Free stuff is everywhere and I intend to keep on finding it. We took a field trip to the fair during Farm Days. I didn't take the kids on the rides, which I know may sound mean, but they just went to Disney World for goodness sakes. The parking was free (regularly $7- my word). We got in for free, and we got to go to the exhibits for free. In addition, when we walked in, they had a special scavenger hunt for the kids. If they filled out all the answers, they got a free kids meal. I already had brought a picnic lunch so that meant free meal on the way home (I am kind of bad about forgetting a coupon if I don't use it quickly). We worked together to figure it out and then I took them for a kids meal and frosty (they exchanged their regular drink for a teeny frosty and then just got water to drink). In addition, we got some other freebies at the exhibits like free post it notes that I am always needing in homeschooling for marking what the kids need to do, pens and a free Shoney's breakfast buffet. Lesson of this day: keep your eye out for the free stuff!
I am always all about free stuff, but now with Oilfield Shutdown 2015 about to occur, I am hyper vigilant on finding the freebies. So, today is TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY. Yes, maties, if you weren't aware, today you are free to say scallawag, swab the deck and arrrr as much as you like. In addition, there are some freebies to take advantage of, namely FREE DONUTS from Krispy Kreme.
Here is our plan: My friend, J, and her teenage daughter; myself and my teenage son, B; and their other teenage friend (whom is special needs and we are trying to help him break out of his sheltered world), will all be dressing like a pirate. You only need three things to count. We will be using a bandana tied around our heads, either a gold (Mardi Gras cheap style) necklace or hoop earring), and an eye patch. My back up idea is also a pirate hook that we can take a red solo cup and punch a hole in it, fashion an aluminum foil hook and poke it in the hole. That's right mateys, cheap is the plan and you can fashion about anything out of duct tape so if you dont have a hat, bandana, eye patch or whatnot, so feel free the improvise for the sake of saving money. We will hit several Krispy Kreme Donut locations (FYI- you can drive thru it I was told) and all of us will show our pirate gear plus a little pirate lingo. You get one freebie for the pirate speech and a dozen, yes dozen, for the garb. We are hoping to collect enough to at least bring back donuts for all the kids at church to have Krispy Kreme donuts for a Sunday Morning snack. Even when you are facing a layoff, you can find ways to give and be generous! I guess the movie War Room came around at the right time. While I have spent my whole life praying, my prayers are often more like a quick text to God than a down on my knees passionate cry for help. However, the times that I have reached that point of humble pleading (like when my sister was days from death in full liver failure), are the times that I have seen God work the most in my life (she mysteriously recovered fully without transplant or other intervention). I had already been wakened to the need to become a so called "prayer warrior" or as I like to think of it, a prayer ninja. I have come to realize that it is essential for me to ramp up this part of my life. The movie was a starting point for inspiration but for further inertia, I started reading Fervent by Priscilla Shirer, which was inspired by the movie, and a very cheap prayer journal. I cannot tell you how cathartic it is to just write it all out. I can work on reducing my bills, I can get creative, and I can cut corners, but if I don't have peace of mind and God-given wisdom, it won't matter. In addition to prayers and scripture, I also wrote out the lyrics to Oceans by Hillsong. This song suddenly keeps appearing. They sang it for the first time at my church this Sunday and at the same time, half a country away, my niece was apparently leading the same song at her church. I have heard the song before but suddenly the words pierce my heart. I can focus on upcoming changes and impending doom, or I can focus on all things good and lovely that give me hope, faith and a future. I chose the latter.
