Today I Am . . . A Woman, Interrupted

by Katy on July 6, 2015 · 31 comments

Today I am . . . 

  • Happy to have brought our own meals while flying from Portland, Oregon to NYC.
  • Moved by my library copy  of Beverly Cleary’s On My Own Two Feet, which came in just in time for airplane reading.
  • Proud of my son who quietly read his library book while flying amongst passengers who stared at their digital devices.
  • Really, really hoping that my eBay Birkenstocks get mailed to my sister house by the end of the week, as I only brought a single pair of shoes with me.
  • Super duper bummed to that the thunderstorms between Dulles and Laguardia airports cancelled my already-on-the-tarmac flight and stranded my son and I at the airport until our 6 A.M. flight.
  • Pleased that we’re flying into JFK instead of Laguardia, as it makes it possible to take the subway close enough to my sister’s house for her to come pick us up. I had resigned myself to the cost of a $40 cab ride, so this will work better. (Although by the time we land, I may collapse into a cab.)
  • Relieved that we chose to not check any luggage. It pays to have minimalist tendencies, as all the passengers who’d checked their luggage were freaking out.
  • Bringing review copies of books and a fancy-but-from-Goodwill American Girl nightstand as gifts to my ten-year-old niece. (And bringing my son as a gift to my fifteen-year-old nephew.)
  • Already tired, but with four hours to go until our morning flight.

Update: We finally flew out at 6 A.M. and I put my sorry tuchus into a taxi and blew $73 on a cab including the tip. My Birkenstocks came today and sadly were the narrow footbed instead of the described mediums. We didn’t sleep at all, and I think I might be a hummingbird at this point. (<— Apu reference.) Tomorrow is a new day.

Now your turn. What are you doing today?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }

Mand01 July 7, 2015 at 2:17 am

Working, and finishing up reading the fourth Harry Potter to my ten year old. Then we can start on The Order of the Phoenix (my favourite). I’ve loved reading these aloud to her. I know that in about a year, she probably won’t be interested in hearing books aloud from me anymore, so I’m treasuring this time with her now.

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cathy July 7, 2015 at 8:02 am

Your daughter might surprise you. Several years ago, we read the HP books aloud as a family. The most fun was on a road trip/camping. At the time, my kids were 12 and almost 8. We were reading Deathly Hallows. The only “bad” thing was that my older son was so into the story, he’d read ahead on his own because he didn’t want to wait for us! About two years ago, we read The Hobbit aloud (in advance of one of the movies). Sat outside around the firepit at night. We have friends who read aloud a lot as a family. Those kids are 16 and 12.

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K D July 7, 2015 at 2:36 am

Today I am:

Waiting for a glass company to come replace the windshield on my daughter’s car. I found a Groupon like deal that will save me $81.

Hoping to coordinate a trip to the orchard with a friend this week. She always drives (her preference) so it will be a chance to catch up and get some great food at a good price (mostly peaches I would guess).

I just re-booked our rental car for an upcoming trip. This is the third reservation I have made and the price is now about half what the original price was. This was all using the same rental car company.

Due to our glut of rain recently we have a few ants in the house. I will go around this morning and put out a borax/sugar/water formula. a non-toxic and cheap solution (I already have borax).

I will walk up to the grocery store and buy one of their loss leaders. A bit of exercise and maybe I’ll find a coin or two (cheap entertainment).

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Maureen July 7, 2015 at 2:45 am

I myself spent the night at a friend’s house and visited with some old friends that I moved away from last year. This morning after breakfast, my friend will drop me off at the Amtrak station and I will head West with my daughter picking me up. I was going to take the train all the way to her town, but we have a friend in the hospital half way between the 2 stops so my daughter will drive a little bit and we’ll pay a get-well visit to our friend.

My whole vacation has been planned with staying at family and friends houses, so I am only paying for the tranportation to get there. Which is fine by me! And the people driving me around like the fact that I am taking a turn filling a gas tank.

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Jill July 7, 2015 at 4:26 am

Sorry to hear about your flight. I’ve recently had two instances where my flight was on the tarmac and we had to deplane – one was due to thunderstorms like yours. (We’ve had some family medical problems so I’ve been flying much more than normal) This weekend I am driving to a wedding and I am relieved to be in charge of my schedule rather than the airlines 🙂 Have a fun visit with your sister!

