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Who Put That Penny There?!

I absolutely LOVE when people send me penny stories! It happened again today when Joy, a friend from high school (whom facebook has been kind enough to reconnect me with!), sent me the following story.

Her note said:

"I don't know if you are religious or not... but I know how much you love collecting pennies and I thought of you when I read this."

The funny thing is that I've been saying for the past few years how I really feel pennies are The Universe (& God) telling me I'm on the right path.

When I go tot he gym and find a penny...God is telling me he's proud of me for swimming a few laps. When I walk to Target to return a shirt and find a penny...I believe it's The Universe telling me I really didn't need it anyway!

Today I went to the bank to close an account (in an effort to go from three banks to two & simplify my life). Outside the bank I found FIVE pennies. Certainly God was telling me simplifying my life was good thing!

So this story is right in line with my penny beliefs. Whatever your beliefs are, I hope it makes you smile and remember that when you find a penny somewhere...it might be more than just a cent. It might be a message from God!

Cheers!

Lucky Pennies
You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live... The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"Look at it," he said. "Read what it says."

She read the words, “United States of America."

"No, not that. Read further."

"One cent?" she tried again.

"Nope, keep reading."

"In God we Trust?"

"Yes!" he shouted with delight.

She still wasn’t sure where this was going, "And?" she continued.

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by?”

“When I see a coin, I pray. I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!”

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient.

My Favorite 2009 Story--Brides, Bulls & Buck$

Hands down, Misty was the coolest bride ever.

Not only did she plan the perfect wedding, she also lasted 8 seconds on the bull AND...

found a dollar for The Penny Project!

I have the best friends in the world. Really! In July, not only did I get to be a bridesmaid in my friend Misty's wedding...but she ended up finding all sorts of money for The Penny Project! A dime at the rehearsal dinner. A dollar in the bar we hit post-reception (see the bull-riding pics of Misty in her wedding dress...best bull ride ever!). AND...she texted me from her cruise ship letting me know she'd already found 26 cents so far on the honeymoon.

But what does it all mean?

Clearly, these were all pennies from heaven! Not only did the universe smile on me giving me one of the most fun bridal party experiences on record...but it smiled on Misty & David with signs every day that they belong together. If $1.36 doesn't tell you that...I don't know what does!

I wish you both a life of happiness. And pennies of course! :-)

A Creative Penny Picture

Check out this picture of a giraffe created from pennies. Just goes to show...a few pennies can be interesting, fun, and even help inspire people to save the planet! :-)

More Messages & Penny Finds!

Ah, the never ending search for pennies. I love it!!! You never know where it will take you or what you will find. I continue to have folks e-mail & text me with their finds (ok, sure...my mom & dad are the main supporters...but that counts!!). Below are the latest batch of text messages & e-mails. They still make me smile! Hard to believe a little penny could bring such excitement. It's true that we should pay more attention to the small things in life (and the big ones if you're my paper-money finding friends!).

Hope you enjoy this next batch of found money updates as much as I did!


"The First Team--Mom found a penny in Amarillo, TX and I found three (count them, three!!!) while I was pumping gas in Altus, OK. Man, we're good." --Dad 8/24/09

"you rock just found a penny. i love you." --April C. 8/29/09

"I just found a penny at a truckstop in Limon." --Paul G. 9/7/09

"Yeah I don't think I've ever got this excited about finding a penny!" --Paul G. 9/7/09

"Another one. I found a dime walking in to the Walmart yesterday." --Dad 9/7/09

"FYI--Nancy found a penny yesterday! Add it to the spreadsheet. I'll send it to you." --Jenn C. 9/18/09

"metro penny yesterday. 2 along my walk to work this a.m. Woo-hoo!!" --Julia B. 10/7/09

"$20!!!!!! Wholefoods parking lot :)" --Illeny M. 10/7/09

"Just found a dime!" --Misty C. 10/8/09

"another metro penny just now. Lincoln face up, just when I needed a smile!! :-)" --Julia B. 10/15/09

