Quitter

I'm reading the book "Quitter" by Jon Acuff. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought it on Amazon in the Kindle format. I'm not finished with it yet, but I have been inspired to work a little more fervently on my blog.

With that in mind, you might see some odd posts now and then. I'm using my blog as a practice ground for becoming a better writer. I haven't officially said this in the past. Now you're thinking "ooooh. now I get it." Just be forewarned.

Since I'm really interested in becoming a fiction author, some of my posts might be experiments in dialogue, or bits of narrative. These won't have anything to do with a given project, just practicing my craft.

I would appreciate any comments you have about my experiments. I especially appreciate editing notes, or how to trim unnecessary fluff to make a more concise piece. I don't care if you've never been published yourself. I value your opinions. A writer is only successful if she has an audience, and if I can't write things anyone would be willing to read, then perhaps it is an indication that I should look into other ways of spending my time.

Thanks for your patience with me.

Saving Money

So I'm on this whole money saving kick. It's fun and challenging.

I posted a few pictures on my facebook page of some of the deals I've gotten.

This week we took the kids out to a local ice cream shop and I was looking for coupons before we left. My son reminded me that I bought gift certificates a while ago and intended to use them as incentives for doing a good job. Well, we had enough of those to get each of the kids an ice cream cone for free. Joel bought a cookie with some ice cream and our total bill came to about $5.50. Not bad if you ask me.

Today I went to a few stores and was able to purchase about 42 items for $80 and change. Some of these items were pretty expensive, normally. For instance, Advil PM and Thermacare wraps. are normally upwards of $6 a piece. I used $6 worth of coupons on 4 items which were on sale for $5 each. I also got $5 in register rewards to be used on any item in the future.

Another fun things I saved money on today was movie tickets. I don't have a problem going to movie theaters, although I'm sure a few of my readers wouldn't approve. Regardless, I purchased a Living Social voucher a couple months ago for movie tickets. Two tickets for $9. I will be taking my son to see Pirates of the Caribbean tonight. The tickets would normally have cost us $14 each. I bought them with my voucher and only had to pay $.50 extra. Now I'll have money leftover for popcorn...

Then again, I bought 2 Wonka bars for $1.50 today. Talk about a cheap mother/son date. If we bring water bottles from home, the total I would have spent (only counting today's purchases) would be $2. I can handle that.

Time to go make dinner with Buy One Get One Free salad, pasta, and sauce. I'll throw in some frozen garlic bread I bought with a coupon, for a dinner that's about a dollar per person.

Tomorrow's Trip

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for a Women's Conference. I am so excited about the experience, but for the first time, I am stressed about the flight up there.

I have never had a fear of flying. I am, admittedly, a bit afraid of heights, and would never voluntarily take a plane up into the sky with the intention of jumping out of it. But as far as flying from one place to another, I have no qualms.

I have never been stopped in the airport, I have a clean record. I've never had issues checking in. I have always looked forward to taking an airplane somewhere. The excitement and romance (yes, romance) of walking down the jetway and boarding the plane is something I have always enjoyed.

Even traveling alone is an adventure for me. I like to be surrounded by friends, but I've also enjoyed people watching. I like to make up stories for the strangers I see. I especially like watching children. Not in a creepy, stalker way, of course. I like seeing the excitement in their eyes. I like their curiosity.

Since I have no problem meeting new people, I always enjoy discovering the person I'm seated next to. I usually bring a book, thinking I need something to do, but end up ignoring it in favor of conversation.

I'm very easily entertained. I enjoy looking at everything around me, and I've even been known to read the in-flight instructions... ok, maybe I'm sharing a bit too much.

This trip is different. This is the first time I have flown since the TSA has become the KGB of our country. The porn scans, and the alternative groping have me in a cloud of worry. The thought that I may be selected randomly to be assaulted so that some terrorist supposedly won't be offended has me seething.

Perhaps it's my penchant for historical novels that has me in a tizzy. I have read books about World War 2 and I can't help noticing the similarities between the romanticized accounts I've read and our current times.

I've read about people trying to leave Germany after Hitler came to power. About being strip searched and having baggage dumped and searched. I'd like to think that it's logical to believe those kinds of things didn't happen overnight. People didn't just get up one morning and suddenly they couldn't travel without being assaulted. I believe it was a gradual shifting of authority under the guise of protection. Suddenly the people who were supposed to be protected from monsters became the ones assaulted and imprisoned.

A long time ago, it became illegal to travel via air with a weapon. I understand the concept of banning firearms from airplanes. A stray bullet fired in self defense could pierce a fuel tank and the whole plane could go down. (Of course, I laugh at the odds of this actually occurring.) But the idea that an innocent passenger cannot bring a knife on a plane with which to take down a would be sky-jacker, is ludicrous and only serves to embolden those with nefarious intent.

When the regulations began to change more rapidly, we had to take off our shoes or put toiletries in a separate bag, I didn't really think anything of it. I didn't fly often enough to find it inconvenient. I didn't like the fact that my loved ones could no longer walk me to my gate, or meet me as I came off the plane. The movies had to change a bit then.

