Day 23, I did something amazing!

UPDATE:  Yesterday, I wrote about the therapeutic act of cleaning my closet.  I donated my items to a good friend who writes a blog–"Pretty and Preggie on a second hand budget!" Take a look at how DeShong put the items to use!
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 SOMETHING AMAZING!

On to something amazing!  I know you're thinking that I climbed a mountain or something similar?  I didn't do that, but what I did was amazing for me!  I went to the MOVIES!  I happen to think that the price of a trip to the movies has gotten ridiculous!  The cost of a trip to the movies could easily run you $100–and to me that just doesn't makes sense– especially considering the fact that whenever my body rests in one place for two hours or so, I fall asleep!  I'd much prefer to rent a movie and be able to go back to it if I were to fall asleep!  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I can fall asleep in as little as 30 seconds!  My husband jokes about the fact that I fell asleep on our first date!  Look at the bright side–at least he knew early on that I was not a late-nighter!  But this time, I was well rested and decided to head to the movies!

My poor, deprived children got to experience a day at the movies with Mom!  They've been to the movies plenty of times, but almost always with their Dad.  In the last ten years, I've been to the movies, twice, maybe three times?!  I can remember seeing Mission Impossible 2--the one where Tom Cruise hangs from a cliff–and to be quite honest, I can't remember seeing much of anything else.  As I think about it, I can remember seeing Akeelah and the Bee with the girls!  Pretty sad, huh?

My eight-year old still shocked that not too 
long ago, many Blacks had to live as "the help."

This trip to the movies was different!  I bought the tickets in advance to assure a seat to see The Help.  I read the book early this year and was looking forward to seeing the movie.  I must admit that initially, I wasn't excited about hearing this story from a writer who wasn't black.  To my surprise, however, I think the author got it just right!  The stories in the book were so similar to my mother and grandmother's lives that it was hard to deny this author the respect she deserves for capturing the sentiment and experiences of "the help."  For those who haven't read the book or seen the movie, I won't ruin it for you, but I will say that both my daughters were in tears by the end of the movie.  My eight-year-old was crying the "ugly cry"–to the point where I had to tell her to pull it together!  As the tears rolled down their faces, I knew that my husband's decision to let us have a girls' day, while he stayed home with our smallest cargo, was a good idea!:)  He's not much into tear-jerkers!

Great Friends Give Great Advice!
One of my friends asked me what got me out to the movies.  The truth is that a good friend's thrifty advice made it all make sense to me.  Again, I couldn't dream of paying anywhere close to $100 on a movie and concessions.  Thanks to Michelle Hicks, I learned to experience the big screen on a budget!  Michelle has always been the Queen of finding great deals.  She is my go-to person for small or large purchases!  With five children, she has mastered the fine art of buying quality items at bargain prices.  I took Michelle's advice and decided to teach the girls this valuable lesson.



While grocery shopping earlier in the day, I let the girls buy movie theater box-sized candy for 88cents, a six-pack of Sprite (on sale for $3) and microwave popcorn, which was on sale for $1 (for 4 bags!)  The girls put the Sprite in the freezer so that it would stay cold until we got there and they each popped a fresh batch of popcorn before we left and brought napkins and their theater style candy.  They both grabbed a purse big enough for their items and off we went!

Another benefit–She gets to have Kettle corn!

Proud of our savings!

I actually stayed awake for the entire movie!  The girls were happy to spend a day with me.  The movie sparked good conversation around African-American history, the value of education and best of all, The Golden Rule...and we managed to do it all on a budget!  Life is good.

A great night!

Looking forward to Day 24!