"Big Day!! While working at Lake Las Vegas today, One of the other guys found a nickel on the seat of the boat we were in. I talked him into donating it to the penny project. While waking McGruff tonight, I found a dime!!! Life is good." --Dad 10/18/09

"Big Find! While I was walking McGruff this morning, I found a quarter!" --Dad 10/22/09

"I FOUND A QUARTER enroute to work this morning. I lost my phone so don't have easy access to track down phone numbers so didn't leave a vm like usual, but this one was great - in the intersection resting on one of those manhole covers...sufficiently dingy and battered but def recognizable. I looked both ways and snatched it :). I was ecstatic." --Julia B. 10/30/09

"Found a dollar today!" --Misty C. 11/3/09

"Found 2 pennies so far today!" --Misty C. 11/7/09

$100?! Oh Well...It Was the Thought That Counted!

The Penny Project is ever expanding. New pennies, new people, new unbelievable stories!


The author of this story was a student in one of my facilitation classes and had already landed on the spreadsheet with his 4-cent find from the sushi restaurant where we dined during our week in class. But he's larger than life and I knew I hadn't heard the last of him with those 4 cents!


A few weeks ago he sent this story, which he wasn't sure was appropriate for the penny blog (so he shall remain nameless to protect him, me & the...uh-hum...intereting woman in his story!). But I'm a firm believe we all need a little crazy every now & then. Don't you think?!

So enjoy his tale and know that I almost refused to believe it was true (just like the rest of the students in his class didn't believe the WHOLE Penny Project was real...imagine!). But he assures me it is 100% true. 100% truth that cost us $100. Eeeek!


Leslie,

Actually do have a story… but not sure it’s good for your “penny” blog.

A group of us went to P.F. Chang’s for lunch. While standing outside I found a $100 bill on the ground… wrapped perfectly…like a squashed cigarette – square and precise.

Remembering that I had only seen people go into the restaurant since I had been standing there I figured it had to have been dropped by someone walking in.

..so…

I went inside and announced to the waiting crowd that I had found some money… did anybody lose any…

Well.. this EXTREMELY well endowed woman came bouncing up to me… hand deep in her Victoria’s Secret creation…designed more to keep her silicone safe rather than financial instruments…

Indicating that she placed a $100 bill there for safe keeping and it was now nowhere to be found….and trying to persuade me to inspect her area of safekeeping to validate her story.

She further went on to give me the information that her “friend” had given it to her to go for lunch….. not 30 minutes ago.

Now, not being one to want to speculate on the nature of the transaction... or how this tightly wadded bill had been put into its place of safekeeping…I gladly handed her back the money. Which she gratefully accepted and went bouncing back into line….telling all who would listen how “it has just fallen out.”

So I am afraid your penny collection almost had an extra $100 … but was beaten out by my fascination that there are still woman who use that location for safe keeping…

:-)

Good Thing I Have Unlimited Texting...

God bless picture texts!!

Here's April's big find...she put it in a baggie to preserve the nastiness for me!

The beat goes on...and so do the penny texts. Honestly...they just keep rolling in. And each one makes me chuckle. It's almost as good as being the one that finds the penny! I never knew how important unlimited texting was until I started The Penny Project. People love telling me about their finds as much as I love hearing about them. Wahoo!

Enjoy this installment of texts from the penny path...

Penny Texts (& an E-mail or Two) Part Deux:

"Dime. Penny. Penny. Wahoo!" by Sarah S. on July 11, 2009

"Penny!" by Sarah S. on July 11, 2009

"Nick gave me the found quarter. Add it you!" by Sarah S. on July 11, 2009

"Nickel!" by Sarah S. on July 11, 2009

"Don't harass me. I found a penny yesterday!" by Jerry S. on July 15, 2009

"$1 paper, Whole F" by Illeny M. on July 15, 2009

"2 pennies and just found 2 dimes. You must really be thinking about me. What a week. When you get some time lets catch up." by April C. on July 16, 2009

"One dime and five pennies at LAS! Geez i love airports." by Darlene S. on July 16, 2009

"Rack me up 5 more pennies from LAX!" by Darlene S. on July 16, 2009

"Fyi...found 26 cents...one penny as we were boarding the ship...the quarter in the airport" by Misty L. on July 19, 2009 (the first day of her honeymoon!)