It's a bit frustrating to know that if I have a two or three hour stopover in a city where a loved one lives, that it would be nearly impossible to use that time chatting with them over coffee at an airport cafe. It's just not worth the hassle of having to go back through security in time.

Now things have shifted even further. Now we are on complete lock down. Either I give up my constitutional rights and allow the TSA to have their way with me, or I have to give up the convenience of air travel.

As a busy mom with four children, I would not be able to go on this trip at all without the convenience of air travel. It would just be impossible to drive 14 hours there and back. I even thought about taking a train, but that would take even longer with all the stops and finding stations close enough to my destination. So I'm stuck.

I'm very frustrated, but I'm excited to see what God will do for me this weekend. I'm praying for God to make me invisible. I kind of wish that He would just translate me there, as He did with Philip. I'm sure all those innocent folks fleeing Germany wished for translation as well. It goes against my grain to willingly submit to this, but I know I must. Of course, I did read up on all my rights (believe it or not, I actually do have them). I'm stressed out, but ready to go.

Angry

Ok, so I spent about 3 hours working on a blog post about my May Day party.

I meticulously added photos and tweaked the layout until everything looked nice.

I then posted the blog and shared a link on Facebook.

I had two people say they liked the post and one even left a comment.

Now that post is GONE!!!

All my effort is GONE!!!!

I am sooooo angry right now.

grrrr.

Character building sometimes costs money

Don't worry, I will post more about May Day, but first:

Tonight I spent a lot more money than I probably could have, but a lot less money than I would have. Let me explain.

We have a long hedge dividing our property line from our three neighbors. Unfortunately, since it's a hedge and not a fence, it must be maintained via trimming. We got a notice from the HOA that we needed to trim our hedges or we would be fined. This is all fine and good. Neither hubby nor I enjoy yard work, and so we had definitely put it off too long.

Hubby decided he was going to pay our lawn maintenance company to trim the hedges and haul away all the clippings. Well, that's what he intended to do, but life got in the way and as the weeks passed, and it got closer to the deadline, he realized that he needed to just get out there and trim them himself. Let me just say I'm so glad I married a man who is willing to do things he doesn't like because he knows it's what is necessary. In this day and age it's hard to find a man who shows that kind of maturity.

I decided to use the hedge trimming as a lesson in character for our children. I've told my children in the past when the hedges were trimmed that I would pay them $5 for each trash bag they filled with clippings. These are not standard trash bags mind you, they're the largest size lawn and leaf bags available, and they must be filled to my specifications. I do not force them to do it. I keep it optional, and I've been pleasantly pleased with the initiative it brings out in them. It's been interesting to see which children are excited about the prospect to earn some extra cash, and which ones take things for granted and would rather not "get their hands dirty."

Tonight my best friend's children were also here. We were watching them while she and her husband went on a date. (It's hard to find a cheap sitter for four kids these days.) To be fair, I put the offer out to everyone. I got an overwhelming positive response. Keep in mind, I've known these kids for the past 8 years. My friend and I are comfortable enough that I knew she would not mind if I put them to work. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I had told them they had to pick up branches without pay, she would have backed me up. I was pleased that all of the kids were willing to work.

It took a couple of hours, and in the end we filled 15 bags. If we had hired the lawn company to do the work it would have cost $100. We didn't really save much by paying the children, but I believe the character they will learn from working for their money is worth every cent I paid them. To top it off, I witnessed such great attitudes and willingness to work together, that I would have paid them more if I'd had it in my budget. Several times the older children willingly helped the younger ones fill their bags, knowing they would not be paid extra for doing so. I can't stop smiling when I think of how great they all did tonight.

Oh, and just to break it down. The three oldest boys filled three bags each. The oldest girl filled one bag, but went on to help the younger two girls fill all of their bags. The two younger girls filled 2 bags each, and the youngest boy filled one bag and started on a second before giving up. The youngest girl is only two and ran around the yard the whole time looking cute. I'm thinking I can squeeze in an extra dollar for the oldest girl since she essentially filled two bags, knowing she would only get paid for one. I am so proud of her willingness to help others.

May Day (Part 1)

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to chronicle of our first ever May Day party. I'll try to write down as much as I can, but I'm still of the mindset that I should be out there living my life, not just writing about what I would like to do.

Yesterday I spent time with my girls making things for May Day. I have been planning since before Easter. I hinted at it in my last post. This is my attempt at enjoying springtime activities without letting these activities take the place of a true Easter celebration of Jesus.

I used a certificate to buy $50 worth of flowers from Field of Flowers. I bought mini carnations, mini rose sprays, dark purple stock, yellow mums, babies breath, white aster, and pink Gerbera daisies.

Yesterday I showed my girls how to make nosegays out of the many different flowers. They weren't all traditional nosegays, just smaller bunches of flowers. When we were finished, we had them all sitting in this white milk glass bowl I got from my best friend. I love the way they look, all jumbled up and overflowing.

