How to Have a Morning Luxury for a One-Time Fee of $6

So, let me just get this out of the way.  My new year has sucked.  Like nothing bad has happened... at all, really.  I count my blessings because with 5 people in a nuclear family, there is high likelihood of catastrophe at any given point.  And I definitely have some friends who have already been through the wringer before January is even over.  So, I guess I'm saying that this is silly for me to feel this way, and I acknowledge it and I aim to move past it, but it's where I am.  2014 has thus far been the year of suck.

One of the reasons is that I really intended to get a grip on my life and what I'm doing and where I'm going.  There are lots of reasons that I won't go into, but the short of it is that I have many loose strings that I am certain could be the beautiful bow on top of a much-needed gift to the world and humanity if only I could figure out how to tie them all up.

I have not yet been successful.  And I know what you're thinking... 2014 just started.  You have the whole year to tie them up.  That's the point, right?  Yes.  It is.  It's the year to tie them up.  But little impatient me wanted to tie them up at least enough to have a plan for the beautiful bow by now.

Kind of like... I wanted to at least have googled "How to make a beautiful bow out of all your scraps of string" and to have scoured all the e-hows and instructables so that I could move forward with the actual crafting.  But I have barely sat down to open up my browser.

And what, you ask, does this have to do with morning luxury?

Well, this is my one success story, so I share it here.

One of my epiphanies was that I need to have tangible rewards for the behaviors that I seek to change.  One of those is to enjoy exercise more.  I already exercise 3 times a week, but I wanted to change my attitude toward it, so I started eating one small square of some amazing chocolate that I won in dirty Santa at Christmas.  It has significantly increased my desire to exercise, and surprisingly, I haven't found every other excuse to eat it in the meantime.

Another habit that I wanted to reestablish was that of waking up and spending time reading the Bible and praying.  I haven't had this habit for ... oh, 7 years.  It's really been since Ashlyn was born that I haven't had any kind of consistency with daily faith experiences.  I mean, Christ is my life, so I absolutely would think about him or shoot some prayers his direction here and there throughout the day, but I'm not a surface-type person.  I'm a dig deep and explore kind of person, and so it was frustrating that I wasn't having those moments consistently.  I also find that time to be a grounding as I go about my day.  It reminds me of the truths I believe and when I get stuck in a rut of selfishness, it jerks me back to reality that everyone else is just as precious as I am, and that in no way undermines my worth, it only testifies to the vastness of love.

So, I needed a reward because Heaven knows that waking up early is not my strong suit.

With no further ado, here's the 4-step process of how I get to have morning luxury for a one-time fee of $6.

1.  Sell a high-priced item on eBay.  I sold Rosetta Stone, which I've since found out is illegal.  So, maybe try something else.  You will earn almost $15 in eBay credits.  If your buyer flakes out and doesn't pay like mine does, you will still have your product and eBay will not take away your credits.  I found this to be very considerate of them.

2.  Buy a 1-cup coffee maker on eBay 3 months later when your reward bucks are valid.  I did hours of research for you, and I've found that the best one for the luxury of a porcelain mug is by a brand I've never heard of.  You might be hesitant to go with something you've never heard of, but it will be worth it.  Hundreds of reviews can't be wrong, and besides I have it and can vouch for it.  On eBay it will actually be $3 more expensive, but remember... you have $15 of credit.

3.  Set up the coffee maker in in your master bathroom.  Also, be sure to get everything prepared the night before you want to use it, or else it kind of defeats the purpose. If you don't drink coffee... #1. What's wrong with you? and #2. This is not quite hot enough to dissolve your hot chocolate, but it will brew a tea bag instead.

4.  Enjoy coffee (or tea or lumpy hot chocolate) in your nice warm bed while reading under your cozy blankets.  

Bonus step:  If you have a reliable digital outlet timer, you can set it to start brewing about 7 minutes before you want to get out of bed.  I tried this with an analog timer, and it was not accurate enough to be worth it, so now I just get up and turn the machine off while my alarm snoozes.

In the Meantime...

The other day, I quasi-promised myself and you (my loyal 2 readers) that I would get my rear in gear this week and move forward in this new year, new life mentality.  That is, I will take it from a thought to an action.  How I will do that is still a question for debate, but right now I'm giving myself the continued excuse of waiting for a book to come in at my library that should revolutionize the way I look at writing and, shortly thereafter, change my entire existence.  One of these days I will write that kind of book.

But for now, I thought I would just give you a glimpse into today.  This dull-drum day that begin at 6:10 when I miraculously arose in accordance with my alarm clock.  Actually, this isn't so miraculous these days, as there is a simple explanation, which I will share in the form of another sarcastic post on another day.  For now, you need know nothing except that I arose.  And from that you should be proud of me.

