Period of Austerity

Austerity
From: The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | Date: 2007 Print Digg del.icio.us austerity / sterit/
• n. (pl. -ties) (1) sternness or severity of manner or attitude.
(2) extreme plainness and simplicity of style or appearance: the room was decorated with a restraint bordering on austerity. (3) (austerities) conditions characterized by severity, sternness, or asceticism: his austerities had undermined his health. (4) difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce a budget deficit, esp. by reducing public expenditure: a period of austerity.

I used to work with a guy named Scott and each day, one or the other of us would go to the commissary to pick up lunch for both of us. One day I asked him if he wanted anything and he responded, "No Jill, I'm entering a period of austerity. I have to curtail spending and get a handle on my fiscal life". I remember laughing at the time, but given the current economic conditions today, I've made a choice to enter into my own period of austerity. Here is how my personal period of austerity is going so far:

Starbucks
Goodbye to Venti drips with an add shot and lots of cream. Hello to a $10 Chefmate coffee maker (on sale at Target yesterday for $7) and pre-ground Starbucks coffee (also on sale at Target yesterday).

Monthly Savings: $80
Yearly Savings: $960

Groceries
I find that if I make the 99 Cent Store my first stop, I can find many name brand items that my family likes. They are, of course, only 99 cents each. When you start to see that 6 items from Ralph's cost about $15 and the same 6 items at the 99 Cent Store cost $6, you might become greedy for these savings as I have become.

The second store on your list should then be Target. Target has a number of food items and of course, toiletries, cleaning items, etc. The trick here is to only shop for your food, cleaning or toiletries in one trip. If you become side tracked by clothing, toys or non-essentials, you will certainly spend more than if you limit your trip to only certain items. Use Target to fill out your weekly grocery purchases.

The next stop should be Trader Joes. They have an excellent selection of items and are less expensive than a major grocery store chain. They also carry hormone-free meats and milk that cost much less than if you purchased them at a store like Whole Foods. You can almost certainly find most major food items at Trader Joes.

Last resort stop (and I MEAN LAST RESORT) would be a major grocery store chain. But go armed with coupons and be prepared to only buy items that are on sale or that you have a coupon for. Concoct menus based on in-store specials and coupons.

Monthly Savings: $120 - $160
Yearly Savings: $1440 - $1920

Cable TV

I never could have imagined life without cable tv or tv at all. By a funny fluke, I did not reconnect my cable tv service when I moved in November (waiting for my friend's Uverse program to hit my neighborhood). At first, the kids questioned me at least once daily about when we would have cable tv again. However, once I started seeing the savings in not having the service, I was less inclined to sign back up for it. Also, I notice that my kids spend more time in interactive play, artwork, educational computer games and talking to me and to each other. This, I love! They have a portable dvd player and we rent dvd's to watch at a fraction of the cost of cable tv. As for me, my only tv vices were Lost (which I can watch online for free), Sex and the City reruns (which I can rent) and the occassional movie (which I can also rent). I have a laptop and spent an enjoyable weekend watching Waitress with Keri Russell in the privacy of my bedroom without my children. Heaven!

Monthly Savings: $75
Yearly Savings: $900

Sidebar on DVD Rentals
It occurred to me this morning that I can also save on the dvd rentals by checking them out from the library. DVD's usually cost around $4/each at Blockbuster and we usually get 3 at a time (2 for the girls, 1 for me) per week.

Monthly Savings: $48
Yearly Savings: $576

Ok folks, this is what I'm saving so far:

TOTAL MONTHLY SAVINGS: $323 - $363
TOTAL YEARLY SAVINGS: $3876 - $4356

If I can keep this up, I may just be able to handle the recession without getting a second job. :))

Tiny Figures

I think that all of you (or at least most of you) know that I started letting the girls walk to school this month. This was such a leap of faith for me. But when Z, very out-of-the-blue one day, asked when they could start walking to school, I decided there was no time like the present.

You have to understand that just a few short months ago, I couldn't imagine this. They seemed so young to me and the world so huge. There was a story circulating about a young boy who was followed by a man (most certainly up to no good) and ran to his school and straight to the office. Flyers were circulated, warning all of us local parents to be extra cautious. I remember forwarding the email to my friends, saying my children would never walk to school.

I also remember having a conversation with my friend Mary, who's children have been walking to and from school for years. She seemed more than a little perturbed, as she told me that she had taken a statistics class and that the chance of someone nabbing a child was less than them being struck by lightening. Still, as Soprano Spinner says, I didn't want to be that mommy on the news.

I started to really think about this more when we moved so close to the school. Truthfully, it helps that I knew there would be no major streets to cross and that our street seemed filled with other families, probably similar to ours. I replayed Mary's words in my head...based in statistics, not emotions (which I am full of).

