Just a thought...

[EmptyNest]

Just got this in a note from a former colleague..thought I would share it.
Did You Wake Up This Morning Intending to Change the World?
“To admit that you begin the day planning to change the world certainly sounds grandiose, maybe even delusional. Yet I believe that you do change the world every day, whether you intend to or not. Often it only takes a small act to make a big difference.
You change the world of your spouse or kids, depending on how you interact with them before you leave the house. A little extra time and attention or a tender moment of affection changes their world that day. And it reminds you of what is important when the mad dash to the office irks you and makes you feel that the day is off to a rough start.
You change the world of another driver when you allow her to change lanes abruptly without blaring your horn, recognizing that she, too, is human and fallible. Of course, you alter her world in a different way if you blast your horn, yell and gesture obscenely.
You also change the world of a coworker, a customer, a vendor, or a cafeteria worker with your smile or your frown.
No, these aren’t dramatic changes. They won’t alter the course of world affairs or bring about a cure for AIDS. But who’s to say that these little changes don’t have a cumulative, profound effect in the lives of others and, ultimately, in your own life "
Reference: Sanborn, M. (2004). The fred factor: how passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into extraordinary. New York: Doubleday.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I just sent this out to a friend and will include it here along the same lines (encouragement):
Interesting going to our little "mountain culture" super walmart, today being the start of the month basically. The county gets paid once a month - the school system (the largest employer) and all county positions, then of course food stamps, social security etc also.
So I went early and the talk was on in the grocery section. Some asked how ya doin', someone replied, someone grumbled about the economy, and the replies came back "ain't it good we got food on the table, that is more than some." I listened to this sort of banter throughout the grocery section.
I walked past the $3.97 personal size boboli pizza DOUGH/base and laughed what a joke that is and how it will mold up there before anyone in this community buys it.
Good to be reminded with all this stress in the country/lives right now. We had fuel at the service stations, cars that run and food on the shelves!

 

[Morticia]

I think we actually see that in action most days. And the thing is, altho the article says it won't alter the course of world affairs, you just don't know that's true.

 

[gillumhouse]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped.

 

[YellowSocks]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.

 

[Penelope]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.

 

[gillumhouse]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)

 

[Morticia]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)

OK, cheapest 'gift' I ever gave (and boy did I get crap for this one from the kids' father and stepmother) was each a small box with a bunch of cards in them. The cards were actually invites and were shaped like big 'tickets'. I wrote on each one something I would do with the kids individually.
I did it because they always got so much crap at Christmas from their dad. Piles of stuff that broke overnight if you so much as looked at it. The kids lugged those tins around and would pull out a card every once in awhile and we'd go do something together. I don't think they ever used all of them, they sometimes showed up when the kids were in college and I handed them out when they were in 2nd & 4th grade!
And, yes, they would never give up the really worn out, beat up toys. Those are the favorites!

 

[Copperhead]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)

OK, cheapest 'gift' I ever gave (and boy did I get crap for this one from the kids' father and stepmother) was each a small box with a bunch of cards in them. The cards were actually invites and were shaped like big 'tickets'. I wrote on each one something I would do with the kids individually.
I did it because they always got so much crap at Christmas from their dad. Piles of stuff that broke overnight if you so much as looked at it. The kids lugged those tins around and would pull out a card every once in awhile and we'd go do something together. I don't think they ever used all of them, they sometimes showed up when the kids were in college and I handed them out when they were in 2nd & 4th grade!
And, yes, they would never give up the really worn out, beat up toys. Those are the favorites!
.

Bree, I for one think your gift of time should be one of the most charished gifts of all time. They must have charished the gift as well if they still pulled one out even in their college years. Too many children are craving the attention of their parents these days and will resort to anything to get it.

 

[YellowSocks]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.

It must be the weather here or something. Talked with a friend tonight, she did the same thing today (clothes, not toys). Her boy is 8... long story short, instead of going to Goodwill her bags are coming to me! Yay! And she says her stuff is hand-me-down from a lady with lots of money who gives and bags and bags of really nice stuff for both her boy and her girl. Double yay!
I never spend money on kids clothes and they always have more than they can wear... I am very blessed!
=)
Kk.

 

[YellowSocks]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.

Seems a quite reasonable rule, especially given your experience!
=)
Kk.

 

[YellowSocks]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)

Better yet, spend $1.00 at a yard sale for a toy that originally cost $25! Or get the durable dollar store ones for free... (the crappy ones don't last til the yard sale).
One son has found an advertising flyer with toys... wants to go to that store. Well, one toy shown is on sale for $10, but we bought the same exact thing at a yard sale for $1, complete with batteries.
Better story: last week I was reading the paper. Son asks, "what are you reading about?" "These people want more money." (County is debating raising sales tax from 6.75% to 7%.) He said, "Then they need to work." "No, honey, it's the government. They think we should just give them our money."
=)
Kk.

 

[gillumhouse]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.

It must be the weather here or something. Talked with a friend tonight, she did the same thing today (clothes, not toys). Her boy is 8... long story short, instead of going to Goodwill her bags are coming to me! Yay! And she says her stuff is hand-me-down from a lady with lots of money who gives and bags and bags of really nice stuff for both her boy and her girl. Double yay!
I never spend money on kids clothes and they always have more than they can wear... I am very blessed!
=)
Kk.
.

Hand-me-downs and yard sales - the frugal Mother's department store!

 

[YellowSocks]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.