"I swear I just heard a nickel drop on the ground! Ugh." by Sarah S. on July 22, 2009

"Dime. This is getting silly." by Sarah S. on July 24, 2009

"Hi. I'm Sarah Stein and I'm a dimeaholic." by Sarah S. on July 24, 2009

"Might have gotten diseased from the penny i just picked up. Gotta love airports." by Sarah S. on July 24, 2009

"A man dropped a penny and didn't even care. 6 more pennies found." by Sarah S. on July 24, 2009

"i found a dollar. i will put it in a bag so u get the full effect of the nastiness. u must love me." by April C. on July 29, 2009

"My goal is to average 1 penny a day over the year :)" by Illeny M. on July 31, 2009

"Found a quarter on the golf course, a dime on the metro and a penny on my run, you must really love me." by April C. on Aug 8, 2009

"Allie - nickel. dime! Taco Bell drive thru. I train them well." by Sarah S. on Aug 8, 2009

"Wally World Strikes Again. I found another penny at Walmart yesterday. I'll bring the cash stash on the trip." by Jerry S. (in an e-mail) on Aug 10, 2009

"Want my two cents?"

"Found two pennies today!"

"Have a handful of change for you when you come!" Series of 3 by Misty L. on Aug 10, 2009

Please Leave Your Pennies After the Beep...BEEP!

One of the best parts about being me is the calls I get about penny finding. These calls are absolutely priceless and come more often than you'd think! Not a week after jumping out of my car at an on ramp, I got a call from one of my best friends telling me she'd done the same thing!

A few weeks ago I got a call from my dad saying he was stopped at a light and spied a few pennies out his window. He opened the door to get out and my mom yelled, "Do you see pennies?!" Not only did he think it was totally natural to just jump out of the car at this intersection...but my mom knew exactly what he was doing. And dare I say, she was jealous SHE didn't see them so she could be the one to jump out in traffic!

Since many of these calls are conversations that I know the gist of but don't have recorded, I can't share the specifics of them with you. BUT...I do occasionally get a voice mail message. Those I CAN share with you!

Below are two recent voice mails I received Re: The Penny Project. I tried to punctuate to convey the emotion of the messages. Not sure I was 100% accurate...but I think you get the idea.

Enjoy what comes after my "beep"...and know that your penny messages are always welcome!

Call #1:
Hey Leslie, it's Julia. I hope you're havin' a good week. I understand you're being exhausted but I have this great penny story that I just had to share with you.

I was trying to go to Target near your house, um, for my little midnight run and unfortunately it closes at 10 and I got there at like 10 after 10, hoping that it was open until 11. No luck.

Anyhow...As I was crossing the street to get to the other side...um...I saw a penny. But it was buried in the tar so like the tail side was up and, um...but I had like 25 seconds...to cross. So I dug it out Leslie. I dug it out. I did. And I have the penny now with the dirty Lincoln face to show for it. That I hope to pass on to you. Soon.

Alright chica, God bless you. Will talk to you soon. Bye.

Call #2:
Penny, penny, penny, dime. YES! 13 cents at the McDonald's drive thru. Oh yeahhhh.

So I looked like an idiot. I was like, "Oh...I dropped my change." (Laughing) And she like rolled her eyes at me but I don't care 'cause I got 13 more cents. I do have a lot of dimes come up for this year.

Ok, bye.

The Penny Project Is Unbelievable!

My Dallas EF Class...believers (and even a few contributors) in the Penny Project! Thanks Grant, Carol, Lester, Kim & Jackie for adding with your finds & donations!

