I came home from the Salvation Army Thrift Store (we are not blessed to have Deseret Industries in these parts) this morning with unsurety as to how my hubby would react to my recent find. Ever had one of those purchases? Well, this sort of thing is a frequent occurance here in my abode. And I didn't know how it would go over today.
See, I hardly ever get to go to the thrift store, but I've known that if you get there on a good day, you can find some treasures. If you get there on a bad day, you'll end up walking away wishing you wouldn't have wasted your time there. What denotes a good day or a bad day at the thrift store? Luck, my friends. Simply, luck.
Well, since I was in the area this morn, and was wanting to find a cheap memory game for Addie, I decided to stop in.
I sifted through their items for sale (ie., junk) until I stumbled upon a big 101 Dalmatians tin. This tin looked like something you'd see lining the aisles of Wal-Mart over the holidays--you know, those things that have three different kinds of popcorn sitting inside, waiting for you to gorge yourself on--all the while not even liking the stuff in the first place but you eat it anyway because hey, it's just sitting there?
Yeah, the tin looked like that. Only much bigger. And plastered with black and white dotted doggies all over it.
I wondered what I would behold when I opened the lid. It was dusty all over and taped shut at the top. It looked like it was something that had been passed over too many a time. And if I wasn't sifting, I would have passed it over, too.
Admittedly, I was a little nervous to open the lid. What would I find inside? A piece of rotten fruit? A stinky shoe? A scary little figurine? (those were actually on sale on the side wall of the store for only 10 cents a piece!! What a bargain!)
My wondrous eyes beheld something that I knew was a treasure. Right there in front of me was a find that wasn't worth passing up. It was something called
Marbulous. This is the plastic version of those old fashioned
marble rollers that grandma tucked away and would pull out when the grandkids came over for a visit (oh, the fun we had!)
I immediately looked at the price tag. 5 dollars!? Don't you go to the thrift store looking for a deal? I don't even think a TV at the thrift store costs $5! But the game in the Dalmatian tin did. And I wanted it.
I carried it up to the check-out. "That's $5", the lady chimed. "Um, yeah, but this game comes with no marbles," I said. "And do you know if all of its little pieces are in there?" Dumb question to ask at a thrift store, I know. But the lady proceeded to tell me that they probably were because they usually don't charge that much for games (no kidding!?) She must have felt sorry for me that the game cost so much and that I was even asking about it. So she punched into her little till to give me 10% off. (I know what you're saying right now. There she goes, trying to get a DEAL at a thrift shop.) You know, though, that 50 cents will help feed my children another meal.
The lady asked what it was that I was actually buying. I told her it was a marble game and I bet she was jealous. I hurried out of the store before she could up the price even more.
I came home an hour later than I told Ben I would, so I left my find in the car. Best not to stir the pot even more by being late AND dragging in what I thought he would think would be a pile of junk.
But I couldn't keep this secret much longer. When both Nathan and Ryan found out I was home and starting crying at my legs (they always do this when I come home), I said, "Hey guys, I have a new toy. Look at this new toy I got!" and ran out to the car to bring in my treasure.
And that's when the fun began.
10 hours later, with only a few short breaks for diaper changes, a trip to the store to buy marbles, a quick snack, and a lot of happy kiddos, we retired the game. I mean, we gotta sleep sometime, right?
And to make it even better, Ben told me this was the best thing I've come home with yet. I knew I done good. He just had to discover that. And he did.
ps. I did find a memory game for Addie. And it was only 50 cents.
pps. Remember I have a junky camera that has no flash? Yeah. Sorry.
He's just not into that kinda stuff.
