fun stuff, free stuff!

This is going to be a post about almost nothing important. I just had some fun, surprising freebies in the past few days that I thought some of you, esp. my frugal/fit minded blog friends, would enjoy hearing about!

*Saturday I went to get my hair cut at the local cheapo place, maybe a Cost Cutters--can you tell I don't care?! Hey, when all you need is your bangs cut straight across and your ends trimmed, it is so not worth paying salon prices. But it had been so long since I had my hair/bangs cut--Thanksgiving? Seriously, those bangs were ok for quite a while, since I just wear them differently depending upon how long they get--but they stopped looking fine about two weeks ago, and did nothing but hang in my face. So it was about time! Imagine my pleased surprise to walk in and find they were having a special that day, so a normally $15 trim only cost $8.00! Whoo hoo! I could tip the stylist generously and still walk out ahead.

*Then after the haircut I tried to go to the mall across the street--hey, I was without children!--to look for some new pajama bottoms (my old ones were a gift from when Sunny was born, and they are wearing thin and hang like old man pants. So not fun to wear, and now part of the Great Purge!). Unfortunately, I was reminded of the many reasons why I so, so do not like malls, and ended up with nothing to show for my hour there except low blood sugar and light-headedness from all the formaldehyde in the air. So I stopped for a chai at the nearby Starbucks, since I still needed to stop for grocceries on the way home, and needed sustenance. I ordered my usual--grande, two pump, no water, nonfat chai in my very own stainless to-go cup, thank you very much--and for a special treat also selected a really yummy dark chocolate brownie. But a moment later I overheard the woman making the drink ask the cashier who had taken my order about the written instructions:"Is this a 2? I thought it was an 8!"

An EIGHT pump chai? I was going into a sugar coma just thinking about it. But I hate waste, so I told them not to dump it out, but just give it to me and I would take it home and add (like a gallon!) more milk. The woman was apologetic, and not only then gave me some plain steamed milk to have with my brownie (which goes much better, actually!) and a glass of water, but also gave me a coupon for a free drink next time I come in, to make up for the mistake!

So not only have I been having like two big chais a day here at home since then (and my travel mug is still half full!!!), but I have another free drink whenever I want one!

Which, honestly, will not be for a looooooong time. There can be too much of a good thing, I am learning. ; )

But still, whoo-hoo!

*Then yesterday we had a fun day out, me and the kids and my dear Becky and her kids--meeting up to go see the just released "Babies" in the theatre. It was the first movie my children had ever seen in a theatre, and they loved it, even Smiley! He stood on my lap and watched mesmerized for a great deal of the movie--and when it no longer had his full interest, my assortment of carefully doled out snacks and then nursing kept him good until right before the credits, when he finally decided he had been sitting long enough. Perfect! It was a very good film, accessible to the kids on one level, to the discerning adult on other levels--I recommend it.

Afterwards my little troop headed a few blocks down from the theatre to get bagels, and I was surprised to see such a low selection of bagels, until the guys behind the counter pointed out that, it being 4:50, they were closing in ten minutes. Ah. (I don't get out much.) But because of that, and probably because they felt sorry for me for having so many kids, and because they heard my kids excitedly asking about all the food for sale, they stuck in about 5 extra bagels and some cinnamon/sugar bagel bite things. For free!

Whoo-hoo!

*And then afterwards I took Sunny and Merry to their Korean Martial Arts class, and DH gave up his own participation (he started taking classes there about two months ago, when he started carpooling. By carpooling he has to go to work earlier, but then gets home in time for the 6:00 class, and he is paying for the class with the money he has saved on gas--win win!) so that I could take advantage of the "Moms train free in May" promotion going on this month, and join the cardio kick boxing class.

Yes. I spent an hour doing cardio-kickboxing. And there were two good things about it:
1) it was free
2) I was not as out of shape as I had thought!

Way back, two children ago, I took a cardio kick-boxing class for a month, and really liked it. It was a killer for the first two weeks, but then you get used to it and it is fun and makes you feel really, really good. And DH said I got a butt. Which I guess is a good thing in this case. But one day while in the class I got so lightheaded and weak I started to pass out and had to go outside for fresh air and then was so shaky I drove immediately over to some deli and wolfed down a huge meat sandwich and a big orange juice.

Which was how I found out I was pregnant with Happy.

And which was my first experience with low blood sugar. (Oh, the days before the daily psychosis of blood sugar issues!)

And which was why I quit kick-boxing.

SO anyway, last night I was completely shocked that it all came back immediately, and I was not at all pushing myself, but was keeping up and only had to take a few ten-second breathers here and there. I felt like I belonged there, not like some pathetic, out-of-shape mom who is about to die. Hmmm, ok, well maybe that is what I looked like, but it is not what I felt like, and that is what counts.

So, WHOO-HOO!


Such little things, but they still brightened my days. : )