Tuesday, April 25, 2017

To Build a Bear, or not to build a bear, that is the question....

This past weekend,  I had to work on Saturday.  Marlina and the kids had no definite plans and that usually means trouble for me.  Sure enough, they call mid day and explain that they had to get out of the house and they are going to Academy so Luke could purchase a basketball jersey.  Well, I get home to find out that he purchased the jersey and Katie purchased a geology kit where she dissolves this brick of mud to expose the buried gems inside.  Well, she gets ripped off in the fact that this particular one only encased one ugly rock instead of the normal 8-9 crystals.  Lesson learned, I assumed.

After showing me their treasures (or lack thereof), I decide to settle down for a late afternoon nap.  After snoozing for a few, I was awakened by my little girl announcing that it was time for Dad and Kate time, bemoaning the fact that, in her opinion, it had been forever since we had spent some time just her and I.  I relented and got up.  She suggested a few places to go, and I suggested we go to Kemah in hopes that we could have a happy hour together at one of the many fine establishments on the water.  She had other ideas.

We ended up over there and she immediately drug me to the new Build A Bear workshop.  Thats fine, I said to myself, we will just look.  And, she had already purchased a new toy earlier in the day.  But.................She really, really wanted one, but my Dad voice took over and I shut down the episode.  Then she brought out the big gun.  "Dad, I will use my own money!"  Normally, I would think this was great, but A)She had been telling me for weeks that she wants to save enough money to purchase and Apple watch and B)She had already purchased one toy the same day, and C)25$ for a teddy bear is a bit absurd, then you have to purchase the clothes separately.  But....on the other hand, A)who am I to tell someone how to spend their own money, even if I don't agree with what they are spending the money on, and B)I don't really want her to have an Apple watch anyways, because a 6 year old doesn't need that kind of toy.


Well, as you can see, I was in a bit of a pickle.  This is what I did, and I don't know if it was right or wrong, but it is what I did.  I shut the plan down on site.  I explained to her that she informed me that she wanted to save her money for a larger purchase down the road and that by spending her money she would never accomplish that goal of saving up.  She didn't cry, but she was disappointed.  I couldn't even get her to eat ice cream.  We made the journey home and she went upstairs and shut the door to her room.  I waited a few minutes going through everything in my mind and then I also went upstairs.  I knocked and entered.  I then sat her down and explained to her that I wanted her to think long and hard about it over night and decide if she truly wanted to spend her money or would she rather save it up.  If she truly wanted to spend her money, we would return the next day.  After all, it was her money.  Her face lightened up and she said she would think about it.  She liked the plan.

Well, long story short, we returned the next day and she purchased Rosy the bear with her own money.    I didn't want her to get that Apple watch anyways......

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

March, where did you go???

Well, here we are, already in April, and I didn't manage to blog once in March.  Now that I am looking back, it is a good time to evaluate those new year's resolutions. 

1.  Exercise three times a week, minimum--Well, I have joined a gym, and am efforting to get there three times a week.  I have started going before work, but have not found it always conducive to do so.  After work is not an option either, as the gym is crowded and someone needs to cook dinner.  That only leaves during lunch time, which I might try on days that I don't make it before work.  I have enjoyed it, and it does make me feel better.  But, then again, it has only been one month of doing so.  Lets see if the habit sticks.

2.  Go camping 5 times--Well, we have been once, and are scheduled to go again in May.  Two times out of the first half of the year is not going to cut it.  Need to up that and see if I can go again before May ends.  We ended up going to Huntsville State Park with the Garza's, Murphy's, and the Sender's.  We are going with them again, only this time we are going to Austin State Park in Sealy.  I have never been to this park as an adult, so I am curious as to the amenities.  There is not much to do around Sealy, so I am a little skeptical, but will come with an open mind.  I would love it if yall shared some insight on this park.  Also, when we went camping with this bunch last time, Marlina and I were the last around the campfire, and definitely had the most empty containers around us.  Hopefully, this time around, the campfire will be attended better. 

3.  Read 5 books--I have completed one, and am halfway through the next one.  The first was Huck Finn, by Mark Twain.  It was the first time I have read this classic and I will admit, it took me a while to get in the flow of the language.  Those of you who have read it recently will remember that the entire book was written in the "language" of the uneducated American youth of the late 1800's.  That takes a smidgen of time to grasp when you used to the politically correct climate of today.

That was it, or at least as much as I am going to share today.  My other resolution was to blog more.  I did pretty good in the first months of the year, but fell off in March.  April will be better.  Don't forget to click the link below to subscribe.