Trade #4: The Metal Detector

Well folks, here's the story of Trade #4!

Amy's worst fears came true! 

There was no one else available to make the last minute trade with me. 
Since Amy is my wife, I made her take the captains seat 
(the only other seat) in The Trade Mobile.  

And we're on the road again! 

And no, I did not stand in the middle of the highway Grandma! 

I actually strapped a chair to the grill and sat in it while we were going 70! 
Just kidding! Winning! I am just that good at snapping pics :)

Any idea where we are headed yet?

Alright, the picture says it all

We headed East and took historic Route 66 

And the winner is Claremore, Oklahoma! 

That sure was a long, loud, and bumpy ride!

This is Drew

And this has to be the coolest trade yet!

I'm starting to notice I say that with every new trade I make

Drew found me on Craigslist and said HE HAD TO HAVE the oven. He and his family go camping A LOT! This was a no brainer that he needed this oven. I had received a lot of offers from several people for the oven, but they just did not seem right.

For example, I didn't feel right taking something stolen. Second, I didn't like the idea of making a trade for something that was illegal. And lastly, I didn't like the idea of trading for something that would kill me, being that I did not know how to properly operate it. 

After a lot of brainstorming, Drew presented me with the idea of the metal detector; A Bounty Hunter Lone Star to be exact. Nearly a $200 metal detector that has had great reviews and has beaten out many top of the line MDs.

There was ONE BIG problem, he had to convince his son to let it go. Seeing that it was going to benefit the family, his son took one for the team. To be honest, his son didn't t use it very much or have any crazy finds. 

This is a must have! 

I honestly wish I could keep it. 

I had a metal detector when I was a kid and had so much fun with it. I was always finding little random things. I obviously did not find anything huge and valuable, seeing that I am trying to trade myself out of debt ;) 

I take that back, I did find a ladies ring she had lost in our front yard, though I did not get to keep it :( This is perfect for the beach or lake side, and great for historical lots. This metal detector ranks up there with all the professional models! Treat yourself and go get your very first Bounty Hunter. You might just find yourself a new hobby!

Don't forget about the Hiding Dirty Contest! 

You have exactly one week to find him

In one of the pictures in this post and email me at Trademeoutofdebt@gmail.com

 Make sure you tell me where you found him!

We will announce the winner after 5PM CST on May 5th. The contest will close at 11:59PM CST on May 4th.  We have to be resourceful this go around and use something we already have as a prize.
(Layoffs make you do these sorts of things!) So, the one and only prize for finding Dirty this go 'round is a $25 gift card to AMC theaters. Not sure if anyone outside of Oklahoma has an AMC, so I am sorry ahead of time if that is the case. I would still love to hear from you though! You can use it to take your honey on a date, with enough left over for a popcorn and drink (if you share!).

Happy hunting!

The Nitty Gritty

I guess I have a lot of explaining to do 

The big question out there is, "Why haven't you been posting much lately?" Great short question with a not so short answer.

It all started at the end of January just a few days before my birthday. I was having a great day at work and things were finally going alright. Right before the day was over I was called into the head honchos office. Feeling like I'd been doing a great job, I walked in with confidence.  That is, until I saw "them".

Anytime you walk into your masters house and there's more than one person in there that is twice your age, and there is a security officer right outside the door, you're not getting a raise!

In english: I lost my job. Also, we somehow lost the camera cord to post pictures, which we still haven't found. We think we know who the culprit is. She goes by AC. Thanks to a loving Sister, we were able to barrow a camera cord to get some pictures posted!

The last 3 months haven't been a cake walk for us. I'd have to say probably one of the most humbling times in my little family's life. I wish I could say it was all easy, but it wasn't. There's been a lot of praying and faith building exercises.

I don't know why God likes to keep us on our toes literally till the last minute when bills are due. Maybe it's because He just wants to see how much we will trust him?

There are so many stories I could share with you of how God has blessed us within these last 3 months. There honestly hasn't been a day that we've gone without. Every one of our needs have been met.

He has provided jobs on the side for me to do in order to help provide; all the way to God putting us on people's hearts that have blessed us more than we could have ever imagined! I will forever be grateful.

The good news is, I have a new full time job! I'm pretty sure I can say with confidence that I am done with the medical field. Although, I love helping the sick and injured, I love working with my hands and getting dirty more.

All that said, I will be the new Lead Grounds Keeper for one of the local Community Colleges. I'll start at the beginning of May. We're not out of the deep end yet financially. We know God is going to take care of us and provide as long as we are following in His will and are being obedient. 

On a totally different subject: The condition of Dirty Tyson. All the kings horses and all the kings men were able to put him together again...except for a big chunk of his tail feather. I have searched high and low, over and under, in and out and the big chunk of ceramic is just GONE.

So, he may not be completely whole, but he's still just as loyal and will continue to be the Trade Me Out of Debt Mascot, tail feather or not.

The story, in photos.

So there you have it folks. The story of how Dirty T was smashed. Matt sent me into a panic at work texting me things like "Tragedy! Call me ASAP! I may need to call the ambulance". [I told him the next time one of his ceramic chickens break, he is NOT allowed to text me urgent messages]. T Diddy is still in recovery, and is getting Gorilla Glue stitches as we speak. We would have posted sooner, but the pain of Dirty T's near loss was almost too much for Matt to bear.

We are still working on trading the Camping Oven. Several offers have been made, but none of them have seemed right or "tradeable". Keep checking back for updates!