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Jill A July 7, 2015 at 4:30 am

Today I am not sleeping in an airport…..

I will be spending most of the day setting up for a garage sale. Hopefully I’ll get rid of a lot of stuff and make some money this weekend.

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Amanda July 7, 2015 at 5:07 am

Today I am
-glad I didn’t have to sleep in an airport last night!
-dealing with a hospital bill that didn’t get submitted to insurance. I paid it before I realized that, so I’m preparing for battle
-starting round two of rewrites on my thesis
-running errands of donations and recycling and the library. I love free errands!
-planning to pick up a book at the library for my husband. He seems to be in a mid-30s slump lately. He is unhappy with his physique and how much his business is making. I’m not sure what I can do to support him. I’m hoping the book will have words of wisdom.
-taking the kids to the free city pool if the weather holds out

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Betty Winslow July 7, 2015 at 5:49 am

Today I am….
Finishing listening to Living Well, Spending Less, by Ruth Soukup, while I clean the kitchen and bake some blueberry muffins.
Moving my plant stand to a new spot in the living room where it will be passed by a couple of times a day (so maybe the plants will actually get watered and stop dying ).
Going to the library this afternoon to drop off some books and DVDs that are due, pick up some on hold, and donate a box of preview copies to the children’s dept. for prizes.
Glad I’m not stuck in an airport!

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e July 8, 2015 at 12:47 am

Just wondering your thoughts on Ruth’s book. It has mixed reviews and a lot of ppl have said how much it talks about how she is still a spender and how it doesn’t align with the frugal movement. My library doesn’t have it so I’d have to buy it (around $14). I’d appreciate if you think it’s worth it! Thank you in advance!

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MamaMinou July 7, 2015 at 6:07 am

How did you fit a nightstand into a carry on bag?
Have a wonderful vacation!!

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K D July 7, 2015 at 6:29 am

The nightstand is for an 18″ American Girl doll.

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Carol Maskus July 7, 2015 at 6:14 am

-Going to meet an old friend for breakfast. Bummed about paying for it, but I think I can get in under $10. It would feel antisocial to just get coffee.

-Meeting a financial planner to (finally) initiate my retirement plan

-Buying more groceries, with the caveat that I will see how I can work off the stuff already in the pantry

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Anne July 7, 2015 at 7:38 am

Regarding reading your library books on the plane while others stared at their digital devices. It occurred to me that many of those passengers may have ALSO been reading library books ON their digital devices.

I have such a reading addiction that I can no longer carry enough books with me for any length of time so I now download a dozen or so onto my e-reader before I leave home.

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kelsey_tish July 7, 2015 at 8:20 am

Anne, i’m the same way! I almost always have 2-3 books going at once and i love not having to carry them around with me! i can just whip out my phone or my e-reader and i’m set to go with any book i want. LOVE technology for that!

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Michelle July 7, 2015 at 3:16 pm

I had the same thought! These days, I’m more likely to be reading something on my phone than holding a paperback. It’s one less thing to carry around with me. (I save the paperbacks for bathtub reading.)

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Linda in Mass July 9, 2015 at 3:48 am

I used to take 4 or more books with me when going on vacation or trip. Now I just take 1 book and my iPad or ereader. I am never without a book! I would rather read from a traditional book but the readers are very convenient for traveling.

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livingrichonthecheap July 7, 2015 at 7:47 am

Don’t beat yourself up if you end up cabbing it = sometimes ease far outweighs the money, especially when you’ve had a really long travel day.

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Anna July 7, 2015 at 7:50 am

* Going for a long walk with friends in the park. Free, refreshing and good for the soul.
* Using the last bits of various bags of frozen fruit in oatmeal pancakes. The mix of mango and berries is delicious! Use ’em up!
* Getting some free baby hand-me-downs from a co-worker. So thankful to NOT have purchased or received any *new* baby items yet!

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AnnDenee July 7, 2015 at 8:01 am

Making butter
Mowing before the rain hits..grrr
Reading up on Charlotte Mason homeschooling
Getting excited about starting homeschooling
Planning to spend the afternoon in the AC at the library or at the bowling alley

Cheer! Enjoy NYC!!