Even more than these factors, I started to ask myself to have a little faith. Faith in God, of course, to keep them safe. But honestly, if God decided to take one or both of my children from me in some heinous way, faith would be cold comfort. I put my faith in technology...Z has a cell phone, she can call me if there are any problems along the way and let me know when they've arrived. I put my faith in the kids, that I have taught them about stranger awareness and that to return a friendly "Good morning" is different than getting into a car.

In the end, faith played a very little part in my decision. I think I just held my breath and did it. It's not easy for me. On the days that they walk, I watch them walk all the way down our street to the corner. When they turn the corner, I can't see them anymore. I go upstairs, clutching my cell phone the whole time, dress for work, think about my meetings for the day, the laundry I have to do, the errands I have to run. I glance at my cell phone many times and check the time. 8:02am...don't call, give Z a chance to be responsible and call you. 8:07...wait for it, wait for it. 8:10...the phone rings and I say "yay" out loud..."Hi baby, are you there?"...."yes mommy, we're here"...."Have a good day, I love you, good job!".

Then I say a silent prayer of thanks and say to the mommy..."good job".

I remember those days... cheerios, the mall... my favorite part was the afternoon naps with her... oh, that was sweet. thing is, she would nap with me now, if I'd let her, but she's big... od, she was so cute and little.

I must say, I am with my girl so darn much, I look forward to the time alone... those few hours when she is at a class. But, I do understand that feeling for the old days...

xo.

Guess we need another place to chat...

I have those moments quite a bit, those tugs at the heartstrings, those times of wishing it would just slow down, just a little. And I try to slow it.

I find myself every morning with my giant boy trying to keep him little, telling him how little he used to be. I ask him to stop growing and he says, "Mommy, I can't!" And I don't really want him to.

And I know that my blog companion here would love to have the time I have with my children and probably sometimes resents my complaints about needing time to myself when I have so much more time daily with the kids, but I think our needs are really the same in the end. We all need time with them, to feel like we're doing the right things, bringing them up to be good people, thoughtful and educated, compassionate and involved in their world. But we also need time to recharge, to be grown-ups, to not be angry, to find some peace, to find the font of energy from which all that child-rearing and patience and teaching comes.

So we complain about not enough time to appreciate them, to have fun with them, to appreciate ourselves, to have fun ourselves. And we always will, I suppose, until they leave us and we pine for them. Let that be far, far away.

The Tug at my Heart

It happened again today...that tug at my heart.

I went with my girlfriend G"L"C to the Glendale Galleria to buy some items for work. We split up, her going to run her errands and me to run mine. As I walked through the surprisingly crowded mall, there they were....the stay-at-home mommies...pushing their strollers or holding their toddler's hand.

There it was...that pang...again. Remembering those days with my own two babies...pushing their strollers, stopping to sit and have an iced coffee and dole out Cheerios from a baggie, killing time. Seems like there was so much time to be killed back then.

There are certainly days when I wish for those long-ago times, for the contented afternoons of strolling and shopping and lunching and driving (mostly to get them to fall asleep). It feels like those days were just yesterday. Did I remember to enjoy them? Or did I squander them, thinking they would last forever? Somewhere in between I'm sure.

But the tug at my heart isn't just for those days. It's for THESE days...days when I sit working at my desk, so wishing I could pick up my children from school, go run errands, maybe take them to the park. I don't know....just BE with them more....while they're young. Before they begin to REALLY roll their eyes at me (even more than they do now) and before they'd much rather walk home with friends. Now, when they see me drive up, they yell "Mommy, mommy!" in voices that say how excited and happy they are to see me. I know that, all too soon, that excitement will be gone. They will want to be independent and rides from mom will seem so very uncool. Or maybe that is when I will REALLY want to be a stay-at-home mom. When they need to be led through the perilous dangers of boys and trips to the mall and bad influences.

So I compensate a little everyday. Maybe I can't pick them up, but darn it, I can make the best half toasted cheese/half pbj bagels for breakfast ever. More work than just making them pick one or the other. But hey....when they still need you and want you....it seems like such a small task.

For those of you who actually get to spend portions of the day with your children, I hope you won't mind my envy.

Inaugural Blog

Hello friends and welcome to my new blog!



I've started this blog at the encouragement of several people and for several reasons:



* I love to write



* I love to share experiences, thoughts and feelings and have others do the same



* It just seems cool and me being a 46-year-old mommy of two can use all the cool I can get.



Please look forward to my posts as they occur to me and post your own!



NOTE: Blog name is based on two things I just told someone I believe in.