We left at the crack of 6:00.

Six o'clock PM, that is. (Have I mentioned that we are not morning people?)

Three hundred twenty-five miles down.
Just 929 to go.

Once Upon A Time There Was a Little Girl Who Needed a Haircut.

So her mother cut it.

But the little girl decided that she wanted it cut some more, so she took the matter into her own hands.For several weeks the little girl went around looking like a homeless waif. Or at least like the daughter of a woman who should not be allowed to cut hair.

But eventually the mother did take her daughter in for some professional intervention.
The hairdresser was very sweet. "It could have been worse." And the mother knew she was right. She has seen children who take the scissors right up to their scalp. The hairdresser gave her a cute bob and declared, "Now people will think you're eight instead of six!" The daughter seemed quite taken by the idea.But the mother was not. "Oh, no no no." That would never do. There is no hurry for these things. Her little girl is growing up quite fast enough on her own, thank you very much.

And the Winner Is....!

My nephew Drew is a junior in high school getting ready to go to his first prom. Being the clever lad that he is, he decided to save some on the cost by arranging a deal with a tuxedo rental shop: Drew wore won of their tuxedos to his high school for one whole day (hello, advertising), and in exchange he gets his tuxedo rent-free.

How cool is that? That's the very definition of bartering, my friends. Not to mention genius.

I have a few financial blogs I (try to) keep up with -- a few of them are on my sidebar. I happened across the blog Gather Little By Little when there was a contest asking for creative ideas on how to save money. The winner would receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

Having just read my sister's blog post about my nephew's savvy financial planning, I shamelessly decided to submit Drew's idea as my own and quickly sent off a comment:

"I admit I am borrowing this idea from my nephew, but it is just too clever not to share. Young men, for prom — instead of renting your tux, work out a bartering deal with the rental shop. My nephew wore one of their tuxes to his high school for a whole day (”advertising”), and in exchange he is getting his tux for prom rent-free! Now that’s using your noggin, as my grandma would say."

At least I admitted I stole the idea. Because I'm sure you can see where this is going ... I totally won the gift card! Woo-hoo!

In all fairness, and because I'm all about encouraging creative fiscal planning, I am going to pass this prize on to my nephew. Go treat yourself to a little Amazon shopping, okay, Drew? Just drop me an email (comment) and I'll send the e-card right to your inbox. Instant gratification. Knock yourself out.

(In all honesty, this will actually be a test to see how long until my sister catches up with my blog -- and since they're traveling on their Spring Break right now, I'm betting it will be a bit -- because my nephew read his aunt's blog? Puh-leeze.)

**Go here to see Drew as a walking ad ... And as I read my sister's post again, I realized I was a tad bit mistaken: he gets a major discount on the tux rental, but it's not completely free. Oops. My bad.

It should be free. Does that count?

A Winter Bouquet

When your ears are full, your chest is tight, and your muscles ache, nothing lightens your spirits quite like a winter bouquet.Olivia thought this would make me feel better, "Even though it's dead, it's still beautiful." I must say she's quite right.

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Conner told me a joke he heard at school:

"How can you tell the economy isn't alive?"

"It doesn't respond to a stimulus!"

Ba-duh-bum!

I'm sure that one's been going around, but it was the first I'd heard it and it made me giggle.

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The board that announces the promotions to Major posted the names today.

Drum roll, please....



John's on it! Go ahead, do a woo-hoo! for me. Because it is an exciting relief. To think, way back in his prior service days when he was just a lower-enlisted peon (no offense, hubby - I was right there with you) it was just a dream to be an officer some day. Once he got that he thought, "Wow, now I'll even retire as a Captain." To get major is just the icing on the cake. Who knew.

Just to clarify, these things aren't immediate. I don't know when they'll announce the timing of the individual promotions, but his "pin-on" date could be well over a year from now.

What that means in layman's terms: no pay-raise yet.

**************

But in other financial news... We rented our house in Vegas! Can I get another woo-hoo?! We had lowered the rent and offered a free month, trying to entice an actual contract, and it still took this long.

I'm not complaining, just explaining.

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Was anyone else super annoyed at American Idol last week when Kristin was skipped over for the wild card selection but the judges ended up giving Tatiana another chance?? I mean, really. At least they had the sense not to send her through to the real final.

And now I'm off to watch American Idol with Conner on our DVR. And eat some muffins. Yes, you heard me right. I gotta feed this cold, right?

Is It Possible?

Could Spring be coming to stay?























I probably don't want you to answer that.

These pictures were taken yesterday; Friday afternoons are mine and Peter's, when his sister and brother are both in school.

The weather today was more of the same, but Peter was decidedly not.He woke up flushed, with a fever -- a common theme around here of late. No playing outside for him today.
I totally agree, Becky: We need to work on being healthy. With the warmer temperatures, it was nice to air out the house today, bringing in that verdammte frishe Luft, as my German ancestors would say, the brisk breeze blowing through quickly drying the floors I scrubbed with disinfectant. A purge feels needed. Wish us luck. And feel free to blow us some Spring prayers of your own our way.