Day #3: 29 Gifts

The first day seemed too easy, as I generously purchased a little dog toy for Evie's smiling face.  It was something she had been wanting for quite some time, and now it was 50% off!  I also gave a jar of dry ingredients for cookie making to the family who owns our PKSA Karate studio down the street.  My girls both enjoy there classes and we have always felt so welcome.

The second day seemed to fall into place as well: I inspired a dear friend to start blogging again.  Shelly was an avid blogger until her sweet Lucky passed a year ago.  She has since found Ringo, and I encouraged her to blog from Ringo's point of view.  Here is her work, as I am very proud of her:

In My Life

However, today is day three.  The ladybugs need new shoes, so I figured I would be "giving" new shoes to them once I pick up Zoe from school this afternoon.  What I wasn't prepared for was that I would receive a gift.  Today was paper day: my once-a-year purge and shred of all unnecessary paperwork.  Last year at this time I was laid up with an injured leg, so I didn't do very much purging.  Boy did I have the stuff today!

As we were shredding, Evie and I heard the machine make a tin-like sound and then stop running all together.  I turned the machine off, unplugged it, and reassured a crying Evie that it was okay.  It was simply a silly old machine (it is a bit younger than her) that needed to be replaced.

We went to Staples, assuming there would be something in our budget.  Evie immediately hugged this little number:
Staples-10-Sheet-Cross-Cut-Shredder

However, there was a card over the price that said - NOT IN STOCK HAVE TO ORDER.  So I looked a another, less expensive one.  I couldn't find the box that went with the shredder, so I asked a salesman to help me.  He said, "Oh, we don't have that one in stock.  However, we have this one in stock."  And there it was - the Staples 10 Sheet Cross Cut Shredder sitting in a box ready to be put on the shelf.  I said, "How much is it?"  He said, "Hold on and I check."  He checked 3 times and told me it was $59.99.  I was happy with the price.  He placed it in a cart.

When I went to pay the girl said, "That will be $83(something or other)."  I was like - "WOAH!"  So I mentioned that the salesman told me $59.99.  I described him perfectly.  Her co-worker was standing next to her and said, "You have to charge her the full price, $79.99.  You cannot just give her a price that she quotes!"  The girl said, "Is it on sale?"  He showed her the print out and it was not one of the models.  Of course if you look online to the link above you see that it was indeed $59.99 (but AFTER a rebate).  Okay, so I didn't know this, nobody told me.

The snotty co-worker left and the check-out girl gave me the shredder for $59.99.  When my receipt was printing out she said, "Oh look!  You get a $20 VISA gift card for this purchase!  It is your lucky day!"  I was a bit uneasy about this, so I did ask if she would get in trouble.  I was not comfortable having the shredder for almost 50% off!  She said, "He quoted you $59.99.  We have to give it to you for that."  I walked away feeling guilty.  However, I looked at the receipt ad it says, "100% Price Guarantee."  This means that the salesman should have told me it was $79.99 and $59.99 after rebate.  He didn't.  So I do not feel guilty.  I feel blessed.

Evie and I left Staples with a shredder that was originally $79.99, purchased for $59.99 and a gift card on its way for $20.  This makes an $80 machine only $40!  What a lovely gift!