Something this morning reminded me of a poignant story from Chey's youth. Chey had two "best" friends when she was elementary school age. Meg got her in trouble a lot but Dav was being raised with values more in sync to our family's.
I was trying to teach Chey that true best friends will help you to be a better person and not try to help you into trouble, but that was a tough concept for a 5 year old. Also, Chey felt very sorry for Meg who came from a terrible home situation.
So one day Meg helped Chey get into trouble again and Chey was punished. Later that week, we went to the mall with Dav and his mom. The big attraction for the kids at our local mall was a beautiful carousel. Chey LOVED it. We had lunch in the shadow of the carousel because it was in the center of the Food Court. At the end of the meal, Dav asked Chey if she wanted to ride the carousel. Chey looked at me with pleading eyes and I quietly shook my head no because it was part of her punishment.
"I can't Dav. I'm punished." was her sad reply to Dav's request.
"Ok, I'll wait to ride until you can ride too." And Dav slipped his little hand into Chey's as they skipped off in front of us.
So, today's question is, Who are your best friends? Do they help you stay on track? Or do they Lead you Into Temptation? Best friends will wait to ride until you can ride too.
Happy Cheapness!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Staying Warm
This could be a little late for those of you who have survived "Snow-magedon", but even when I lived in a colder climate, I was a champ at keeping the power bill down.
First of all, sweaters. Our grandparents used to make them because they were chopping the fuel to cook and keep warm. Can you imagine the amount of firewood they would have chopped to keep a 2,000 square foot home at the preferred 72 degrees?
My father-in-law would tell me about his mom giving him pages from the Sears Catalog. He used them to shove in the spaces the chinking was missing in the bedroom of their two-room log home. Lucky for him they were in Southern Louisiana and he shared the room with his brother.
I was reminded at a local football game of how spoiled we have become. We had an unusual cold snap (in the 30s in Arizona) and a local high school was in the play-off for state championship. Here were young people from all over the area in flip flops and hoodies. They were some seriously cold campers.
My child was embarrassed that she was wearing boots, a couple of shirts, a jacket, a coat, hat, gloves, scarf and a blanket. Dad and I left at half-time to seek warm shelter at Starbucks. Her (freezing) boyfriend commented that she was the only smart one and he wished he had dressed better............
Just like we wait until after sundown in the summer to cook dinner (our kitchen faces west), a little can go along way to reduce heating costs in colder climates. This may not be for everyone, but I noticed our power bills went up when I started home schooling Chey because we were home all day. I had hubby install a kit on our dryer to vent it into our small homeschool room that was actually a closed in garage. We didn't pre-plan it, but our washer and dryer were housed behind a curtain in the same area. We always had clean clothes and our homeschool room was toasty warm without raising our power bill. In the summer, we would re-attach the hose to vent it outside. We also installed a window AC in this room to cool it in the warmer months rather than run our large AC and pay to cool the whole house.
We have a blanket or throw on every chair in our home. My hot-natured hubby loves it and my sinuses prefer the lack of forced air. I made the heavy blankets on our bed which are layers of old quilts in a flannel sheet cover. If you think your kids will not adjust to the change, my eldest daughter swiped the first edition of the homemade blanket because she didn't think I would need it in Arizona. The one I made here is too heavy, so we are trading at the end of the winter. She doesn't run her heat either and finds that she and her husband stay healthier.
We warn people to bring a sweater and provide as many blankets as needed. Our $90 power bills are worth it!
First of all, sweaters. Our grandparents used to make them because they were chopping the fuel to cook and keep warm. Can you imagine the amount of firewood they would have chopped to keep a 2,000 square foot home at the preferred 72 degrees?
My father-in-law would tell me about his mom giving him pages from the Sears Catalog. He used them to shove in the spaces the chinking was missing in the bedroom of their two-room log home. Lucky for him they were in Southern Louisiana and he shared the room with his brother.
I was reminded at a local football game of how spoiled we have become. We had an unusual cold snap (in the 30s in Arizona) and a local high school was in the play-off for state championship. Here were young people from all over the area in flip flops and hoodies. They were some seriously cold campers.
My child was embarrassed that she was wearing boots, a couple of shirts, a jacket, a coat, hat, gloves, scarf and a blanket. Dad and I left at half-time to seek warm shelter at Starbucks. Her (freezing) boyfriend commented that she was the only smart one and he wished he had dressed better............
Just like we wait until after sundown in the summer to cook dinner (our kitchen faces west), a little can go along way to reduce heating costs in colder climates. This may not be for everyone, but I noticed our power bills went up when I started home schooling Chey because we were home all day. I had hubby install a kit on our dryer to vent it into our small homeschool room that was actually a closed in garage. We didn't pre-plan it, but our washer and dryer were housed behind a curtain in the same area. We always had clean clothes and our homeschool room was toasty warm without raising our power bill. In the summer, we would re-attach the hose to vent it outside. We also installed a window AC in this room to cool it in the warmer months rather than run our large AC and pay to cool the whole house.
We have a blanket or throw on every chair in our home. My hot-natured hubby loves it and my sinuses prefer the lack of forced air. I made the heavy blankets on our bed which are layers of old quilts in a flannel sheet cover. If you think your kids will not adjust to the change, my eldest daughter swiped the first edition of the homemade blanket because she didn't think I would need it in Arizona. The one I made here is too heavy, so we are trading at the end of the winter. She doesn't run her heat either and finds that she and her husband stay healthier.
We warn people to bring a sweater and provide as many blankets as needed. Our $90 power bills are worth it!
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