For the first time in recorded history, my mother is actually complaining that she doesn't have a layover on her next flight from Las Vegas to Washington, DC. My father thinks she's certifiable. I'm not sure I altogether disagree.
Now to be fair, Mom wasn't doing so well on the penny finding at her home in Las Vegas. She drives most everywhere she goes, so penny sightings are much tougher and infrequent. But then she came to DC for Christmas and found 7 cents in a matter of minutes as we walked to my department's holiday happy hour...and then she was hooked. She started looking for reasons to take walks in the cold December weather. And sure enough, she'd come back with 3, 4, even 5 cents at a time. DC was becoming her penny Mecca.
So when it was time to leave she was a little bummed about not being able to break $1 on the 2007 spreadsheet, even with all her DC penny finds. But then I reminded her not to be sad...she had an hour to kill at DCA and another hour when her flight connected throug Atlanta. And airports are certainly among the most profitable penny places. I'm not sure she believed me...but she was somewhat intrigued.
I guess she hit her stride while wandering Terminal A because I recieved 2 phone calls and 4 text messages about big finds (quarters, dimes, multi-penny sightings). She ended the day with 53 cents, almost doubling her total for the year. The funny thing was that not all of the calls were from my mom. My dad texted me once to say I had created a monster. I told him to be glad I got her hooked on pennies instead of crack cocaine or that show about Scott Baio. After all...it's for the kids!
In the end, I'm sure my mom will realize that finding pennies is a way to pass time if you are stuck with a layover. No sane human being would pick a flight with layovers just to find more pennies. Then again...who ever accused anyone scrounging pennies from gutters and airport security of being sane?!
Happy New Year...Now Give Me Your Dimes!
Happy New Year! I hope you had as much fun saying 'good-bye' to 2007 and 'hello' to 2008 as I did. I don't want to brag...but my celebration involved the handing out of dimes. No...really.
It's a family tradition of one of my dear friends. She & her family make paper hats on NYE and then Dad hands out dimes to everyone as a token of prosperity for the new year. Nice, isn't it? Awaken your creative side with a craft project to kick off the evening before wrapping it all up with a dime as a wish for wealth, monetary and otherwise, in the new year. Well...I'm sure it could have been nicer if I didn't accost all of her guests demanding they hand over their dimes as a donation to the 2008 Penny Project. Although, most of them did so willingly...and then my friend ended up giving me the rest of the stack so I'd leave alone those who wanted to hold on to their dimes (sorry Amanda, I got excited at the prospect of getting a 10-penny donation from you all at once. I played your domino game...the least you could have done was give me your stinkin' dime). But I digress...it was a lovely tradition. And better yet, it worked! Prosperity abounded as I set off on my first walk to work on January 2nd.
In addition to starting off the 2008 penny spreadsheet with $1.10 in the donation column (thank you party goers), I found TWO dimes on my first walking commute of the year. And on top of that...I found 21 pennies. 21! I couldn't walk a block without seeing old Abe smiling up at me. It was an embarrassment of riches. Ok, that might be overstating...it came to a grand total of 41 cents...but that's a lot for a single walk to work! A great way to kick off the new year!
And of course, the thought of prosperity in the new year made me thankful for all that I already had over the past 365 days. 2007...what a lovely year. And even lovelier was the discovery that my friends could be so supportive of my quirks and obsessions. ("No, seriously guys...I want you to start picking up the pennies you see in the gutter." "Ok, so there's these codes on the bottom of the Coke lids...can you send them to me when you drink them. Or even when you see one on the street...can you pick it up?") Yes, the Penny Project has taught me many things...but the best lesson was that something as small as a penny can make people smile, bring together friends, and help us all remember that sometimes the best gifts do come in small packages! Every time I see a penny now, I think of all the people who have contributed and played along with my silly little social experiment. I think we've done the penny proud...now let's see what we can do in 2008!
It's a family tradition of one of my dear friends. She & her family make paper hats on NYE and then Dad hands out dimes to everyone as a token of prosperity for the new year. Nice, isn't it? Awaken your creative side with a craft project to kick off the evening before wrapping it all up with a dime as a wish for wealth, monetary and otherwise, in the new year. Well...I'm sure it could have been nicer if I didn't accost all of her guests demanding they hand over their dimes as a donation to the 2008 Penny Project. Although, most of them did so willingly...and then my friend ended up giving me the rest of the stack so I'd leave alone those who wanted to hold on to their dimes (sorry Amanda, I got excited at the prospect of getting a 10-penny donation from you all at once. I played your domino game...the least you could have done was give me your stinkin' dime). But I digress...it was a lovely tradition. And better yet, it worked! Prosperity abounded as I set off on my first walk to work on January 2nd.
In addition to starting off the 2008 penny spreadsheet with $1.10 in the donation column (thank you party goers), I found TWO dimes on my first walking commute of the year. And on top of that...I found 21 pennies. 21! I couldn't walk a block without seeing old Abe smiling up at me. It was an embarrassment of riches. Ok, that might be overstating...it came to a grand total of 41 cents...but that's a lot for a single walk to work! A great way to kick off the new year!
And of course, the thought of prosperity in the new year made me thankful for all that I already had over the past 365 days. 2007...what a lovely year. And even lovelier was the discovery that my friends could be so supportive of my quirks and obsessions. ("No, seriously guys...I want you to start picking up the pennies you see in the gutter." "Ok, so there's these codes on the bottom of the Coke lids...can you send them to me when you drink them. Or even when you see one on the street...can you pick it up?") Yes, the Penny Project has taught me many things...but the best lesson was that something as small as a penny can make people smile, bring together friends, and help us all remember that sometimes the best gifts do come in small packages! Every time I see a penny now, I think of all the people who have contributed and played along with my silly little social experiment. I think we've done the penny proud...now let's see what we can do in 2008!
The Family That Finds Pennies Together...
...is a little weird, sure. But have you ever met a family that was over the moon from finding 57 cents? It's a bit refreshing. Welcome to life with the Steins!
Actually, to be more exact, we found 56 and 3/4 cents. Literally...one of the pennies my mom spied in the gutter was only partially there. Poor Abe got a nose job I'm not sure he wanted...but his misfortune gave us a thrill. (Twisted aren't we?!).
Besides the mangled penny, we scored six other pennies, a nickle, two dimes and a quarter. That's right...a quarter! And as you may know by now...that's a red letter day in the world of penny finding!
So, this is how the Stein Family kicked off our holiday season. A walk to my work's pre-Christmas happy hour full of pennies, nickles, and quarters...oh, my! All in a day's work for a penny collector! And for an entire FAMILY of penny collectors...well...time together is the real prize, but the pennies are so exciting!
Actually, to be more exact, we found 56 and 3/4 cents. Literally...one of the pennies my mom spied in the gutter was only partially there. Poor Abe got a nose job I'm not sure he wanted...but his misfortune gave us a thrill. (Twisted aren't we?!).
Besides the mangled penny, we scored six other pennies, a nickle, two dimes and a quarter. That's right...a quarter! And as you may know by now...that's a red letter day in the world of penny finding!
So, this is how the Stein Family kicked off our holiday season. A walk to my work's pre-Christmas happy hour full of pennies, nickles, and quarters...oh, my! All in a day's work for a penny collector! And for an entire FAMILY of penny collectors...well...time together is the real prize, but the pennies are so exciting!
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The Penny Wall
A place to honor pennies (large & small) and what they add up to be!
The Spreadsheet...Who just throws money in a jar?!