Literally, I told a group of my students about The Penny Project last week and one of them didn't believe me! I was using the story in the context of how things build over time (in this case, their facilitation skills). I said I started facilitating about a month before I started The Penny Project. Then one day I looked up and realized...a) I'd become a pretty good facilitator and b) There was over $500 in the penny account. When did these two things happen?! It was a perfect way of explaining how with practice, their skills would conitue to grow over time...so I can see how it might sound made up!

The way I convinced the students this wasn't a made up story was two fold. First, I showed them the spread sheet (seriously...hard not to believe me when I pull up 2+ years of financial data in 7-cent increments!). Second, I showed them a few of my text messages. I thought it was funny that I had saved a few. Little did I know I had stored 26 penny-related text messages in my phone!

I have shared a few on the blog...but the collection in it's entirety is quite amusing. So, I'm sharing them with all of you and hope they make you smile like they did me!

Penny Texts:
1) "Odeto TrackCHange:I'mstanringatchangeonthe tracks. Dimes.Pennies.Ithinka quarter.IfonlyIcouldreachthem. Justalittlefarther. Stretcharmstretch! Oh shit.The train...:-)" by Chele B. on March 10, 2008
2) "I just said, out loud...oh, I need to count pennies...I thought you would be proud!" by Amy D. on March 15, 2008
3) "2 pennies on the way to work--heads side up!" by Steph G. on April 29, 2008
4) "My parents are visitng and my dad found two pennies and a dime for you" by Heather R. on May 2, 2008
5) "Now mom found a penny for you. It's a family affair. We're on a roll!" by Heather R. on May 3, 2009
6) "3 pennies today. 2 with my boss. He asked why I was picking up pennies. ;-)" by April C. on July 14, 2008
7) "He thought I was crazy until I explained what you were doing." by April C. on July 14, 2008
8) "He asked if the charity was how to not get hit by a car when picking up pennies in the middle of the street." by April C. on July 14, 2008
9) "We were crossing the street at the time, but we had the crossing sign." by April C. on July 14, 2008
10) "You got a convert..." by April C. on July 14, 2008
11) "Dime at the metro. I need a tetnus shot, but I picked it up." by April C. on July 23, 2008
12) "Got ur penny pic ;>)...found 30 cents today...asst scoutmaster found two pennies too...now u've got the boy scouts on ur side...:-)" by Chele B. on September 27, 2008
13) "Eoin found a penny" by Dan J. on November 6, 2008
14) "Deghlan found a penny at Starbucks...ironic since their stock is worth about that!!" by Dan J. on November 22, 2008
15) "11 cents" by April C. on November 25, 2008
16) "2 pennies this morning and one the other day. I am on a roll, that is why there is butter on my pants. Ha-ha!" by April C. on December 18, 2008
17) Fox news profiling family that picks up change and blogs about it!!! Last name was Humphrey. Talkn bout xtreme penny retrieval including leapn out of a car on bridge" by Chele B. on January 25, 2009
18) "Penny for ya" by April C. on May 13, 2009
19) "Penny. Dime. Nickel. Don't mess!" by Sarah S. on May 26, 2009
20) "Just found $6 in NYC :)" by Illeny M. on June 6, 2009
21) "Add another .13 to that. All within 30 mins :)" by Illeny M. on June 7, 2009
22) "Quarter, nickel. Bring it silver!" by Sarah S. on June 8, 2009
23) "So nasty you can barely tell it is a penny. Must remember to wash my hand. Thinking of you sweets." by April C. on June 8, 2009
24) "Today's find: 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 3 pennies :)" by Illeny M. on June 10, 2009
25) "Penny, penny...dime!" by Sarah S. on June 11, 2009
26) "John-dime!" by Sarah S. on June 15, 2009

There's been dozens more...but my phone memory is only so big! Thanks to my main contributors...you guys really make me laugh! And if you didn't make this listing...keep the texts coming! They're hilarious and will probably make an appearance on an upcoming blog!

The Toll Booth...Round 2

You probably thought it couldn't get any sillier than me hopping out of my car on the way though toll booths on the way home from my sister's house. But you'd be wrong.