My daughter, Kay, and a friend's daughter, May, had just recently started dance together. They were so excited. My daughter had done dance before but her daughter had not. I realized with the impending changes, I was going to have to take Kay out of dance since it was an unneccessary cost. I was concerned May would be very upset. However, when I let my friend know, she revealed that they too would have to severely cut back due to an upcoming job change. We started discussing all the things we couldn't do: eating out, movies, costly field trips, and more. We found relief in the partnership to cut back. It isn't fun to have to say "no" all the time and be around someone who can throw caution to the wind when it comes to finances. If you have to cut back, it is not only more comforting, but it enables you to pool your resources, creativity and strength during such times. I told her if we can't eat out, we will just exchanged dinner nights at each other's house and it will feel like we are at least getting to go somewhere different and eat something we didn't cook! She reminded me that we had some kids that can pass down clothes to each other and that we both can sew. I encourage you to not be so quiet when you are going through a financial struggle. Others may be too and it will not serve you or them well to keep it from each other. Caution: Beware so that you don't become a whining victim either. If all you do is whine about the problem, you will find yourself stagnant, because you are so focused on the problem that you can't even begin to see solution. You may also find yourself a lonely because, generally, no one can stand to be around someone who does nothing but whine about circumstances.
I am not a fan of commitments. I mean more of a binding financial origin, not relational or responsibility oriented. When we first moved to Tennessee a couple of years ago, I found out that we couldn’t have any TV service other than satellite (read: TV with a contract). We tried antennas, but the signal doesn’t reach that far. The cable stopped just short of us. It was frustrating and I fought it for a while, getting TV series from the library and doing other things than TV. We aren’t even that big of TV watchers (especially my husband who would be fine if we didn’t have it all together), but eventually, the kids wanting to watch something, my boredom when my husband was gone for weeks at a time, and the lack of local weather and news caused me to break down. I signed the commitment about 1 year and 3 months ago. So, now I have 9 months to go on a contract and an impending layoff or cutback in our financial situation. I already have the lowest plan offered, or so I thought. It turns out that it was the lowest plan offered online, but it wasn’t’ the lowest offered entirely. I spoke with them and found out about the Welcome Pack which is a $20 plan (okay $19.99, I am a rounder) that includes the local channels, the weather channel, and some other actually great channels (History Channel, Discovery Family Channel, TLC, Hallmark Channel, Comedy Central, HGTV, and Food Network which happens to be one of my children’s favorite channels). I also know that if we got really in a bind, we can pause the contract by paying $5 a month but that just extends the period as well, so for now, we will leave it where it is. One bill reduced, awesome! Lesson: it really does pay to ask.
I know that the majority of Americans are jumping for joy at each and every penny that falls away from the gas prices, but for me, it is bittersweet and disheartening. Sure, I like paying lower gas prices, but I also really like my husband employed. It was just April that my husband received all sorts of special incentives for reaching his ten year mark on an oil exploritory drilling rig. Now, there is an iminent and impending doom lurking in the near future, most likely just before Christmas.
After spending six years serving in the US Navy, he was recruited by a drilling company to serve an important roll on a deep water rig. He has served half of his years on this rig (they are gone 2-3 weeks at a time, then return for the same) for the last decade. Since Katrina we were constantly told that the oil prices would never drop very low again and that there was an extreme oil shortage and so forth. Now, my husband knew we had a lot longer time than that expressed by the media before we run out of oil, but we did believe that the gas prices seem to show no signs over ever plumeting again. We have tried to live wisely, but have grown accustomed to a lifestyle leaves us comfortable in a single breadwinner environment. I am a stay at home mother who homeschools. My oldest just entered high school. There is no way that returning to work wouldn't severely impact their lives. We live in a rural area, that we chose because we weren't worried about school districts or employment opportunities. Now, in a few months, unless there is a miracle, my husband's rig doesn't have work (it is a contracted rig) and neither will he. I am a believer in prayer, but I have never been the type to just sit down and chew my fingernails fretting. I guess, perhaps, being southern, I have a little more Scarlet (yes, as in O'hara) in me. No, I am not out to marry another man or steal Ashley away, but I will resourcefully rip some curtains down for a new dress if I must. So, it is time to buckle in for this wild ride and get ready for the overhaul! |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2016
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