Well, I'm proud of myself anyway.  You probably don't really like me telling you what you should or should not know, feel, or do.  If you do like it, um, that's a little weird.

The day quickly, and for no reason whatsoever, met a not-so-subtle decrescendo after Billy left for work.  Today, I took it as my queue to be completely self-centered and to neglect the fact that I alone am responsible for my child's education.  Me and no one else.  And I just let my kid sleep until she awoke on her own.  Mainly because I wasn't up for a fight.  Which is a large portion of why we are sending her to school next year (ooops, hadn't you heard that yet?)

So, I was well aware that I was only affirming her negative habits, but that knowledge wasn't enough for me to change my course of action.  I am happy to say, however, that I did not get on facebook and play Pet Rescue Saga.  So, I have that going for me, which is nice.  In reality, I planned my outing to CVS because shopping there on a budget takes some serious manipulation.

And that was my morning.  The girl eventually woke up and we got along with our day, still somewhat lethargically, but at least we did enough to technically count it for credit according to bare minimum state standards. 

Happy Chinese New Year, maybe?

I had intended to write sooner.  I had all these end of 2013 reflections that kinda kicked me in the rear with a big, "Get moving, woman!" thrown in for good measure.  I have many things that I'm seeking, many things that I'm thinking... many more that I haven't even begun to grasp.

But procrastination has been my companion these weeks.  Not even that kind of procrastination that stems from the lack of motivation or a particular distaste for a given task.  Rather, there is nothing this writer enjoys more than writing.  Well, I can think of something, after all, but it's not really your business but I'm not too much of a prude to talk about it.  I just think it would embarrass some of you, so I'm going to hint around the topic and carry on as if you knew what I'm talking about.

So, yes, to me, writing is a pastime.  It's not simply the production of an end-product.  It is the experience.  It is the unveiling of my heart on paper.  It is the exploration of my thoughts, the time when I myself only begin to understand what I think.  It is the mean I use to know myself, to conduct logical exercises, to confirm my beliefs, to challenge my preconceived notions, and to share myself with those around me.

Yet I have forsaken it.

Because there is too little time and too much content.  Those times when I have sat down to write have ended with ramblings, cursory glances at the myriad of topics bouncing around in my head.  To say I scratched the surface would be generous.  I merely realized that the surface existed.  And perhaps that it was quite itchy.

And here is where I betray myself.  Because I have too many directions to go from here to effectively communicate myself to you.  How do you say something when you don't know what there is to be said?

So, I hope yet to take this desire for knowing myself and sharing myself and to come to some understanding about what I have of value to give to you.  So, perhaps, I will be able to know what goals I have for the future by the time the Chinese New Year arrives.  Because really... what's a new year except a page on a calendar?  And what makes my new year more worthy of my offerings than one from the other side of the globe?

So... yes, that's what I will attempt (you see my hesitation, as if I don't even believe myself?)... to have a place to start... next week.

Following the Leader

Every so often, I fall prey to caring about what society says.  Honestly, it doesn't happen all that much.  I'm usually pretty okay with being an individual, but hey!  we all want a little validation now and again, am I right?  Unfortunately, most of the time, when I start to care about what society says, it usually just ends with me feeling like crap about myself.  Case in point...

I am not a leader.  I do not want to be a leader.  I have no crowd asking me to lead.  It seems like this is working for everyone involved.  But if you look a little closer, you'll realize that society tells us that only leaders are worthwhile, and that is the only reason (according to what you hear in general society) to pay attention and/or give time to children:  because they are the leaders of tomorrow.

But... you know that cliche... which apparently no one believes... about having too many chiefs and not enough Indians?  (queue the P.C. police now)  Well.  I actually do believe that.  And I'm actually pretty solidly happy being an Indian.  For those of you that don't know, I actually wanted to be an Indian when I was a child.  Like not for Halloween.  It's what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I was beyond bummed when I realized that being a so-called native American was part of your DNA and not a career option. 

So, imagine my enthusiasm when I examined my life and found that I am a metaphorical Indian.  Well, my enthusiasm was actually not very high because I don't usually get that excited about anything, even things that I care a lot about.  Still.  I am an Indian.

When Billy and I were doing some marriage counseling several years ago, one of the things that we learned is that more people in America test as "phlegmatic" or lazy.  There are actually lots of really good qualities to phlegmatics.  Being lazy is just a part of it.  So, I figured that if I feel inadequate by society's preferences for leaders, and most Americans are not naturally leaders by personality, then there are probably many people who feel some sort of societal pressure to be something they are not, when what we really need anyway are more good followers.