The weekend after my infamous toll booth score (tolls paid = $1.25, money found = $1.26, net gain = $.01), I had to go out to Ashburn again for a surprise slumber/birthday party (yes, this is my life). There were 4 of us in the car on the way out there and of course, I asked if anyone would mind a small delay in the toll booth area as I perused the road for dropped change.

Being my friends, the girls agreed (although they clearly thought I was nuts). Turns out it was an even better score than before as I found almost $1.50 at one of the toll booths. Yahoo! I was pretty excited and couldn't wait to share my find with the other slumber party attendees (although a good half of us were in this car!).

My friends are used to my particular brand of crazy by this point, so no one thought it was unusual that I'd had the driver follow behind me as I walked through the toll area in search of change. Well...at least it wasn't unusual for me (which is kind of sad now that I think about it!).

We had a smashing time that evening which included several bottles of champagne, a game of 31-questions on how well we knew the birthday girl (who was turning 31...hence the 31 questions), and a midnight viewing of "Step It Up," which may have been the highlight of the evening.

But the REAL highlight of the weekend came the next day when 3 of us headed back to the city...through two more toll booths!

As we approached the first one, I hopped out of the car and commenced searching as my friend eased up to the booth behind me. The attendant looked at me and shook his head but was clearly enjoying my little display of change-gathering. I told him not to worry...my friend had an EZ-pass and we were definitely paying the toll. I let him know the change would be going to charity. He didn't seem to mind and was friendly about the whole exchange. Sweet...over 70 cents collect and one toll booth operator amused for the afternoon.

Off to toll booth stop #2.

At stop #2, the traffic was a little crazy in the lane we chose. The guy two cars ahead of us was having some issues. This didn't bother me in the least as it just gave me more time for my search. I hopped out a few car lengths back from the toll collecting basket and started looking. When the big, red SUV between my friend & the guy slowing down traffic pulled forward...I was in change-finding heaven. There were quarters EVERYWHERE! It was a change bonanza!

I threw up the official sign for stop, just like I was one of the Supremes or something, and halted my friend as I proceeded to snatch up the quarters.

Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me..."Ma'am! MA'AM!"

"Oh, don't mind me," I said. "I'm just picking up change for charity."

The woman did not seem amused. "There's cameras watching you!"

"Sweet!" I replied.

Apparently, this was not what she wanted to hear. "Ma'am...you can't do that! There's cameras."

At this point I realized she was not at all like the amused toll booth operator from the first stop. She was more like an evil rule enforcer and was about to take down my friend's plate #s to make sure we'd get a ticket. I jumped back in my friend's car screaming, "Go! Go! Go!" as we headed out of the toll booth area.

I'm not sure she actually got the plate number (and there has been no ticket sent to my friend). But I am sure we had a major score at that stop...13 quarters plus other assorted change equalling $4.55. Talk about an exciting day for penny finders everywhere!

So that is my latest change finding excursion. It may or may not have resulted in a $50 ticket for breaking some kind of un-posted "don't get out of your car in a toll-booth" rule...but at the end of the day, I think it was worth it. We laughed all the way home!

I realize my brand of crazy isn't something everyone aspires to (although my sister apparently tried to stop in a toll area the next day when traffic was much heavier and called me in amazement over my ability to collect so much change via the toll roads!) but I encourage you to find your own brand of crazy. Something that only you might be willing to do...but you know you'll have a great time doing it.

And if you find a penny along the way...be sure to let us know!

Penny Picker-Upper Synergy...1+1=3

The "Kulh Girls Travel Guide" makes mention of The Penny Project!

And check out that coaster-sized penny!

I love spending time with good friends...especially when I get to be a tour guide in my own city. And DOUBLE especially when my friends play along with my love of penny finding!

