Monday, March 23, 2009

S is fo $aving$

I am only 100% passionate about a handful of things: my husband, my kids (okay 85% here, they're still growing on me), healthy eating, exercising, religion, the power of music, and saving money.

Recently I had such a great experience saving money that I just have to share it!

Our middle garage door, and I park in the middle spot, has been having problems since we moved in a few months ago. It was inconsistent in opening and closing with the garage door openers (all 4 of them)! Imagine me, in a hurry to leave (which is stupid because I'm already 10 minutes late to wherever I'm going) and I pull out of the garage, push the button and it doesn't close! This happened many times so I usually had to physically get out of the car and walk right up close to the door and only then would the sensor receive the signal from my opener(s). We knew it wasn't a problem with the openers because they opened the first stall from anywhere!

To get the dumb door fixed was in the back of my mind. I would haughtily remember to do it for only those few frustrating seconds when I had to keep getting out of the car to close the door.

Well, soccer practices have started, as well as school musical practices. My coming and going has increased by 212%. So all this past week I've been fuming about the stupid garage door.

On Friday, there are no practices. I actually had a moment to breath and I remembered that I needed to get the door taken care of ASAP. I had even laid aside a couple of garage door repair coupons over the past month. I never called to make appointments because of the cost. The coupons were advertising things like $50 dollars off garage door repairs and I thought, "If I'm getting $50 off then how much is the final bill going to be?!?!?" stomach lurched.

Well, I kept having this crazy notion to try something that worked for me when I was 11. I had a classy Soundesign brand radio/cassette player (a brand probably carried by drugstores) and I wanted better reception so that I could get the FM stations clearer. (Now you know why I sing the words to "Karma Chameleon" wrong). I wrapped aluminum foil on the antenna (just like people did to their tv rabbit ears, back in the day).

So, yes folks--for 5 cents I fixed my garage door. Again, that's, FOR 5 CENTS I FIXED MY GARAGE DOOR!!!!!!!!! I can't express the elation I feel every time I push the opener button and my door responds! And I'm even more thrilled because of the money that I didn't have to spend. HALLELUJAH!!!!!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

R is for Radical

Just a quick post to say I'm still alive, here!!! So, the word "radical...." This word was very popular lingo amongst my 6th and 7th grade peers. A quick walk down memory lane....

You know people send around all those forwarded emails about being children of the 80's and growing up in the 80's? Well, I was around in the 80's but the 90's stick out more.

In 6th grade, being a "skater" was cool. Caucasian boys had what we called "Pee-wee" haircuts (whole head is shaven except for your bangs which hung, slyly, over your eyes) and African-American boys often sported the "Gumby." If you were not considered a cool skater, you were called a "poser" which meant you were a wannabe skater. Some kids dressed nice--wearing stuff like expensive rugby shirts and penny loafers or Eastland dock shoes--they were called "preps."

We often used words like "radical," "gnarly," and "bodacious" to describe anything remarkable to our junior high minds. I loved to see all the Reebok pumps shoes in their varying colors--the little "pump" basketball on the shoe tongue is so cute!

For fun, at school, we enjoyed hitting lockers and listening for the clunks of fallen locker mirrors. The hallways smelled like Love's Babysoft. Everytime I smell that stuff I am immediately transported back to those days. Weird....

Why do I bring up "radical?" I guess, I just can't believe, sometimes, that I am a wife and a mother of 4, and paying bills, and doing fundraisers, and talking politics, and... and doing what grown-ups do! Does anyone ever really feel "grown up?" Guess I better fake it 'til I make it!