Settling.....

I swear to God that's the story of my life. Settling. I want the best, but I settle for what I can afford.

Case in point....
The home computer died the other month. Hubbie and I decided that we were tired of Microsoft and wanted to get an operating system that wasn't so retarded. We wanted a Mac. We saved our money, we hoped, we dreamed.....

Then the water pump went out on the old car (Sherwood). Since Pip will need this to get to and from school (occasionally -- sometimes Hubbie needs it to drive into work), we needed to get it fixed. (($457))

Followed by the State of Ohio letting us know that we'd figured our taxes wrong and needed to cut them a check by the 20th for $89.

There went everything we'd saved for the new computer.

So we settled. We went to Best Buy and bought the cheapest thing we could find. I'm sure that the technology in it is long outdated, but at least it has that new, "Vista" operating system.

In case you're curious -- it sucks.

But now I can pay my bills and balance my checkbook at home again. I suppose that that's a plus.

I don't mean to sound whiny or spoiled. We have a roof over our heads, we eat 3 meals a day (not provided by the government), and from time to time we are actually able to go out and have a little fun. I'm just getting SO friggin' tired of having to settle for second best! (...or third... or that stupid Vista thing...)

We're back to saving for the Mac again, but it's a lot harder when Pip is with us. Especially since the Senior Portrait Industry is just NOT set up for shared children. (Seriously! It's cheaper for each household to buy their own package than it is to split a larger one since they don't allow you to substitute another friggin' 8 x 10 for a useless set of wallets!)

I don't suppose that I could get Pip to settle for a nice picture taken with my cell phone?

I Have the Best Friend -- EVER!!

So I got home from work last night and brought in the mail.

There was a padded manilla envelope shoved into the mailbox, but I didn't think much of it. My husband is CONSTANTLY buying books and stuff online and I'm generally bringing one or two of these in a week anyway.

I put it on the counter where he could find it when he got home and sorted through the rest of the junk mail, bills, and college info (Pip gets TONS of "Look at us!" college shit weekly). When I turned back to put the bills in our inbox, I noticed the writing on the package looked suspiciously like Kimba's writing. I looked closer and it was! The envelope was for me!

I tore into the package like Rosie O'Donnell tearing into a package of Ring-Dings and there it was-- an iPod Shuffle. I read the note enclosed. Since she already had a Nano and I was still saving my duckets to buy one of my own, she sent me the Shuffle!

But wait!! It gets better!!!

She charged it and put some songs on it for me!!!!

Thank You Kimba!!!!!! You're the best friend EVER!!!

Be Our Guest!

I can hardly believe it.

Somehow I made it into the local community theater's next production, "Beauty and the Beast". This surprises the hell out of me because I didn't really prepare well for auditions. --I suppose that's what happens when you work full time, are involved with outside the home activities, and don't want to keep your husband up past midnight as you hammer away at music (our apartment is tiny, so even if you're in the next room, you're only 12 feet away from each other). I almost didn't waste the director's time, but changed my mind in the 9th hour.

No, not the 11th hour. That would have been rude.

I'm just in the chorus, but I kind of like it that way. You get more stage-time.

Just thought I'd share...