Such was the case when my best friend from high school came to visit DC for a few days with her mom & sister. We had a brilliant time, painting the town red! We also had amazing success in penny finding while they were here, finding pennies & other assorted change everywhere we went...even in the lawn at the National Cathedral (seriously...good eye, Jane!). Honestly...in just 5 days we collectively found $2.11! Talk about synergy! The excitement and penny spotting skills just kept building and building the entire visit! And now that they're home, they're still on the look out! They've enlisted the help of family and found an additional $0.55. Score!

Anyhow, on their last day in town, I had a work event that forced me to leave my friends to their own devices. I came home to 3 sticky notes, each one with their individual finds for the day along with some clever commentary.

They also wrote a rather clever "travel guide review," which they left on the table with a coaster-sized penny to hold it in place! Maybe there's a Penny Project Bed & Breakfast in my future! See the original review and penny in the picture (above) and the text of the write up below. And see if you can find a friend to spot pennies with...it really does make it fun!

Kuhl Girls Travel Guide

Leslie's Bed & Breakfast--(*****)Five Stars

If you're looking for fun in the DC area--Leslie's B&B is the place to be! Not only will she risk traffic tickets to be curbside to pick you up at the airport, she'll brave the harrowing streets and parking while shuttling you around in luxury (can't beat the Geo)! The perfect tour guide for the standard fare as well as the off-the-beaten path quirkiness the city has to offer. Try not to miss all of the sites while you're being trained by the master @ coin collecting for The Penny Project. The only drawback to this beautiful and cozy condo (with the largest patio in the entire city!) is your ego being smashed at the nightly Scrabble tournament. And last but not least, the food is awesome and the stories are legendary.

Call for Reservations!

My Glass is Half-Full...of Pennies!

Ok, so finding pennies has become the center of my universe. This might be upsetting or completely bizarre if I didn't continually learn new things about myself, the world, or how simple shifts in perspective can create big change (no pun intended) in your life.

My sister and I used to live on the same street in Washington, DC and got to hang out all the time. But one day, she met a great guy and bought a house out in the 'burbs. We still like to hang out but more times than not, she's the one coming this way because well...it is the city and there's so much more going on here. That and the $6+ in tolls to get to her house (one-way) are a butt kicker.

Now, there is a way to get out there without taking the toll roads, but it takes an extra 30 minutes and can be seriously impeded by stop & go traffic between the myriad of lights on the route. Not so much fun.

There's a route that seems to be the middle ground between fast and cheap (shall we call that feap? chast?) that costs $1.25 each way. Not so bad. But even with this route as an option, I'm still not so thrilled about dragging myself all the way out to the 'burbs on a regular basis.

Well...I WASN'T thrilled about it. Until tonight.

Since it was late when I was driving home I decided that it would be ok to open my car door in the tool booth area to see if there might be any dropped change. After all...not all drivers are going to have good aim as they speed down the highway, sometimes barely slowing down for the toll booths.

So there I am, 50 cent toll in hand when I pop my head out the door. No cars behind me...so I step out to see what I can find. Turns out, this stop was a gold mine! 2 quarters, 5 dimes and a penny. Woo-hoo!

When I got to the second toll booth I could barely wait to pull into the lane. Again there was no one behind me, so I opened my door and stepped out. This time, I found 2 dimes, 5 pennies & a Canadian quarter....that I could pick up. There was also a bevy of change sunken into the asphalt from being driven over repeatedly. Probably close to $2 in dimes and quarters. It was crazy! I dropped my 75 cents in the basket and pulled away as soon as I saw a car approaching the lane. As I pulled away, I thought about the trip to and from my sister's house.

Here I had been hemming and hawing about the toll to come visit my sister and it turns out...tonight I actually MADE money on the venture! I paid $1.25 in tolls and came away with $1.26 for the Penny Project (plus one wayward Canadian quarter). Once I realized how much fun it is going through toll booths, I could hardly wait for my next visit to the 'burbs!

So I present to you this: Where you find "half-empty glasses" in your life, look for ways to fill them up (or at least ways to see them as half-full!). Maybe you can make that mental shift with pennies...maybe with something else. But in the long run, you're definitely better off (and sometimes a penny richer) if you can find a way to make toll booths an adventure and visiting your sister something to look forward to instead of dreading.

