Money well spent

The whole point of this blog was how to save money, right? There are times in life that you need or maybe just want to spend it. We had one of those days last Monday.  Jeff, Riley, Maddie and I, plus Riley's bff, Lamyaa, went to DC for the day.  The girls couldn't wait to stop by Georgetown Cupcake. Yep--it is the one from TLC's show, DC Cupcake.  I thought going to the newly re-opened American History Museum was going to be the best.  I can't really say what was truly the highlight of the day--it may have been the landing of Marine One, the President's helicopter, just as we were trying to get close to the White House--or--it may have been the twenty minutes we had in the park while waiting for the helicopter to land.  We did walk to the White House, but then were turned away or shepherded to another area, as I am assuming, a safety zone was created for the President's landing. We did have to wait, but when the deep resonating thuds of the helicopter blades broke the quiet afternoon air, it was hard not to get excited.

Reflecting on that afternoon got me thinking about the safety zone I had established around that day so I could enjoy it.  Again, I am talking about money...moolah...dough...the green stuff.  I wasn't stressed at having to eat a couple of meals out. I wasn't stressed about the cost of metro tickets.  Heck, I wasn't even stressed about the cost of the cupcakes (worth every penny, too).  All this because I had planned and budgeted and revised and did it all one more time.  If money had been tighter, I would have created a different plan, a different option, for our family day out.  But, I was able to enjoy all the items we spent money on and all the things that were free--cartwheels in the park, making faces at each other while waiting in line, laughter, excitement, love and togetherness.

It's all in the attitude

This morning I was awakened by the flapping ears of our chiweenie, Tok, and the quiet huffs of our Australian cattle dog, Aussie.  They wanted to go outside. They definitely thought it was time for me to get out of bed.  I glanced at the clock--4:30--yep, that's in the a.m.  So, I trudge downstairs and let them out.  While standing in the kitchen, I load a stray dish into the dishwasher...dogs still aren't done...walk to the laundry room and put the wet clothes in the dryer...thank goodness, the dogs are done.

Now what?  I could have gone to bed, but I really was past the point of going back to sleep.  You know what I mean.  You crawl back into the now cold bed and it takes you 30 minutes to fall back to sleep and you never feel quite right when you wake up. So, what did I do?  I figured I got an extra hour or two in my day and I was going to put it to good use.  I paged through a magazine, All You, and checked out all the great coupons and articles.  Then proceeded to do my morning devotionals.   If you want to know which ones I am doing, post a comment.  I will be glad to share. By then, it is 6.  I decide, what the heck, start a blog.  This is something I have wanted to do for awhile, but was a little computer user shy.  Well, I have taken the plunge.  It is now 7:30ish and I am proudly finishing my first post.  I accomplished something I was afraid to do or thought I didn't have the time to do. But, I did.

I hope to cover many things to help others do everything they want to do in a day, week or year.   My topics will include family, faith, food, finance, fitness and frugality, as well as, time management.  I couldn't think of an "f" for time management.  There went all the cool alliteration.

I guess it is time to come back to what really started this whole thing--attitude.  I could have been a grouch to my dogs, ugly towards my hubby, and in a bad mood the whole day, just because I was woke up or was awakened early.  Instead, I looked at it as a blessing and was able to accomplish more by 7:45 (I didn't mention the two loads of laundry already done and hung or folded ready to put away, plus the running dishwasher) then I would have done if I had held a grudge and plopped myself back in bed or in front of the television.  I have always told my kids, bad attitudes are contagious...I also think that a pleasant attitude will get you further.  It really works.  Try it at the store, with your kids, with your neighbors and, don't forget, your significant other. 

Choose to look at the bright side and have a wonderful day!