CNN Tour in Atlanta

Today, Jay and I took the CNN tour at the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. It was very interesting along with being fairly inexpensive and something I would recommend to anyone visiting the Atlanta area.

Motorcycle Class

This afternoon, Jay and I took two motorcycles to the community college and met up with P, from my work. P and I are trying to get a jump start on the motorcycle class that Jay took a few months back. P and I plan to take the class but wanted to get in some practice time before the class. I want to do this so I don't look like a goofball. So with Jay's "inside information" on the class with what to expect and hints on what we need to practice, I am hoping there will be little or no goofiness going on.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture of our "instructor" and a picture of P on Jay's Goldwing.

P and I both laid the Goldwing down as we came to a stop. Better at a stop than while rolling! Jay said that now we had fallen and gotten it over with, we won't have to worry about it any more! Whew, I am glad he pointed that out!

Our instructor said that P and I did really well and we should not have any problems in the class. He felt like we would be at the top of our class. I will feel better about it after a few more practice sessions.

Our super deals

Yes, with thriftiness always in the forefront of our minds nowadays, we have made it a family outing to go our local Goodwill Superstores in the last couple of weeks looking for bargains. It seems the kids always grow out of their clothes two days after you buy them or they just plain wear them out.

So, this past week, I dragged #1 to one of the two Goodwill Superstores we have been frequenting after her doctor's appointment (since we were already on that side of town). Despite her being sick (two ear infections), she let me make a quick run through of the clothes for her. She was in need of more meeting clothes. I was able to get #3 several meeting outfits since we had stumbled into "50% off all clothes" a few Saturdays ago. This week, #1 and I stumbled into "25% all skirts". We walked out with brand-name items (many with the original tag still attached) that amounted to five meeting outfits for less than $20!!! (Pictures to come as they wear the clothes.)

Tonight, Jason wanted to go to his favorite GW Superstore, closer to our home, to check out what they had. Well let me tell you, somebody walked out with a super big smile on his face. I have to admit, I did too. We spotted a brand new gas dryer for $60 dollars. What manager's special did we stumble into tonight? It was 25% off everything in the store. So with that, Jason skipped up to the counter and put his name on it. Total spent for the dryer was $45!! There are no dents, scratches or chips on it. Frigidaire has a MRSP of $619, but looking online, it looks like it goes for about $500. He saved $455!! Jason ran a gas line to the dryer hook up a few years ago so that we could save on our electricity bill (which it has). Our friends were kind of enough to give us an old gas dryer they no longer needed but it has been on its last leg for months. It squeaked so bad, everyone on our street knew when we were drying clothes. For the price it would cost to fix it, Jason decided to start looking for another used dryer. Tonight he found on and he got an awesome deal. The following video is a few seconds of the new dryer doing its thing, quietly. That is how proud we are, we want to share with the WWW land how nice it is to dry clothes, quietly.



Still coming down from the high of our thrift store experience, I was craving more of Mama Rose's pizza. I ran into Food 4 Less and what did I find but my pizzas on sale for 50% off! These pizzas come in packs of two, so I came out with two packs at $2.29 per pack and a two four packs of snack pizzas for $2.79 per pack! Even though, for the last two weeks, I have cooked six regular pizzas and 10 snack pizzas for anyone in the house who wanted to partake I still felt the urge to make another one tonight. The crust is wonderful and the cheese is so creamy, almost liquid. Even when it gets cold, the cheese is still soft.

Now that I have totally rambled about a dryer, cheap clothes and pizza for several paragraphs, I can not end this post without sharing a picture of an item that I felt would never be a likely piece of decor in my house. But, when my eye caught I glimpse of this lamp, I knew in my heart that if Jason saw it, the lamp would be coming home with us. Well, he got a glimpse of it. Proudly,here on his side of the bed, stands his new $5 lamp. I am thankful it is not a leg lamp.

$99 or more saved again!!

Since my husband has fallen prey to the economic down turn and can be included in the 500,000+ people nationwide in December who lost their job, being thrifty is even more important. So how thankful do you think I am that Jay can work on cars?....Ok, I was totally going make a joke by saying $99 dollars thankful but Jay just came inside to find out about a missing part on the brakes (he is working on my brakes as I blog) on Autozone.com. Now, if my van had been at the shop having the pads changed and the mechanic realized some part of the brake disc hardware was missing, how much would they con me into paying for that $9.00 part plus labor? I guess now I must say his ability to fix cars is priceless! Especially in this economy!!

$40 + tip saved...

I cut all three of the boys' hair tonight. The "boys" include Jay. I have cut all their hair many times in the past yet it took on a new meaning of savings this time.

I think I can blend the sides, back and top fairly well at this point but I have always struggled with the ear area. But tonight I felt like I totally got the hang of the white wall concept and all six ears came out very good. I didn't even shake while I was clipping!

As long as none of the boys want a "style" I think they will continue to be happy with our barber shop at home.

Tell me these don't look good...

And no you can't have him..he is mine

Pipe Man

CC has taken a keen interest in doing what he dad does lately. CC wants to build things and make things and work on things, with his dad. CC had made plans to do something with his dad this morning. As I was drying off from my shower, CC ran into the bathroom, very hot and sweaty but very excited to show me what he had made. His dad started teaching him how to weld and the end product was "pipe man". Pipe Man is now displayed proudly on his dresser.

In the eyes of the beholder

Jay has been working steadily for weeks on what I saw to be a hunk of metal things stuck together. But through the eyes of a visionary who has no money, a lot of ability and some steel it is the frame to his Harley. A Harley he is making, from scratch, not from a kit. I used to shake my head at what I thought he thought he could do. Silly me, I now shake my head at the thought of me not knowing what he could do. Ask me about the old white truck he had to tow home. It didn't run and it was free. I hated the thought of having a that piece of junk parked in the street in front of our house for who knows how long. Then in a short period of time it was running and offered us a second vehicle without monthly payments. It sold for several thousand a year later. From that point on I had a little more faith in him. Then he excitedly asked if the kids and I wanted to go to California to purchase a dirt bike that was being sold at a ridiculously low price. The catch? I'm sure you figured it out, it needed work. So we loaded up, headed to California and when we got to the seller's house, he had it ready for us to pick up....in boxes. It was not what I was expecting to see, Jay and this man carrying out a few boxes of parts and then some wheels. But in a few weeks I had a dirt bike to call my own! These are only a few examples of the ability I am talking about.

So my point in this? Look through Jay's eyes not mine!

Look who needs to clean his "eyes" with Windex

Jay finally broke down and bought reading glasses. I hate to embarrass him by being too sappy for all the world to read so I will just say that I think he looks very good in glasses!

Dreamer

Here is where Mr. Dirt Biker Guy officially got the bug for a road bike. My Harley man got his taste on "the trip" last year (look for a post on that trip later). This was taken in Sturgis, South Dakota. He has a Gold Wing that came in parts. He put it together and rides it all around town. Now has a "chopper" in the making, a piglet in the making even! He has the Harley motor waiting for its new frame, which is not far from being done. He needs a sign over our garage saying "Harpole's Hard Tail Choppers". I wonder if any cable networks would be interested in a reality show?