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.
 

The $10 challenge

Sometimes then can get pretty tough financially but the blog is about finding that just because you don't have money, doesn't mean you can't have fun. My friend, JV, is going through that right now. So to help her feel better and get my creative juices flowing what I devised it the $10 weekend.
We both put $10 in an envelope and decided that that is all we could spend over the entire weekend. Whatever was left over, we are going to put back in the envelope and add $10 the next weekend.  Then there is a big trip planned on September 28th. The money left is what we use for that trip.
I must admit I was sceptical at first but we had a great first weekend and I even have a little money left over :-)

Here is what our weekend looked like.
After waking up and getting ready we headed to Greeneville for JV to drop off some donations at Goodwill. I was there Friday and didn't notice anything that good. However, today they had a Kindle Fire cover for $9.99 and a SodaStream for $44. Why did this happen on my $10 weekend?(I am checking on Monday to see if they are still there :-))

We both have season passes to Splash Country/Dollywood.  We went there and brought some snacks. I have a Splash Country popcorn tub from last year that I filled and also had a Fill and Chill cup that I used for water. We also brought our Kindles along for when we didn't want to go in the water.  Cost $0.00

However, on the trip down I stopped at a rest area to use the bathroom.  The retired Marines group was giving away free lemonade, coffee and water.  They also had snacks for donations.  Since I always like to support good causes I got a nutty bar and cheetos as well.  Unfortunately I only had my $10 so I asked if they could break it for me. The man reached his hand in the donation jar to take dollar bills out and I felt so bad I donated $5 for the food. Cost $5.00

After a great swimming day, we stopped by Chic-Fil-A and used our calendar cards to get a free Chicken Salad Sandwich and a small coke Cost $1.44

When we went to MagicQuest we used our leftover tickets for minature golf to play a round there. Cost: $0.00

We got home around 9:30 and I was so tired I couldn't do anything else.

On Sunday- I got up and make some maple chicken and ribs for a cookalong. I am hoping to win a cookbook. I also worked in the yard clearing away some branches that had fallen.


Go ahead and TRY to tell me I can't do something



JV and I then got dressed up and went to a new church.  Even though the main reason we went is because they were having a lunch catered by Cranberries I enjoy it alot.  Plus, JV won a $5 gift card to Starbucks. WooHoo!!
Then I came home and started doing laundry and working on school stuff. 
All in all I think it was a great weekend and I still have $3.54 in my envelope. I know that I am using alot of stuff that was prepaid for and those won't last forever.  However, the resourcefullness I am learning will last alot longer. I am also hoping this will help JV out of her " I don't have any money blues."

Cowgirl Up

Chick-fil-a is one of my favorite restaurants to go to when eating out.  The establishments are always clean and neatly organized. They have free wi-fi and refills on drinks.  I have never met an employee that seems to hate their job.  They are pretty hard to beat.
However on July 12th, they get even more wonderful.
Every year this day is know as Cow Appreciation Day.  On that day, if you dress like a cow, you get free food.  If you just wear a hat, vest or ears, your entree is free. To get an entire meal free, all you have to do is dress head to toe like a cow. Some people are elaborate and actually make costumes and others just download the free items from the chick-fil-a website.
Either way, the food is good and you can't beat the price. :-)