Pass me the crown, please

Yes, I AM the Queen.

Of bargains and coupons, that is.

So, I take take Rude Teen-age Son (formerly known as Number One Son) to his friend's house and since Darling Daughter is with a friend, I think, "What the Heck, I have 2 errands to run".

So, I go to my favorite nursery to buy a flat of impatiens, but they're closed already. But across the street is a little garden center and Cute Gift Shop that I've never been to, so I give it a shot. I thought the flats were a little pricey, and the potted annuals as well; since it's late in the season and many garden centers are discounting their stuff and trying to get rid of it before it's too hot. And some of the annuals looked a little dry. But this little old woman wouldn't budge when I tried to get her to give me a discount for buying so much stuff. And to make it worse, she mentioned that she thought the owner might be talking about a sale...but then again, maybe that's just vegetables..., I don't know....I can't really call her during dinner, she doesn't like that.... you get the idea - a frustrating conversation. I'm usually much better than that. Sooo, $32 later, and I have flowers to plant tomorrow. (Hopefully their colorful brilliance will distract DH from the weeds that I haven't finished) The gift shop was cute, but my enthusiasm was dampened by the lack of a discount. Come'on.... a few bucks off the flat (not the measly $1.00 off) or buy 3, get one free for the annuals. Anything.

But I digress.

I ran by a little strip mall that has a couple of shoe stores and women's clothing shops. One was Dress Barn - didn't find anything appealing there, and one was Fashion Bug. Not a store I usually shop in, but I've been die-ing for a few cute summery tops that are different from the tanks that I used to wear all the time or the v-neck short-sleeved tops that I'm used to. I wanted something with an empire waist, but that wouldn't make me look pregnant. I was drawn by the colorful window displays and I know they have coupons.

Anyway, I found a pair of bermuda-length dark khaki green shorts and a cute top that I liked. It was black, not colorful, but flattering and exactly the cut I was looking for.

Now, I *know I had a coupon for this store *somewhere, but my purse is a disaster of receipts and coupons and I couldn't find my driver's license in there if my life depended on it.

In fact, I even went to the ATM tonight, because I couldn't find any money, even though I'm sure there are bills in there. Somewhere. But that's a task for another day.

So, these two things were 30% off (yay, me!), but I say to the sales girl - "Are there any coupons out there now? I seem to remember getting one a few weeks ago, but I can't find it."

She tells me there's a $10 off one that expires tonight.

I ask if she can give me that discount. She says no, she doesn't have any.

I say, "Gee, those coupons are why I'm here, I don't usually shop here." And a good discount would mean I'm likely to come back again." (insert smile here)

"Can you give me any discount? Maybe a Manager's Discount?"

"No."

Then I see her go to the other register and pull out a little green piece of paper.

It *looks like a coupon.

She scans it. I smile broadly and say thank you.

She tells me I've saved something like $29.00

Final bill: $36.00 for a pair of shorts and a top. Score!