11th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $8.48 today / $663.39 this year
Costco Shopping – February 18, 2020
11th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $8.48 today / $663.39 this year
10th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $40.69 today / $654.91 this year
Member Only Savings – $5 today / $130 this year
Happy Valentine’s Day. I went for a quick Costco shopping after work. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is when we see St. Patrick’s Day items at Costco. The most popular St. Patrick’s product at Costco is Bill Bailey’s Irish Brand Corned Beef Brisket. I found the briskets today… but there was a twist.
Costco now sells fully cooked corned beef briskets and the ready-to-cook version we are familiar with. Fully cooked briskets are $5.59 per pound, whereas ready-to-cook briskets are $3.99 per pound.
But… pre-cooked brisket? Do you really want to microwave your special meal? St. Patrick’s Day dinner has to be more than just nuking a packaged meat for 10 minutes and turning it over once. We only have a handful of special days where cooking is part of the tradition. It’s sad to think that St. Patrick’s Day is becoming the day we microwave our dinner. I am already taking a shortcut because I don’t season the brisket myself. Perhaps, in the future, I will succumb to the concept of pre-cooked holiday meals. Perhaps I will celebrate the change of the season by opening up my microwave oven. Maybe, in the future, we will all have multiple microwave ovens in our kitchens so we can prepare meals for special family gatherings. That sounds grim and dystopian.
This Saint Patrick’s day (2020) I will proudly slow cook my corned beef brisket for ten hours. I will pay respect to Irish history and tradition as I put my body into a ritual.
I received my Costco (Anywhere Visa® Card) Citi rewards certificate. This certificate is not to be confused with Costco executive membership 2% reward certificate. They sent me the certificate via email and I redeemed it at Costco customer service by showing the email barcode on my iPhone.
They distribute reward certificates after your February statements are closed. You should receive yours by March.
Please note: If you are a Costco Executive Member, you will also receive an Executive Membership 2% Reward certificate. They distributed executive membership rewards via the mail two months prior to your annual renewal month.
9th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $153.38 today / $614.22 this year
Member Only Savings – $35 today / $125 this year
Kirkland Signature’s Atlantic Salmon (#46340) is a handy food item that I wish to keep in my freezer all the time. A 3-pound bag is currently on sale for $5 off (Feb 2020). They are individually wrapped and frozen to accommodate people like me who don’t live next door to a fish market. For the next several months, I will have salmon whenever I want. I always buy them when they are on sale. One bag has 7 portions of salmon. So one piece of salmon is $3.12. Now, steam up some vegetables, and you have a good meal. It’s Kirkland Signature quality, money-saving, healthy, and you can avoid going to the restaurant.
FYI: I HATE restaurants, mainly because they give me bad tables. I will eat out more often if they stop sitting me by the toilets. Don’t get me started.
They recommend us to thaw frozen salmon by unwrapping it first and place it in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours. But I often put it in cold water while it’s still in the wrapper for a quick thaw. Personally, I cannot tell the difference in how I thaw it.
Below is cooking instruction from the package.
Bake: Heat oven to 400 F. Place in a well-oiled baking dish. Bake portions for 10 to 12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 F.
Grill: Heat grill to medium-high. Place on a well-oiled grill and cook for approximately 5 to 7 minutes, turning once, or until internal temperature reaches 145 F.
Microwave: Remove thawed salmon from packaging. Place in a microwave-safe dish that has been lightly coated with oil or cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and peel back one corner to allow steam to escape. Microwave at high power 4 to 5 minutes, turning once. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 145 F. Remove from microwave and let sit for 3 to 4 minutes before serving.
“I heard you bring a coffee mug warmer to meetings,” a female colleague of mine said with a goofy smile.
But how? How does she know about my coffee mug warmer? and why is that even a topic? How did that topic come about? Is there a group of people at work making fun of me all the time?
My team likes to make fun of people. As a king of nick-names, I came up with classic nick-names such as Mr. Failure, Shirley Temple, dirty hands, penguin, Allergic to Money,… Karma was finally catching up on me, I thought.
I go to daily stand-up (meeting) every morning to report my work progress and to hear from other departments on their progress and forecasts. There are over ten people in the meeting. Some of us bring coffee, tea, and water. I bring coffee, but I also bring a coffee mug warmer. It’s a beautiful vintage cast iron coffee mug warmer, that I paid one Dollar at a garage sale. The meeting is 30 minutes long. To me, it only makes sense to keep my coffee hot. It would be stupid not to bring a coffee mug warmer to a meeting. You are with me on this, yes?… yes??…
Well, I will not drink lukewarm coffee like a savage.
Anyway, nobody said anything about my coffee mug warmer at the meeting. They didn’t seem to care. Then a female colleague who doesn’t belong to the daily stand-up, pointed out that I bring a coffee mug warmer to meetings. How crazy is that?
“Who told you?” I freaked out.
“R told me right after he came back from the meeting,” she explained.
“Was he making fun of me?” I asked.
“No, he thought it was cool,” she replied.
“Mm… OK,” I rolled my eyes.
I don’t care what people say about me. I am my own person. I know I am a little different and it entertains people around me. I enjoy being that person. It’s just… I thought it was fascinating to be reminded that people watch me and they talk about me. Also, there is no topic too small. After seeing my coffee mug warmer, R couldn’t wait to tell his office mate. My coffee mug warmer made an impression on him. Who knew?
I don’t know why, but a few days later, I still think about that boring episode. So much so that I had to write about it. Hence, here’s another boring story. Hahaha.
Have a nice day. Keep in touch.
8th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $115.96 today / $460.84 this year
Member Only Savings – $22 today / $90 this year
Instant savings saved $22. Costco’s member-only savings is a major part of my Costco shopping habit. I often hold out on some purchases, hoping they will be on sale.
Costco Basil Pesto (#990551) was not on sale. The last time I saw these on sale was 2 years ago (2018) for $3 off. The next time I see them on sale, I shall buy 4 bottles. They are very good and they also freeze well. I think they can last over a year. Combined with pasta from Costco, I can enjoy excellent quality pesto at any random moment.
I bought a bag of Kirkland Signature Atlantic Salmon (#46340 $21.99 after $5 saving). Each bag contains about 7-8 individually vacuum-packed salmons. They are so good and so fancy. I should buy one more bag before the sale ends.
CJ Bibigo steamed Dumplings are quick and fun (#107699 $7.99 after $4 saving). It takes only 3 minutes to prepare. There are 6 tiny dumplings packed as a unit (see picture). A Chinese coworker told me he didn’t like these dumplings. I would love to try homemade authentic Chinese dumplings.
I switched from organic eggs to non-organic.
Just how good are authentic homemade Chinese dumplings, anyway? How will I ever know? Sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on too many things in life.
7th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $9.83 today / $344.88 this year
My favorite colleague came to work really late today. I figured she was not having a good day. So I made a Costco run and got an Acai Bowl for her. This made her feel better.
I worked 11 hours today. So, I treated myself to a Caesar Salad. Costco’s Caesar salad is a guaranteed good meal. The trick is to eat the least amount of dressing possible or completely avoid the dressing. The chicken seemed to contain a lot of salt. And I don’t see anything good about croutons.
