Not exactly $10 but better.

Last weekend was amazing!! I should have played the lottery :-)
This is how everything played out.

Saturday morning, I got up and got some last minute things done. I made some muffins and got some things prepared for Sunday. When I met up with JV, she wanted to get some breakfast.  We stopped by Chick-fil-a  and ordered some food.  When checking the bag, JV noticed that there was 2 chicken biscuits. We even checked our receipt.  We scored an extra biscuit. Woohoo!!

We arrived in Pigeon Forge and went to the Wonderworks free teacher day.  We received a goody bag with some free stuff as well. One of the fun things, beside pens and brochures, was a passport to the Rainforest Zoo for 4 people. We did just about all the activities. My favorite was the flight simulator. JV's was the ropes course. While we were there they took the requiste photo in front of a green screen. We were looking at the pictures at the end of the day. The sweet girl let us have them for free!!  I think she took pity on us. \
After that, as part of the trip, we got a free ride in the hot air balloon. We arrived at dusk which was perfect. There was the setting sun and the clouds with the ferris wheel on one side and then farmland on the other.
We went to the hotel and JV needed some water.  I wanted some chips so I went out to go to Kroger's to get some.  While out there, I decided to get her some gluten-free cupcakes. I went to GiGi's cupcakes.  They have amazing strawberry gluten-free cupcakes.  When I got there, they didn't have any though. I thought about leaving but decided to ask anyway. She said "I don't have any today to sell to you, but I have some from yesterday that I can give to you for free" Whaaaaaaaa? Heck yeah!!

The next day, we went to Ripley's Aquarium. When we arrived we got another free goody bag. This one had a plastic water bottle. Some "dinosaur claws" and magnets and other accessories. We also got to see my favorite turtle. Sue the green sea turtle.

We then went to the Davey Crockett Mini-Golf. Jill won, of course. We then left for back to the big Johnson City, TN.  I spent more than $10 on the hotel room and dinners and gas but it was well worth it.
 

$10 Weekend Again

Well, last weekend was a washout. JV used the money she had saved to buy some dinner for herself on Thursday (which I don't blame her for) and I used the money for a baby shower gift on Saturday. Then we both ate lunch out that afternoon at a very nice restaurant. So I have decided to "start over" again.
Of course the problem is when I do things with other people. I don't want their fun to be diminished because of my "philosophy" but then again when I do things against it (i.e. lunch at a restaurant) life just doesn't seem to go well.

Anyway, this weekend I haven't bought anything but I did go to lunch with my friend Angela and that was $20. Technically since it involved someone else it doesn't count but I still feel kinda disappointed.

However, on the good side, I have gotten to do somethings that were free that I normally wouldn't have.  On Saturdays @ 10:30 Evergreen of Johnson City has wonderful seminars.  The one this weekend was on Fall Perrenials. The person was extremely knowledgeable and I learned so much.  Plus they also had giveways and refreshments. :-)  Next weekend is there Fall Festival which I can't go to because next weekend is Free Teacher Weekend at WonderWorks in Pidgeon Forge.

I tried to go to the ETSU observatory Open House but got lost and it was dark so I wound up coming back home. I will try again next month.

At the library I got my free DVDs for the weekend and a couple of cookbooks. I also found a book called Zero Waste Home which I am really enjoying.  It is about a family that is trying to cut out on waste and they are doing a great job.  She even has a blog (surprise, surpise) that can be found here.

I think I am going to adopt some of her ideas and incorporate them into my $10 weekend.

Week 2 of the $10 Challenge

This weekend proved to be a little more "interesting" than the one before. Since the challenge was no longer new, it was harder to be as excited as before.  However, we made it through with change in our pocket going jing-a-ling-a-ling (my apologies to the Georgia Satellites)

This weekend had a bit of a theme without knowing it.  Friday night I went to our local high school's football game. Since I am a county employee it was FREE!! WooHoo. Unfortunately, they lost 53-10 but many of my friends were there and it was nice to see the kiddos in a relaxed enviroment.

Saturday, JV and I got up and didn't meet up until lunchtime. We went to Chick-fil-A where we had a card for a free sandwich and cookie.  I got a small drink again (1.44) and then headed off to McKay in Knoxville. While there, JV got some DVDs and I used my credit for some books that were from some of my favorite authors. JV's sister Donna and I like the same type of books so I texted her about the new series I am enjoying.

Afterwards, we went to Dollywood. It was pretty late and we were pretty tires, so we just went into the museum. I must admit it was alot nicer than I had anticipated.  It had many of Dolly's old costumes and letters and you could even listen to some of her older song.  They also had her "Coat of Many Colors" on display.

Dinner at Hardee's was a chicken sandwich with fries and a coke. The total was only $3.23 because I had a coupon. We had a great talk while there because it was completely empty. The talk helped to refocus what these weekends are about. They are to be fun and creatively inspiring. When they stop being that, they should stop.

Sunday was relaxing. I got up and did some laundry, cooking, the usual. However, the Greeneville Astros were having a Teacher Appreciation Night so by showing my pass, I got in there free as well.