Tim’s dad needed to pick up a prescription. His mom had reminded us all week that the meds were running low, but we were sick all week.

So imagine Tim’s shock when, mere hours after we got back from the ER with news of the miscarriage, Nadine told him, “Now remember, Tim, tomorrow you have to take Dad to Fry’s to get his meds.”

She apparently mentioned one or two other errands she wanted to run, too, but he cut her off and snapped at her. She went away, teary-eyed. And yet, in the morning, broached the subject again.

I found all this out when he came storming in, ranting and raving. I offered to go deal with it.

After stressing to her that she needed to give him some space, I told her that we were both unwell. (Remember? Pneumonia for him, upper respiratory infection/miscarriage for me?) I said I knew that they depended on us for rides, and I was very sorry, but there was just no way we could run them around that day — or probably the next.

Then I gave her three options:

1. Marc could walk the 3/4 of a mile to the bus stop and take the 4-minute ride to Fry’s. The bus ran once an hour on Saturdays.
2. Tim had to return a Redbox movie at Walgreen’s, so they could transfer the prescription over and get a one-month supply.
3. They could wait until we felt better.

She sat there like a small child being scolded. She hunched her shoulders in, looked down at a piece of paper in her hands, barely made eye contact and generally shrank in like I was an angry parent.

Also, she wouldn’t commit to any of the options. She came up with excuses for not transferring the prescription, even after I offered to pay the difference in cost.

So I just tried not to show my irritation and calmly told her that those were the options, as we could see them. And they could let us know what they decided.

We heard no more about the subject until today, when Tim agreed to take his dad on a short trip to Fry’s. Emphasis on short.

So when his mom handed his dad a list of about twenty items, Tim was not pleased. Nadine rushed to assure him that they only needed the five highlighted items on the list.

Nearly an hour later, they got back with four or five plastic bags full of groceries — some of which weren’t even on the original list.Well, his dad had the bags, Tim had gritted teeth and clenched jaw muscles.

I’m a little appalled at just how very little they have thought about Tim’s feelings in all this. And I’m not the only one.

Tim told me that, from now on, they can give him a list and some cash and he’ll run to the grocery store. Otherwise, they can get there on their own. At this moment, I can’t say I blame him.

And, hey, maybe being stranded will get them to start saving for a car.

Nadine wants to save for a bankruptcy lawyer first, even though they no longer have to worry about eviction or losing any other assets. Even though the average cost is $1,000-2,000, which will take them at least 4 months to save. THEN they can finally start saving for a car, which will surely take several more months, during which time we’ll be expected to get them from Point A to Point B.

Like I said, they really don’t get it.

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We’ve been walking wounded here this past week.

Tim got a bad chest cold, and I followed suit pretty quickly. We thought Tim had a sinus infection and planned to take him to a clinic on Thursday. But on Wednesday night, his asthma flared up and we had to go to the ER at 11:45 p.m. (The 40-hour clock starts now.)

Turns out it wasn’t just a bad cold, nor was it a sinus infection. It was pneumonia. Lovely.

He got released at 4 a.m. At 9:30 a.m., I was in my doctor’s office to make sure I didn’t also have pneumonia.

Tim was concerned because my symptoms were similar to his, if milder. I didn’t have pneumonia, but she did think I had a sinus infection and put me on antibiotics.

Tim was still worried, so the doctor told me to come back if my breathing got worse. Which, of course, it did a mere three hours later. I started coughing a lot and wheezing when I exhaled.

But my doctor was gone for the day, so I had to go to an urgent care clinic. The doctor there agreed with the previous diagnosis: not pneumonia. He explained a little better that this was a secondary infection, caused by the original bug, that had made its way into my sinuses/bronchi. Double lovely.

Then on Friday, I had a miscarriage.

I hadn’t announced the pregnancy because we were  being more circumspect after the first miscarriage. It didn’t help this time, though. I think I’m still too sick to really grieve. I guess that will come later.

Here’s the thing: I get that there’s never a GOOD time to have a miscarriage. But this was on Tim’s and my anniversary (four years married, six together) and two days before Mother’s Day. That’s the universe slapping you in the face. With a big wet fish.

Since my OB/GYN closes early on Fridays, we had to go to the ER when the bleeding worsened. We arrived at the hospital just before 2 p.m. That means we visited two ERs, one urgent care clinic and one plain old doctor’s office in just over 38 hours.

Usually, I’d pontificate more. But I’m supposed to basically lie down as much as possible for the next few days. The more I’m up and about, the worse the bleeding and cramps will get. And they’re already bad enough that I’m taking regular Vicodin.

So I’m going to go lie down and wait for all of this to hit me in a way that’s more than physical.

I probably won’t post until at least Tuesday.

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Freebie Friday is brought to you by The Freebie Blogger. Check out the site daily for tips, events, and, of course, freebies!

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Swagbucks is offering twice the rewards for using Coupons.com!

All May, you’ll get 20 SB per coupon that you print through Swagbucks.com and redeem in store.

With $5 Amazon GCs for 450 SBs, 23 redeemed coupons will mean your Amazon.com account is $5 richer!

Don’t forget: Coupons.com changes its offers every Wednesday. So make sure you print out all the coupons of interest each week. That way, you’ll be ready to pounce on great savings!

Yesterday, I used a coupon to get $1 off two cans of Hormel chili, meaning each can was 97 cents. Tim will take those two cans, add in BBQ sauce and salsa to make his own little mad scientist concoction. It’s a tasty simple and cheap meal!

Anyone else spot any good Coupons.com savings recently?

Anyone else get any good couponing in lately? Or

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Sorry that last week was so quiet, but there really wasn’t much to write about.

I really did very little this past week. It was an excellent reminder that boring is frugal.

I didn’t feel up for Magic tournaments. So I mainly sat around and watched TV/Netflix or read. I did a little cleaning, and I even cooked a couple of times. Like, really cooked — not just making a frozen pizza.

I’ve also been trying to take a walk at least every other day. I’m averaging about three times a week, and I’m up to almost 30 minutes at a time. It’s not the most brisk pace in the world — then again, it’s also 90 degrees out. So I think I’m doing okay.

So, life’s been quiet. Then again, it’s also been far less spend-y. Being out less means fewer reasons to spend. Since we went to fewer Magic tournaments, we spent less on fast food this week. I won’t say we ate all THAT much healthier, but at least it was unhealthy food made at home. It’s a start.

All in all, I’m tempted to repeat the pattern this week. We need to stock up on convenience foods — this week depleted our already dwindling supply. But I don’t feel like going out a ton, so I think I’ll revert to a bit of a homebody and try to save.

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