Niecy

04 November 2016

CVS Game

I'm back in the game ya'll! Back in the day when Dave and I were newlyweds and had just bought our first house, I started playing the CVS coupon game. I was able to stock up so much that I remember coming back a year later after moving back to New Mexico and Dave still had not had to buy toilet paper!

I haven't played in a very long time because coupling takes time. Recently, I came across this great Youtube channel and it seriously inspired me to jump back in. Right now I'm only dealing with CVS, I haven't bothered to begin planning for other shopping trips.

Jumping back in hasn't been with out flaws. Last week I watched Toni's video spent Friday night printing and clipping coupons, made my list, thought I had a plan, and then woke up Saturday morning ready to go. Something didn't work just right because I ended up spending about $120 out of pocket. I did save like $50 and the good news is I earned $15 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB). So this week I was resolved to not make that mistake again because who has time to be dropping Benjamins at CVS every week? Ain't nobody got time for that.

So Sunday morning I woke up and Toni had already posted her video for the week. She's seriously like the patron saint of the CVS game. So I watched and made notes. Later that day I picked up the paper and clipped the coupons from the Sunday circular, went online and printed out the other's she mentioned, wrote out my plan, and created a spreadsheet to track my actual oop versus what ECB and coupons would cover.

So today I went in and I did it! Here's what I bought for the week of 10/30:

Scope by Crest mouthwash - $4.79

Coupon - $1.00 off

Total - $3.79

Scope by Crest mouthwash - $4.79

Coupon - $.50 off

Total - $4.29

$2 off $6 mouthwash purchase

Total - $6.08

Earned - $6 ECB

Maybelline Cosmetics

Liquid Foundation - $7.99

Coupon - $1.00

Total - $6.99

Stick Foundation - $8.99

Total - $15.98

Earned - $5 ECB

CVS Vitamins B0G0 Free

Vitamin D - $8.99

Biotin - Free

Duo Fusion - $9.95

Coupon - $10.00

Manufacturer Coupon - $5.00

Total - -$5.05

Used Coupons- 2 - $10 off $40 (CVS coupon sent to my card)

1-$5 Extra Care Bucks

Total with tax - $1.69

Earned - $11 Extra Care Bucks + $5 Beauty Bucks

Until next time!

19 October 2016

Queen Sugar Ep. 7 Recap - So this is what it looks like

Niecy Taylor 9:14 AM

Note: I am not going in the business of writing recaps. This episode requires some processing for me, so I'm writing to do just that.

If you haven't been watching the masterpiece that is Queen Sugar by Ava Duverney on OWN, you should start now. Whatever you are doing, leave work, take a break, sit down and watch.

Last week's episode opened with Charley laying in the chair and ottoman, motionless, emotionless, just laying there after learning the truth about her husband. I can't even describe the emotions I felt during this scene because I knew it. I've been there before. I was texting one of my girlfriends and she said "so this is what it looks like". That one image, with Charley laying there, barely moving, barely breathing, is familiar. What Ava captured in art fully imitated life.

Then there was Ralph Angel. Gosh if I don't know that man. The man with so much bottled up inside. The man that finds his worth in his work yet nothing is really working. The man that expects everyone to give to him, do for him, trust him when he's done nothing to gain that trust in the first place. The man that would spend an afternoon with a random woman and miss out on the joy of seeing his son play. Jesus. I know that man.

As if my heart wasn't going through somersaults already, there's the closing with Aunt Violet and Hollywood. So much in that scene. I wanted so badly for Aunt Violet to believe Hollywood and trust him but I also understand how hurt she is and how quickly we move into operation protect our hearts. I believe Hollywood is a good man that was trying to do the right thing but the answer to that situation just wasn't there. Not yet.

Chile I was emotionally spent after watching this episode. Lawd.

What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of Queen Sugar?

25 September 2016

Colin Kaepernick is bae

Niecy Taylor 8:31 AM

I really don't need to say anymore.

I've been saying people with a platform need to take a stand. I didn't want any Black athletes to travel to Rio for the olympics to represent the USA. I realize that is a big thing to ask. That is the dichotomy of being Black in America. Black athletes representing a country and winning gold medals in the name of a country who doesn't fully see us.

So Kaepernick gets all my love for taking a stand by taking his seat. Personal protests have always been the catalyst for greater awareness and action.

Let me tell you a quick story. This summer at our Scentsy convention, Orville gave a moving and authentic speech that touched on the current times. I could see how he genuinely felt about what he was saying. There was a moment where this quote by a Scentsy consultant's husband was placed on the screen. I realized when he said "he's Black", everyone remained seated, but when he said "and he's a cop" everyone stood up and clapped. I've talked to others and they observed the same thing.

My sister and I sat. I looked at her and said "I don't feel like standing up in my struggle".

The reality is, I'm connected to a lot of the same people who were standing up around me on social media and they never say anything about what is happening to us. So while the moment absolutely felt genuine, it felt fleeting. So I sat.

I've had people delete me on social media for "forcing racism down their throat", I've lost customers because I choose to speak up about injustice, I've had a church pastor call my speech "hate mail". I've seen as people not so subtly imply who they will vote for this election, someone whose speech and actions has offended every race and religion except one.

We can't always be expected to stand in our struggle. Sometimes we just need to take a seat.