**Note to my sister who will hopefully read this at some point: the dread is all about the drive out there...not you! You're fabulous! :-)

Penny Converts...Gotta Love It!

I love to hear from penny-picker-uppers, friends, and others who have heard about The Penny Project. Especially when they're telling me there's penny converts out there! My friend Laura featured our pennies on her blog (which she's done again with a follow-up photo story, check it out at: http://theadventurousphotographer.com/). A few weeks after the first story, she forwarded me the following message. Ah, the sweet victory of winning over a new penny seeker! And I love that she's turned it into a game with her son!

Pennies, bringing the world together!

Laura's Message:

Leslie,

Thought you'd get a kick out of this note from on of my blog readers!

Laura

Laura, you are welcome. You inspired me to save pennies. After reading your blog, I was at the grocery store. The women in front of me dropped a coin. A silver coin. A dime. Too lazy to pick it up, I seized the opportunity, thought of you and now, am 10 cents richer. LOL. My son and I are having a little contest because he loves picking up pennies. Now, so do I.

Pennies...Bait for Humans (or at Least the Ones that Pick Up Pennies!)

John's $12.74 Finds So Far in 2009

One of our best penny-picker-uppers sent this message after the last penny update. I love that his friends consider him to be so fearless for picking up a gunk-encrusted coin! If that's fearless, what would they think of my reaching into puddles or snagging pennies from the floor of the Metrobus?! Yikes!


Hey Leslie,

I've got another pile o' change for you. I've collected a bunch in my travels the last couple weeks. I even dug a penny, with a plastic knife mind you, out of the crack between boards on Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran last week! It was all covered in gook. I wrapped it in a napkin, so you can bask in the glory of the gook..now dried. :0) I was considered very "brave" going for that one.

_john

A Penny Preview...

Pennies are fun...and if you follow this link (http://theadventurousphotographer.com/) some of them are even getting famous!

Laura posted a teaser of the penny story on her blog along with some fantastic photos. The top photo includes some of 2008's worst pennies. I framed 2007's hundred worst pennies (like a business framing its first dollar!)...but 2008's worst pennies are still waiting patiently in my window sill to see where they might end up!

Street Cleaning...Makes No Cents!

Spring is in the air. The blossoms are blooming, the air is full of palpable excitement for the nice weather just around the corner, and...street cleaning is starting up again. Eh? Yes...the winter break for street sweepers is over and on my walk downtown yesterday I saw an entire army of men with brooms and dustpans.

During that same walk I realized I found a mere fraction of the pennies I normally find when I walk downtown. So what gives?

Well...I'm betting those cute clean little gutters had been filled with pennies before the army of street sweepers showed up. In fact, I had an incredible urge to grab those dustpans and dump them out in search of pennies!

The lesson here is that as happy as I am to see signs of spring and as ready as I am to put away my sweaters for the season...I do realize the season might impact my penny finding. Guess that means I'll have to get more crafty in my search. New ideas are always welcome!

My 2¢ For Today

Some days are full of sunshine & shiny pennies. Other days...crusty, barely identifiable coins and rain. Today was the latter.

But here's the thing about days like today...despite the rain and the two pennies I found absolutely covered in muck (seriously...I can barely ID heads from tails on one of them!), it was still a wonderful day. The dirty pennies are almost more fun to find. No, scratch that. They ARE the most fun to find!

I'm not exactly sure why I love the chewed-up, beat-up, dirty, gross pennies the most. Maybe it's my own amazement at seeing them in the first place. Or perhaps it's my sheer audacity at being unafraid of the germs I'm exposing myself to when I pick them up. Or still yet it might be the realization that many, many people walk right by these little hidden gems and never bother to notice or pick them up. Whatever the reason(s)...each one of those suckers puts a smile on my face and reminds me that happiness is happiness...even when it doesn't come in the form you'd quite expect. Maybe especially then.

