We have a six-person suite, park-hopper passes for 4 days of fun as well as early park admission all bought and paid for.
I have never paid for a vacation all on my own before. (There are a lot of things I haven't paid on my own before.) But now that I am living out on my own, I get to learn how to balance bills with Fun Dollars. This trip is ALL FUN DOLLARS. It was funded partially by my tax return as well as the leftovers in my checking account before a paycheck hit. Each week since opening my vacation savings account, I would transfer anything left that was over my "minimum" for the checking account into my vacation savings.
These were separate balance transfers from the ones I made into my "Living Expenses" savings account. That account was funded by the other half of my tax return last year. I would always pay into that account first. So as soon as I received a paycheck, I would bounce some money into my Living Expenses account.
My discipline with savings paid off this winter when my electricity bill reached $432.67. Apparently my new space was wired so that the AC would kick on every time the heater turned on. After receiving that bill (and freaking out...) I paid it...out of my Living Expenses account. NO SWEAT. As it turned out, I had to flip the AC breaker to turn off the AC. (MY AC and heater were competing for temp for a straight month. The air came out cold and both would run 24/7. Thank goodness I got that sorted out.) The good news was that after saving up, I was able to cover my bill an not deplete my savings. I made a dent, but I still have enough to cover bills for two months if necessary.
I won't lie, I was pretty proud of myself for being able to handle that situation. The electricity bill this month was back down to "normal" plus I received assistance from a local agency. I qualified, so I figured, why not use the help if it's there? It basically covers my electricity bill through April.
So now that this vacation is officially paid for, we get to work on finishing the series. We did complete book 6 entirely on audio CD. Carrick began the 7th book on audio CD, but left the CDs at his dad's house when he last visited. So, for two weeks, he gets to go back to reading on his own. I will help a little bit too by reading in the evenings. I decided that since he is so close to the end, we will still go on the trip, even though he won't complete the series before his birthday next Tuesday. I mean, he made it this far, and I would be insane to cancel the trip over a few pages.
I decided to extend a little grace with book 7. Even though I had the idea of him finishing the books by his 11th birthday, I fully understand that this is something he needs to enjoy. The past two books were somewhat "force fed" to get him this far in this amount of time. Part of the issue was him not taking it seriously and him doing other things besides reading (like electronics.)
I especially wanted him to enjoy book 7 because it's the end of the series. Sure he can always do a re-read, but going through the Deathly Hallows for the first time is an experience to savor. I remember reading it for the first time in 2007, immediately after the book release. I couldn't put it down. He is going to remember the completion of the series as long as he lives. For a Harry Potter fan, that is something you will keep with you, the first time you completed the series.
Also, there are so many aspects of the story to process, so rushing through the first read is not recommended. ***spoiler alert*** I realized this when I saw how he reacted to Hedwig getting hit with a killing curse right off the bat. I thought, "he is going to need to read and talk about this as we go along, even more so than with the other books." I empathized with this feeling of loss. I paused the CD and said, "Ok, from here on out, it gets real...are you ready for this? Characters die in this book. Characters, plural." He assured me that he was up for the experience.
So we are still working on book 7 and his birthday is on Tuesday. "It's not every day your young man turns eleven," (House points if you know who said that.)
Also, Lily has elected to hear the book along with us. She is now more excited to start over with the Sorcerer's Stone now that we have began listening to the Deathly Hallows. She and I had started reading the first book together before we moved out on our own. The little Slytherin (who is coming on the trip with us) had started reading his brother's copy of The Sorcerer's Stone and wanted me to read aloud to him one night. So he and Lily sat on either side of me while I read. Lily kept asking me to read to her after we moved out, but I had to stay focused on Carrick and his reading. After reading so much out loud in the evening I didn't really feel like doing more reading for her bedtime. (don't judge...) She did get her Book It points by listening to me read from the Order of the Phoenix, though. And, as a side note, little Slytherin is now reading Chamber of Secrets. He continued reading the series after we moved out because he enjoyed it so much! (Which makes my Harry Potter Heart happy!)
So for Christmas, my sister gave me the illustrated Sorcerer's Stone. Lily said with elation, "Now we can start the story over and this time we have pictures!" So even though she will already know how the series ends, it has not put a damper on her pursuing her own Harry Potter experience.
Right now the name of the game is to finish book 7, start making fine-tuned plans for the trip and keep saving those Fun Dollars!
Until Next time, Happy Spending.
