Friday, July 2, 2010

Take Me Away...

Calgon, take me away!!!

Remember that commercial  (about a hundred years ago?). It almost became a rallying cry for moms. The idea is that you could leave the snot-nosed kids in another part of the house for a bit while you relaxed in a warm tub filled with sweet-smelling Calgon. That 20-minute respite would be all you needed to transform you into a calm, serene woman who could then handle anything the rugrats could throw your way.

That never worked for me. My little Einsteins knew how to knock on the bathroom door. Genius.

Here's something ironic...if a poor mom can't hardly catch a break to take a soak in the tub, how's she gonna have time to peruse an entire Calgon website with a blog that encourages women to twitter about their Calgon bathtime rituals?? Pa-leeeze!

Now that my kids are grown, I spend my days in relative solitude...working in my home office. I spend alot of time connecting with people on the phone, but for the most part, I can do it in my pajamas with a serious case of bed-head, even at 2:00 in the afternoon. No one here to judge my appearance but Roxie, (who's hair always looks good...lucky bitch). And the person on the other end of the phone is none the wiser (Ok, so maybe they are now...I'm sorry I'm not suited-up in my dress-for-success power outfit, but baggy pajamas are oh-so-comfortable). Another good thing is that I don't have to battle with this on a daily basis:

I believe if I had to go by car to work every day, this would work best for me:

By the way, that's the church I grew up in, St. Luke's Methodist Church in Fondren. I'd love to know the story behind that thang parked out front...

So what I'd really like is to just go away...NOT in a bathtub filled with some water-softening chemical, but somewhere different, exciting, interesting, relaxing, fun...just a change of scenery from my computer keyboard. Not that I'm complaining, because I'm not. I am grateful I am able to do what I do. But taking a trip has a good way of altering your perspective. It gives you a broader world view. My view has gotten narrow over the past few months, so I've gotten a bit of a travel jones. Too bad my bank account hasn't kept up with my wants/needs.

I saw a story on TV the other day about a couple in New York who STOPPED SPENDING MONEY for one year. They only bought absolute essentials--like food. No hair cuts (they did it themselves and it showed), no manicures, no restaurants, no coffee shops, no WINE, no movies, and they didn't buy any processed foods. They made everything from scratch. They entertained in their home more, invited people over for coffee (one whole pot of coffee doesn't cost as much as one cup in a coffee shop!), and in the end, they grew closer and saved a boat-load of money. The wife admitted it was difficult, but in the end, she was laughing all the way to the bank, because she wrote a book about her experiences that has landed her on all the early shows and Oprah, and it's selling like hotcakes. Good for her!

If you could give up one thing to save money, what would it be? I love to read your comments here on my blog...so feel free to share your thoughts. If you like what you read, and you're not signed up as a follower, go ahead and click the button to follow. I promise to honestly share my insights with you whenever the mood strikes me!

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan






3 comments:

  1. Eating out- we have cut back but have no plans to cut it out entirely. That's lovely that the family on TV cut their own hair etc, but I would never want to be like them!
    Hope you have a great week end.

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  2. we have access to free haircuts from jason's uncle but the only time I let him cut my hair he gave me a mullet and i'm still recovering. my stylist worked hard to make it look decent. it takes lots of hairspray.

    that being said, i definitely wouldn't let jason cut my hair at this length. long would be ok. he won't let me cut his either since the last time i did it and cut way too much off one side. oops. i went to nursing school where you shave for surgery not style. he was not amused.

    we can't go without beer these days. it's been so long since i could enjoy some so i'm taking advantage of the selection at mcdades. :) there's my 2 cents.

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  3. I could save money by not buying gas and not going to work (haha). I guess we could stop going out to eat but Buddy and I are both tired of cooking and sandwiches don't get it seven days in a row, much less a whole month. Other than the necessities, these are our only EXTRA expenses since we moved into our new house. We have to keep the extra spending down until we sell the old house. :(

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