Our Abundant Blessings

Natalie and I are headed to the Teach Them Diligently convention in Nashville later this week. Excited doesn’t even begin to express how we feel.

We get to stay at the host hotel, the Gaylord Opryland. What a treat this will be for us! We’re also sharing a room with a dear friend I’ve known online for years. It will be an honor to get to finally meet her!

While the convention itself is very reasonably priced, our accommodations are a bit pricey. We’ll be gone for three days, so food cost is the one area that I can control. My plan is to take as much food as we can so that we do not have to purchase many snacks. I already know that there will not be a microwave in our room. This does limit some things that we can take along.

Here is my list of snack foods to bring along:

1. Bottled water. We have two cases of water, just to be sure we have enough. We drink a lot of water. Our water here at home is spring water. Drinking regular tap water doesn’t sound too appealing. I am also sure we’ll save a lot of money in bringing our own water.

2. Snacks. Natalie really needs to eat every 3-4 hours or so to keep her tummy under control. She doesn’t eat much at each sitting, so this is imperative for her. We’ll take along yogurt, homemade granola bars, homemade trail mix, fruit, and cut up veggies with homemade Ranch dressing.

3. Oatmeal. While there will not be a microwave, there will be a small coffee pot. We can run just water through it, which will be hot enough to “cook” instant oatmeal. While instant oatmeal isn’t our first variety choice, it is a choice.

4. Tea, with all the trimmings. I don’t drink coffee,  but I have grown to enjoy a good cup of tea. Natalie enjoys it as well, so we’ll take this along to have a fun drink in the evening.

5. Coolers. While there will be a mini-frig in our room, I don’t know how large it will be. Bottles of water take up a lot of room. I have the water in our frig now, so they are cold. We’ll put all of our cold stuff into a large cooler that will stay in the trunk of the car. I’ll fill this with ice on our way out of town. We’ll take a smaller cooler into our hotel room, filled with water bottles. We can refill the ice in that cooler from the ice machine there. The frig can then be filled with food stuff instead of water bottles.

6. Plastic utensils, plates, bowls, and napkins. In order to eat said snacks and breakfast foods, we’ll need plates, bowls, and silverware. Since I buy these in bulk already, I’ll just take along an assortment of these items.

{check out this cool tote bag that will be filled with goodies just waiting for all attendees this year!}

Other ways we’ll be frugal on this trip:

1. As mentioned above, we are splitting the hotel room cost. This is a tremendous way to save money, help another, and grow friendships!

2. Leaving the credit card at home. I’m taking cash and the debit card. It’s harder to spend extra on the debit card, when you know it’s coming directly out of your account right then!

3. Eating one meal off-site. The Opryland Hotel is a pricey place to eat. I have been told that there are a few lower cost options. We will check those out, but plan to eat our evening meal off-site.

4. Doing cost comparisons on all curriculum and book purchases. I now have a smart phone (thanks, Straight Talk for making this affordable!) and can check online prices against what I find in the vendor hall.

5. Going with a plan. Having two children already out of high school means I have books and supplies for every grade. I won’t need much, other than the consumables. I do have a desire to make school more fun next year, so I will be on the lookout for items that will aid in that endeavor.

6. Attending speaker sessions that I genuinely want to listen to. There are a TON of speaker sessions at TTD. Truly, there are at least 2 speakers per session that I want to hear. Obviously, I cannot be in two places at once. However, there will be recordings of all the sessions that I can purchase. Instead of just purchasing the whole lot of them, I can pick and choose which ones I really need. I don’t need to hear a session on teaching preschoolers, for instance, since I am well beyond that stage. I have been guilty of sitting through a session just to not be “rude” to the speaker and get up during the middle of it once I realize it’s not what I thought it would be. Instead, I plan to be prudent with my time and allow myself to change sessions should this happen this time.

7. Taking an envelope. This is a two-fold use item. I will place my receipts in the envelope, but also will write my purchases on the outside. This will help me not make duplicate purchases; and also keep a running total of my spending.

8. Gathering materials on the first day. The first day of a convention is a bit overwhelming. While we are veteran homeschoolers, I still get a bit overwhelmed at all of the choices available. By gathering all of those pamphlets and such of things that interest me (and not taking those that don’t- saving me from looking them over, and the vendor the cost of a pamphlet), I can look them over in the quiet of my hotel room to make an informed decision.

9. Making purchases on the last day. I don’t want to tote a ton of books along with me. I also don’t want to rush into purchases. By waiting until the last day, I can take my time in making a decision. This may mean that a vendor may be out of my desired product. Normally, the vendor will offer free shipping on items they run out of. Double bonus for me- free shipping and I don’t have to tote it home along with everything else.

10. Prayer. This should be at the top of my list, not the bottom. But, alas, it’s here. Each new school year holds great promise. I want to teach my children what God wants them to learn. If I’m so stuck in what I want, I’ll miss what He wants.

If you’ll be at Teach Them Diligently Nashville, I’d love to meet up with you! I’ll have a pink blogger badge (yippee skippee!) and I welcome you to come introduce yourself!