So, I present... after that obnoxiously long introduction... my short list of encouragement for followers.

1.  Being a follower makes a leader great. 

By definition a leader cannot lead if s/he has no followers.  This should be pretty straight forward.  Therefore, by following someone, you are contributing to that person's potential for greatness.  They would not be a great leader if you were not there to follow.

2.  Being a follower can be a very intellectually stimulating pursuit.

Sometimes, the word "follower" is used in a derogatory sense, particularly with kids in the bad crowd.  I know my husband and I have talked about whether our kids would do okay in the public schools and decided that for now, they would not because they are "followers." 

But followers can choose who to follow, and it is much like defining and refining a belief system.  For an incredibly over-used and obvious example, consider Hitler.  Many people followed him, and they were all presumably stupid. 

But many people also followed Steve Jobs and... okay bad example... same conclusion as above.

But many people also followed Martin Luther King, Jr., and they were smart people.

Obviously, it's not this cut and dry.  But you get the point...  The followers can choose which leader they will follow by using their minds to reason through and understand their beliefs.  The fact that many people follow without doing this doesn't undermine the value of following with doing this.

3.  While we are following, chances are, we are still leading someone.

Most people have someone in their life that looks to them.  For parents, it's obviously our children.  But even for those without children, there are tons of opportunities for interpersonal relationships that often are not viewed by our culture as "leading" opportunities, but they absolutely are!  There are new co-workers who will often look to the veterans for how co-workers interact in a particular company.  There are neighbors who will put gutters on their house because they saw you do it, and there you are leading your part of town to care for their homes a little more and revitalize.  (This is real life, people; it don't get better than this!)

And because I am only mildly passionate about anything, I have lost steam and will close with just one last thought -

THE END.

Everywhere But Here

If you have been asking yourself why I haven't posted lately, I will first ask you why you are being so judgmental.  Once we have that out of the way, I'll let you know that I have been doing a lot of writing lately.  I've been a verifiable writing machine, people.  I just haven't done any of it here. 

In November, as I've already mentioned on here, I started writing for the 100 Thing Challenge blog.  That has been fun and challenging at times, as it has forced me to be focused on a very specific aspect of my life - namely, simplicity.  Now, simplicity is something that pervades my life, so it's not incredibly difficult, but in some aspects, it becomes a challenge because for me, part of simplicity is that I don't even think about it.  I've structured my life in such a way that I don't always need to consciously think about making simplicity-focused decisions.  So, sometimes, I don't even link areas of my life to simplicity because... well, it's just normal, right?  Except it's not really, and sometimes, I have to remind myself of how weird I actually am.

I've also started taking a couple of Courera class: specifically, some writing classes.  It's also been fun and challenging.  I originally signed up to have access to the videos because as a writing teacher, I wanted to see how some professors at top universities teach writing.  I've been pleased to find that Duke professors teach it much the same as I do.  So, it's good to know that they are up to par. 

Actually, I have learned some great stuff from Prof. Comer, which I won't go into now.  But beware, any students I have.  I already incorporated some of it into my current class, and those suckers don't even know it.

So, yeah... that class has kept me very busy, but don't worry!  On top of it, I did find time this morning to write about 20 Amazon reviews, which kind of makes it sound like I buy a lot of stuff, which doesn't mesh well with the simplicity that I just claimed above.   But actually, the purchases were from the last year, and included things like water filters.  I started reviewing things on Amazon once I found out that top reviewers can get free things to review.  But I am not prolific enough to really make a dent in my rating, so why do I even try?

Delta Queen Review: The Charm Only Goes So Far

On March 8-9, 2013, my husband and I traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., for a little anniversary getaway.  There's so much to do there, and I plan to write some reviews of activities there to help other people plan their trip.  Today, I wanted to talk, specifically, about the hotel we stayed out - The Delta Queen.

The Delta Queen is a paddle boat from the early 1900's that has been docked and was turned into a hotel in 2009.   We got a Living Social deal for 2 nights (including hot breakfast), $10 at the gift shop, $25 credit at the restuarant, and a bottle of wine and fruit tray.  All of that cost $187.  So, we arrived on Friday, around dinnertime and stayed until check-out (11am) on Sunday.

There's definitely some history and charm to the place, but as we found out, charm can only go so far when it is competing against untrained (sometimes rude) staff, broken water heaters, and the general noise of a hotel.

The Good

Something we loved about the hotel was the great location.  Not only was it quaint to board a ship for the night, but it was also located in just the right area of the town, next to a great park on the north shore of the Tennessee river. and in between the John Ross (Market Street) and Walnut Street bridges.  The Walnut Street bridge is a bridge only for foot traffic, and Chattanooga has such a walkable downtown, that this made for a great, convenient start to our day.  Also, because Chattanooga is the home the Moonpie, the hotel offered unlimited free miniature Moonpies for guests.

