags advertising a “New Low Price.”  These items aren’t actually on sale, but they might have reduced the normal price at some point.  You’ve got to be careful not to be fooled.

One of my goals at the supermarket (aside from buying the things we need, of course) is to maximize my savings percentage.  Safeway helpfully notes what percentage of your total bill you have saved between their sales and coupons.  My goal is to get this number as high as possible.  I consider anything over 33% to be excellent.

When I went on Sunday, things were working out almost perfectly.  The store seemed to be having a sale on just about everything I needed to buy.  They were also having sales on items I didn’t necessarily need, but who can resist a good sale?  There were even some “buy one, get one free” sales, which are the absolute best kind since they maximize your savings amount.  Of course, the best way to maximize your savings percentage is to buy mass quantities of the items that are on sale.  So I ended up with a full cart by the time I was done.

But it was worth it when I looked at my receipt.  I had saved 41% off of the total bill, which I believe is a new high.  I was so proud of myself.  I couldn’t wait to rush home and show the receipt to Mrs. Cutter and the Cutlet!

Just so you could all share in my glory, I’ve included a scan of the receipt:

Random Picture Found on the Web

This is the cover to Journey’s album Escape, but with a taco.  This is courtesy of the site Album Tacos.

Random Thought of the Week

My mother makes this amazing chocolate zucchini bread.  It is so good that I have to make an effort to eat it before Mrs. Cutter gets her hands on it.  If I can get half of the loaf, I consider it to be a victory.

Commercial Analysis of the Week

Here’s Kia’s “This or That” commercial:

I like this commercial.  It features a good rap song and rapping hamsters.  So far, so good.  But I have to wonder, is it a good idea for Kia to compare their vehicles to toasters and boxes.  Isn’t that kind of what most people think of when they see this type of car?  I realize that’s what they’re implying their competition is like, but still, I’d think they’d want to avoid the association all together.

Top Five of the Week

Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors.  He’s been labeled a “poor man’s Stephen King” in the past, but I’d say his books are generally more “thrillers” than pure horror like King.  Anyway, here are my Top Five Dean Koontz Books:

5. Odd Thomas – Koontz’s favorite character, as the book already has three sequels, with more rumored to come.

4. Watchers – Koontz loves putting heroic dogs in his stories.  In this one, the dog is actually the main character.

3. Strangers – Takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it is hard to put down.

2. Phantoms – This book may be where Koontz got the “horror writer” label from.  Sadly, the movie based on the book sucked.

1. Fear Nothing – The first one I read, and still my favorite.  It had me so enthralled that I actually stayed up all night reading it.