It must be the weather here or something. Talked with a friend tonight, she did the same thing today (clothes, not toys). Her boy is 8... long story short, instead of going to Goodwill her bags are coming to me! Yay! And she says her stuff is hand-me-down from a lady with lots of money who gives and bags and bags of really nice stuff for both her boy and her girl. Double yay!
I never spend money on kids clothes and they always have more than they can wear... I am very blessed!
=)
Kk.
.

Hand-me-downs and yard sales - the frugal Mother's department store!
.

Hand-me-downs and yard sales - the frugal Mother's department store!

I did a session at church on setting financial goals and living frugally. A friend collaborated with me to visually drive home a point, "no one knows where your shoes came from."
My friend wore: t-shirt, jeans, belt, shoes, socks, bra and underwear.
I wore: Long, pretty dress, suit jacket, black shoes, bra and underwear. (And felt professional looking.)
She spent: $145 - $150
I spent: $2.75
=)
Kk.

 

[gillumhouse]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.

It must be the weather here or something. Talked with a friend tonight, she did the same thing today (clothes, not toys). Her boy is 8... long story short, instead of going to Goodwill her bags are coming to me! Yay! And she says her stuff is hand-me-down from a lady with lots of money who gives and bags and bags of really nice stuff for both her boy and her girl. Double yay!
I never spend money on kids clothes and they always have more than they can wear... I am very blessed!
=)
Kk.
.

Hand-me-downs and yard sales - the frugal Mother's department store!
.

Hand-me-downs and yard sales - the frugal Mother's department store!

I did a session at church on setting financial goals and living frugally. A friend collaborated with me to visually drive home a point, "no one knows where your shoes came from."
My friend wore: t-shirt, jeans, belt, shoes, socks, bra and underwear.
I wore: Long, pretty dress, suit jacket, black shoes, bra and underwear. (And felt professional looking.)
She spent: $145 - $150
I spent: $2.75
=)
Kk.
.

We had more wonderful times than I can count with the ice cream makers I found at yard sales (the second one replaced the first that was used to the point of "scrap me -PLEASE"). Martin's favorite birthday present ever was the train engine he sat on that could only go backwards on track in the living room (yard sale $5). He also had a complete football uniform including pads & helmet - yard sale $1 (that was the only time I resented having to give him a yard sale birthday present) but it was all I could afford. And I dickered!

 

[greyswan]

I'm a member of freecycle.com - our area is not very active yet but I've done a few give-aways... filing cabinet, dog house, and misc things and have received a whirlpool motor. Freecycle is organized by state & town - check it out!

 

[hawley]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)
.

The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away.

Unfortunately it is the dinged up beaten up toys that they cherish most and won't give away. That means it was a cool toy, not a useless one. LOL
Here is a pet peeve of mine, instead of buying $20 of broken cheap toys at dollar tree use it to go to a movie or event or buy one decent toy or part of a decent toy. I know dollar tree is fun, and it is easy to say "Here is five dollars buy five things" then you get the made in china lead toys home and they become a decrapification project by the end of the week.

(I am speaking to myself here on these comments btw)

OK, cheapest 'gift' I ever gave (and boy did I get crap for this one from the kids' father and stepmother) was each a small box with a bunch of cards in them. The cards were actually invites and were shaped like big 'tickets'. I wrote on each one something I would do with the kids individually.
I did it because they always got so much crap at Christmas from their dad. Piles of stuff that broke overnight if you so much as looked at it. The kids lugged those tins around and would pull out a card every once in awhile and we'd go do something together. I don't think they ever used all of them, they sometimes showed up when the kids were in college and I handed them out when they were in 2nd & 4th grade!
And, yes, they would never give up the really worn out, beat up toys. Those are the favorites!
.

I have given the same type of gifts. I often give a gift of coupons I make. One year I gave a coupon book to my husband. It included things like a back rub, foot masage, his favorite pie, etc.
For the kids, it was more doing things together. I would take them to the zoo, favorite dessert, favorite meal, do their chores that day, etc. Things they would like.
Found these to be big hits over most tangible things.
My parents were long gone, but they would be real nice gifts for parents. Like doing things for them that they can no longer do.

 

[Penelope]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.

Yes, I agree with you totally. We did not give away junk, we cleaned out stuff. Things the kids outgrew physically, emotionally, mentally... I do not think of Goodwill/Salvation Army/Interchurch as an equal alternative to a landfill. I also know that is this economy and with Christmas coming up, many people in my area will be shopping at those stores for their Christmas gifts. I explained to the kids that what they were willing to part with might bring a smile to another child's face soon. It was certainly more of a "giving" cleanup versus and "decrapifying" cleanup....

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
.

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.

Yes, I agree with you totally. We did not give away junk, we cleaned out stuff. Things the kids outgrew physically, emotionally, mentally... I do not think of Goodwill/Salvation Army/Interchurch as an equal alternative to a landfill. I also know that is this economy and with Christmas coming up, many people in my area will be shopping at those stores for their Christmas gifts. I explained to the kids that what they were willing to part with might bring a smile to another child's face soon. It was certainly more of a "giving" cleanup versus and "decrapifying" cleanup....
.

There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.

Yes, I agree with you totally. We did not give away junk, we cleaned out stuff. Things the kids outgrew physically, emotionally, mentally... I do not think of Goodwill/Salvation Army/Interchurch as an equal alternative to a landfill. I also know that is this economy and with Christmas coming up, many people in my area will be shopping at those stores for their Christmas gifts. I explained to the kids that what they were willing to part with might bring a smile to another child's face soon. It was certainly more of a "giving" cleanup versus and "decrapifying" cleanup....

What is the term "gently used" or something. I forget now, but it is a nice way to say not a bunch of junk.