So despite the rain, being late to class this morning, and being generally confused about life in general these days...I had two chances to say to get excited for a minute (yes, I ACTUALLY get excited about pennies) and say to myself, "YES! I found one!" And with those two pennies in my pocket being late wasn't such a big deal, struggling with my assignments was a joy, and I even ended up at an impromptu dinner with my sister and two friends.

I say a penny's lucky...even when it's too crusty to tell if it's heads up!

Driver, Can You Wait A Moment...I See a Penny!

Well, it's official. I'm a nut...for pennies!

For the second time since I began this little project, I have made the driver a vehicle stop in traffic so I could pick up a penny I saw on the street. Well, actually...only once was a penny. The second incident this weekend was for dime. SCORE!

Yes, it's true, I once made someone stop for a penny (it was a cab driver who probably charged me $4 for the extra stop, so I don't think he actually minded all that much). It was later at night in downtown DC, so the traffic wasn't THAT bad. I only heard one honking horn behind me. But how could I pass up a penny that was so clearly calling out to come home with me. Plus, it was a huge testament to my eagle-eye, penny finding skills. I saw this bad-boy at night, from a moving vehicle, on a brick sidewalk. Do you know how hard it is to spot pennies on brick...let alone at night? It was too sweet a find to pass up!

Which brings me to incident #2...the dime in Georgetown. I was on the way back from seeing a pre-release of the movie "Sex Drive" with my friend & her husband (you HAVE to see this movie if you need a good laugh. Seth Green as an Amish guy...totally worth the price of admission. Which was actually free for us because we both traded in coke reward points for free movie tickets. SCORE...again!). Anyhow, coming out of the theater I found a penny on the stairs. Then I found a dime on the sidewalk. I was pretty excited...having used the coupon and then finding 11 cents it felt like I MADE money going to the movies! Anyhow, we got in the car and began heading home to Columbia Heights when I sort of half screamed, half snorted, "Stop, stop, stop!" and banged on the door signaling that someone needed to hit the unlock button.

Now I don't know what's worse here...the fact that I demanded to stop the car (in my defense we were at a 4-way intersection already pretty much stopped anyway) or that my friends didn't seem all that phased by my odd request. Wow...I always wondered why I didn't have that one eccentric friend that makes life a little more fun & unpredictable. As I'm writing this I have just realized it is probably because that person is me...jumping out of moving cars to pick up loose change. Nice.

Anyhow...for all of you that use the excuse "but I drive to work" to explain why you don't find that much change, think about keeping your eyes peeled at intersections to up your total. It seems to be working for me!

Careful Where You Get Your Pennies!

Uh, just be careful out there. I love all my fellow penny picker-uppers. I'd A) hate to see you in jail and B) don't want to use our collected funds to bail you out. So don't do what this guy did (as reported on Foxnews.com--http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,389286,00.html). Just stick to the stuff you find in streets or metro stations!


Florida Man Arrested After Stealing 42 Cents From Fountain
NAPLES — Forty-two cents won't get you very far these days, but for a Southwest Florida man, it was enough to send him to jail.

Naples police say 43-year-old Laslo Mujzer swiped 42 cents from the Coastland Center Mall in Naples on Monday. Officers arrested Mujzer after a mall customer saw him fishing around in the fountain.

A sign attached to the fountain said that all coins thrown into the water are donated to Habitat for Humanity.

Mujzer was charged with petty theft under $100, a misdemeanor, then booked into the Collier County Jail. Sheriff's officials on Wednesday said a judge had released Mujzer on his own recognizance but said he was in jail on an immigration hold.

A Penny & A Poem

After lunch (whilst in a bit of a calorie coma) I logged onto my Yahoo account to see if there were any messages to distract me from work just a few minutes longer. Lucky for me...I found the following about Dad's big find:

This morning, on my walk I went,
In my extra calories I put a dent,
and on the walk I found a cent!

Dad

Ah, penny inspired poetry. Gotta love it! :-)