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Reese July 7, 2015 at 2:42 pm

I would LOVE to know your exact methods for butter making. Its on my list to try and sounds so daunting at times….

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Rebecca@TheFamilyFinder.Net July 7, 2015 at 9:53 am

Sorry about your delay!!!

-I will not use my car from Monday when we got back from the grocery store until Friday.
-I am not spending any money since I am not leaving the house.

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auntiali July 7, 2015 at 11:56 am

Oh, Katy, just think – if you had your Lear Jet or any other private jet you may have been able to make it to NYC. Or sleep in comfort. I don’t mind waiting in an airport but dh is terrible at it.

1. Making the turkey breast that I got free at Easter.
2. Doing laundry. Don’t hang on the line due to horrible allergies.
3. Went to the library last night and picked up a couple of books and a magazine.
4. Have the curtains closed in the living room. That room gets sun from noon til sunset.
5. Looking forward to my sister’s visit at the end of July.

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Reese July 7, 2015 at 3:11 pm

I’m laughing over the lear jet comment.
#shouldhaveboughtthelearjet

The next new hashtag? 😉

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Isabelle July 7, 2015 at 12:31 pm

* picking up some groceries with “buy this, get that free” offers totaling about 50$ of free food
* Cleaning the old house (washing cupboards, floors, etc)
* working my usual 3.75h shift
* Taking a night off from the kids (hubby’s with them) and reading/watching Netflix in my room
* Getting over a too-big restaurant lunch (and too expensive!). Feeling dehydrated and unwell, yark.

Have a great frugal day! (And a good trip!)

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tonya July 7, 2015 at 3:23 pm

Driving home from a trip. We stayed with family and packed lunch for the drive home.

Reading library books on the trip.

Using my Hubby’s work WiFi hotspot to access the internet ( we have $12/month WiFi only smart phones). Data on the go without the data on the go prices!

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Chris July 7, 2015 at 6:22 pm

Looking over library books that were picked up on hold – including Pioneer Girl which I saw recommended here.

Learning more about selling on half.com – son was home and cleared out books, DVDs and CDs. Suggestions, anyone?

Cooking at home and using up lots of leftovers from son and daughter-in-law’s visit – lunches for the week!

On an etsy selling run – been at the post office yesterday, today and have a package to go out tomorrow.

Woke up at 4:15AM!! Before 8:00 had 3 loads of laundry done, sheets on the line, dinner prepped, walked the dog – pretty groggy the rest of the day!!

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pattilou July 7, 2015 at 6:42 pm

Sorry to hear about your flight Katy. Packing food for the trip always helps! My nephew was flying to Norway and I packed a good sized bag of snacks (fruit, trail mix ,some cookies etc) for his trip. He thought it was a riot that I had done this but boy was he grateful halfway through that long trip that I had done so! I always have something to hold me over in case of a delay. On a recent trip I was delayed a few hours and was able to create a lunch right out of my carry on.

-Stayed with my niece over night and had a great time trying some of the products that she sells as a rep for a company that sells all organic products. It was like a little spa trip.
-took advantage of an offer from a neighbor to use their pool while they are out of town. The kids had a blast and I got some exercise.
-made a nice home cooked meal for everyone after the pool time.
-going to sit down now and enjoy some quiet time with a book.

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Canadian Lilly July 7, 2015 at 8:40 pm

Sorry to hear about your delay–hope you have an amazing time with your sister.

Today I have a day off and planned a beach day but since it was raining it turned into an errand day:
– took a box of books to the used book store for store credit
– dropped off a surprise gift for my cousin who needed some cheering up-I was able to barter with the artist of this gift (made from reclaimed items) — I will be organizing her office for a few hours. The artist is a friend of mine 🙂
-figured out the next two weeks meal plan from items we already have.

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meg July 8, 2015 at 3:40 pm

hi katie,
this is really in response to your previous post about having to spend the night
at the airport. i was wondering just how did you spend the night. i am
guessing you did not go and find a hotel. sorry, but i am curious, just in case i
ever find myself in a similar situation. thanks

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Katy July 8, 2015 at 5:28 pm

We toughed it out and spent the night in the airport. You guessed right!

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Celeste July 8, 2015 at 10:16 pm

Are you able to return the Birks? If not, are they my size (41N)? If you need to sell them and the size is right, we might be able to work out a deal.

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