A win and a challenge

The Knoxville News Sentinel recently had a $1000 grocery giveaway on their website. I clicked and entered, thinking, "sure, it'd be great to win" but not holding my breath. Then I promptly forgot about the contest.

Let's face it, I've never won anything in my life. Never even $2 on a lottery ticket. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Well, my phone rang last Wednesday, and on the line was a nice lady from the News Sentinel, telling me that I WON the giveaway.

My mind raced. What giveaway? What are you talking about? Then I remembered that click from a week or so ago.

My reply: "GIT OUTTA HERE! You're kidding!"

She wasn't kidding.

Oh. My. GAWD!!! I won! Thank you, News Sentinel! I really, really, REALLY appreciate it. I have a houseful of boys and let me assure you that grocery money is ALWAYS appreciated.

So, I went to the News Sentinel office in KnoxVegas today to pick up the prize. 2 $500 gift cards for Kroger. I met with the nice lady, we took a picture and chatted for a while, and I even got to meet the Sentinel's BlogMan extrordinaire, Michael Silence of No Silence Here (listed among my favorites).

That could be the end of the story, but I am going to turn it into a personal challenge.

I am going to see how far I can stretch these cards.

My plan is to keep a log of what I buy and how I maximize the savings. Now, I'm not as good as some of the coupon queens out there, but I believe can do a pretty good job. Stay tuned for results!

A side note:
If you think I'm lucky... not so fast.

On my drive back from the Sentinel, I had a flat tire. Not just a plain ol' flat, but a full blowout. On Interstate 40. People weren't moving over to allow me any safety space. A Knoxville police car and a TDOT truck passed me and didn't even slow down. And I didn't have a cell phone with me.

Thank goodness I know how to change a tire. So, I did.

Wait, it gets better.

About a mile down the road... the SPARE tire goes flat. Now, I'm really in trouble. Again, nobody even slowed down for me. Nobody offered to help.

Thankfully I was off the interstate (JUST off the interstate) and within walking distance of a car audio store that let me use their phone to call my husband in Oak Ridge. He came to my rescue, bought me a new tire, and changed it for me. My hero!

But let this be a warning to you. There are an awful lot of people who don't know how to change a flat tire.

LEARN HOW! Look in your owner's manual. Read it and re-read it. Get out the jack and the tire iron and know how to use them.

Also, check the condition of your spare! Just like you change the batteries in your smoke detector, check your spare tire.

Learn how to do it yourself - don't rely on someone being there to help you out.

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