Then, we made paper cones. I found another blog where someone had posted directions on how to make them. I bought a book of scrap booking paper from TJ Maxx for just over $5, and we used the brightly colored sheets to make the cones. I had ribbon leftover from Valentines Day (and many other projects) to use as the hangers for the cones. I also bought a bag of mini chocolate eggs and kisses from Costco, so we can put a few candies in each cone also.

I used the Gerbera Daisies and several other flowers we had leftover to make the centerpiece for our party table tomorrow.

Deborah has been battling a cough, and while she is otherwise healthy and energetic, she couldn't go to church. I ended up staying home with her, and we used the time to dye eggs. She's such an artist, and she's so careful compared to the other kids. I knew she would enjoy it without making a huge mess.

Today I printed out some cards, which we will attach to the cones. I wanted to keep it pretty simple. They simply say:

"Happy May Day

Your neighbors,

The Hagans Family"

Later tonight, after the kids are asleep, I will put "May Baskets" by their beds. I kept them very simple. I didn't want this to turn into a springtime "Christmas." I included just a few candies, a small toy, and a chocolate bunny.

I'll try to write more tomorrow about the party, and what we did.

Easter Plans

My family didn't do a whole lot for easter when I was a child. Of course, we didn't have a lot of money either. We didn't get Easter Baskets or hunt eggs. The only thing I remember doing is (when the budget allowed) getting a new dress. Often it would be handmade by my mom because back then it was cheaper to make it than to buy it new.

I remember wondering why we couldn't go to egg hunts instead of church, or eat chocolate bunnies like many of my friends. The answer was the same each year. It went something like this:

Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We do that every time we go to church. Bunnies and eggs have nothing to do with it, so we aren't going to celebrate Easter that way.

Of course, as a child I wasn't happy with their decision. I wanted parties and candy. I was thankful that I got my dress (most years), and I thought when I had kids I would do things differently.

It's hard as a parent to make decisions that your immature child will not understand. As with many things I haven't done what I said I would do. "When I was a child, I spoke as a child..."

This year is the first year that I've had an issue. My son isn't really interested in parties as much as he is interested in eating the candy usually involved. My first daughter has always been compliant and hasn't shown any desire to change the status quo. Enter Hannah.

Hannah lives life with gusto. As a baby she was either laughing or screaming. There was never an in-between, "okay" kind of emotion with her. This year, as Easter got closer I kept hearing her comment about how excited she was. Of course, along with the comments she usually included information about what, exactly, she was looking forward to. Mind you, none of these things are traditions in our house, nor have we ever discussed doing them this year.

As she's talked about egg hunts and eating candy, I've thought more and more about why I've made the decisions I've made as a parent. This train of thought prompted a discussion with my hubby (because honestly... it wasn't just me who decided not to do all the "usual" easter stuff with the kids).

We've been on the same page about Easter from day one. The way he put it is, "I hate the crass commercialization of the holiday." When I asked his opinion about starting some new traditions this year, he said he wanted to stay away from the whole easter bunny, candy, egg hunt theme,

Still, I felt something was missing. In trying to keep distance from the heathen elements, we never replaced the celebration with more appropriate elements like we have with Christmas. So finally we came up with a plan.

First, I had to find something to replace the bunny candy. I asked God what I could do in place of bunnies that poop jelly beans, or Cadbury Eggs. While I was at Publix Hannah was entranced by a huge seasonal display of treats and I humored her by looking at the different ones she pointed out. Then suddenly my eyes lit upon something different. I found these little boxes of Whitman Chocolates. Each box said something like "He Lives" or "He Is Risen." I slipped them quietly into my shopping basket and plan to give them to the kids tomorrow morning. I also purchased a package of traditional Passover treats from Costco. We'll break open these boxes as dessert tomorrow after dinner.

Second, we had to find something to replace the egg hunt. My hubby went to a Messianic Passover Seder a few years ago, and he suggested taking an element from their traditions. We'll play "Find the Matzo." Of course it's been several years, so we're a little hazy on the details. We will have a pouch with three compartments. There will be a matzo in each one. The one in the middle will be taken out and broken. Then the broken matzo will be hidden somewhere and the kids will go and find it. Of course there is so much symbolism in this act. He is going to talk to the kids about all of that.

The third thing is the traditional Easter meal. The irony is not lost on me that the usual meat served on Easter is ham... the quintessential "unclean" meat. I thought about this one for a while, and I was going to try to do something more kosher. As the day approached, however I thought about how the veil in the temple was torn as Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. So I have decided, rather than just follow the crowd blindly, I am purposely going to prepare a pork roast for our dinner. I want to enjoy our freedom from having to fulfill the law in order to have a relationship with God.

Having said that, however, I've missed dyeing eggs with my children and doing the generally accepted "easter" traditions. Egg hunts are a lot of fun, and I would like my children to experience them. So, in addition to starting these new traditions, I will be celebrating springtime on May Day. In future years I might celebrate it on the first day of spring... But that's a whole different blog post.