Another thing that we enjoyed was simply the history of the boat and opportunity to pretend that we were among the significantly wealthy of the turn of the century.  On Saturday, we spent a lazy morning at the hotel and took a self-guided tour.  My husband and I are both quite interested in history, and since we live a simple lifestyle, we thought it was fun to think about what a riverboat cruise in 1920 would be like.  Certainly not the same as an ocean liner these days!

Finally, I really loved that there was no phone or TV in the rooms.   I guess this could be something that goes either way for different people, but for me, it was awesome.  It kind of forced us to focus on each other, even after we'd just spent all day together (can you tell my primary love language is quality time?).   Instead of wake-up calls, you could sign up for a wake-up knock, which I thought was charming.  They did have wi-fi, but it was only good enough for general e-mail checking, as photos didn't even load.

The Bad

Unfortunately with the charm of an old boat, you also get the inconvenience of the time.  It was obvious that they did not do a complete overhaul on the plumbing and ventilation systems.  I'm not sure what that would have taken, but the result was that the toilets were difficult to flush (had to hold the handle down continually) and the rooms were incredibly cold (they offered space heaters if you needed, but at night the comforters were enough for us).  Because the ventilation was old, the doors to the rooms were designed for airflow, instead of to block noise.  There was also a nice little game table directly outside our room, which caused more noise at night than I preferred.  It wasn't horrible, but I would imagine it would be worse in the summer, when there are more guests.

In addition to this general, constant state of the hotel, there was also a problem with the water heater, as in... there was almost no hot water.  When we complained at the front desk, we were quickly told (by the manager, I believe) that the water was just being used by too many people at once, and it needed to run for 20 minutes in order to get hot, but after that length of time, we were only able to achieve tepid water, making bathing was particularly painful.  We later found out that the water heater was broken.  At checkout, I asked for a refund of my taxes (which had not been included in the Living Social price), and they said that they would be giving refunds to everyone due to the water situation.  Unfortunately, they have not yet refunded my $30, despite me having called twice.

The last thing that really didn't sit well with us was the lack of employee training in general, from the check-in experience to the "nice dinner" in their restaurant.  To me, the first experience at a hotel charging $140/night for a standard room should be a warm welcome and the general feeling that the staff is there to help me have a comfortable stay.   The check-in girl was curt and unhelpful when we were asking about parking (they have no designated parking lot).  The girl working front desk in the morning was much nicer, but did not seem to know the answers to questions or have keys to important locks (such as the one that could turn off the fire alarm that went off at 8am on Saturday morning).  I could tell by her constant apologies that she wanted to make our stay enjoyable, so it was clearly her training that was at fault and not her own attitude.  In the restaurant, the waitress didn't know what kind of beers were available and failed to bring drink refills after multiple requests. 

The Verdict

Overall, The Delta Queen needs new management and repairs to make it a hotel worth recommending.  So, while Chattanooga is a great place for a getaway, another hotel would be a better choice.

Pinewood Derby

It was something that I'll be honest about... not that I tend to sugar coat anything else I put up on the blog, anyway.  I have always kind of thought of the Pinewood Derby concept as a dork contest.  Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I've pretty much thought of boy scouts, in general, as a big dork fest.    My idea of boy scouts is probably not unlike many people's idea of homeschoolers.   There are those totally weird-o ones out there and we all get a tarnished rap because of them.  So, I'm admitting right here, right now that my prejudice against these handkerchief tying, short-short-wearing guys is unfair and wholly unattractive of me.

So, today, we went to a Cub Scout Pack 400 Pinewood Derby.  And it was a blast.  It was so fun to watch the boys hope for their car's success and be proud of the victories.  It was equally fun to see that no one had poor sportsmanship about losing.  It was just a fun time for all.

A couple of weeks ago, I admitted to not liking other people's kids, so it continues to amuse me how much I like these kids that we have been able to hang out with and get to know over the last 6 months. 

Today was also cool, though, because we got to meet some parents, which for our little group is a more uncommon occurrence than most boy scout groups.  This isn't your typical pack.  It's an inner city group, comprised mostly of children living in government housing.   Most of the boys don't have uniforms, let alone badges.  They don't go camping or sit still long enough to learn to tie knots.  They run around threatening each other with make-shift weapons of thrown chairs and fists.  But they are amazing. 

They are children who love attention and remember you when you come back.  They are kids who hear the message of peace you're giving them even when their ingrained habits take over when you hope they'll back down from a fight.  They are kids who make me smile as much as I make them smile.

Pretty impressive feat for other people's kids.