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Previous Update - March 20, 2006

March 20, 2006 - Brown Trucks, White Coats When it comes to freebies, I love Mondays, because it always feels like things were "piling up" on Sunday just waiting for Monday to come... For those following along, you'll remember that Boston Market sent over a letter on Friday containing exactly five words — "Boston Market Home Style Cooking". Those five words happened to be in their logo; no other words were to be found on the page. Now, while that's a record I doubt will be broken anytime soon, CVS (#86) decided to have a try at it anyway... Their letter, while not quite as short as Boston Market's, was definitely the shortest letter received which actually contained more than just a corporate logo. "Thank you for considering CVS. We do not have samples available." Well, I guess it's better than beating around the bush. I wonder if the person who wrote that letter is scratching their head, wondering exactly why someone would write to a pharmacy for free samples. Frito Lay (#12) sent over a letter and two 55-cent coupons. Pretty basic stuff. The highlight of the day, however, was Nylabone (#25 — and another one of my personal favorites). The UPS guy pulls up, and halfway towards the house, he stops and gives the package he's holding a bizarre look. I quickly meet him halfway and reach for whatever it is he's holding. "I take it you're Rudy Huxtable?" he barks. I shrug, hesistant to verbally acknowledge my insanity. He hands me the package and walks away, undoubtedly thinking that I've got a few screws loose. I scurry back inside like some animal who only comes out to feed for a few minutes a day. In my letter to Nylabone, I had indicated that my dog, Rudy Huxtable, has a certain affinity for humping my leg. Now, while the absolutely perfect gift from Nylabone would have been a prosthetic leg, I doubt they specialize in making those... So what they sent over was just as good. Inside their package was a nice letter and a "Double Action Chew" with "EZ Carry Minty Fresh Center". Now, I've not yet tasted the center, so I can't speak directly to its "minty freshness", but it certainly is easy to carry. What I found most amusing, however, was the very corner of the package the toy was in... "Wolf Size". Wolf size? I've heard dogs categorized by size before — toy, small, medium, large, the standard stuff. But wolf size? The toy itself weighs nine ounces! That's one hefty toy. And I only told Nylabone that Rudy Huxtable was a "random mutt". Does Rudy Huxtable sound like something you'd name a wolf? Anyway, I looked up the price online, and $9.33 seems to be the going rate. In any event, I'm sure Rudy will enjoy his new minty toy and its EZ Carry center. Thanks to Frito Lay and Nylabone for the goodies. Freebies Summary Who? What? approx. $ Fellowes Four cans of compressed air $32.00 Carma Labs One jar of Carmex $1.29 Stash Tea Nine teabags $1.80 White Castle 19 burgers, 2 breakfast sandwiches, 2 orders of Chicken Rings $12.37 Airborne One free tube of Airborne $5.99 Reynolds Two 50-cent coupons $1.00 S.C. Johnson One free ($3 max.) Skintimate coupon $3.00 Church & Dwight Two $1 Arm & Hammer coupons $2.00 Pfizer Three 50-cent Purell coupons $1.50 Pepsi Pepsi pen, pencil, stickers, and gift catalog N/A Biotene Free samples of gum, toothpaste, and mouthwash N/A Burt's Bees Free stick of Burt's Bees $1.87 Dunkin Donuts Book of five $1 gift checks $5.00 Mercedes Benz Mercedes keychain $30.00 Eden Foods Pasta, tea, soymilk $9.54 Chicken of the Sea Two $2 coupons, one 25-cent coupon $4.25 Sanford Four pens $5.00 Gatorade (aka Pepsi) Three 60-cent coupons for Propel $1.80 Nestle Two coupons for Nestle candy $1.00 Max and Erma's A hat and travel cup $15.00 Dairy Queen Three $1 gift certificates $3.00 Del Monte Five coupons for dog snacks $5.25 Celestial Seasonings Three sample teabags, three coupons $5.60 Boston Market 33% of $50 coupon book $16.67 Campbell's Four 50-cent coupons $2.00 Energizer Three $1 coupons $3.00 Frito Lay Two 55-cent coupons $1.10 Nylabone A "Double Action Chew" with "Minty Fresh Center" (wolf size) $9.33 28 companies $180.36 CVS Frito Lay Nylabone