lucas wants money, lots of money, joe's money

On Friday, before I watched What Not To Wear, I caught some of Say Yes To the Dress. I’ve seen this show once before so I don’t know why I watched it again. I become so annoyed with these people that I end up having full-on conversations with these women (okay, to the conversations are one-sided, but I do talk to them a lot). Also, the family members and friends who come along for the dress-shopping trip make me crazy.

Most of the time, though, it wasn’t actually the shoppers who made me crazy but the prices that made me crazy. Some of these people were spending more on a wedding dress, a dress that will be worn for a few hours for one day, than I spent on my car. My car that I’ve used for the last seven years. On the most recent episode I watched, there was a woman who was having a Muslim ceremony one day and a Christian ceremony the next. She had a dress for her Muslim ceremony and was buying one for her Christian one. That dress cost $11,000 (more than my car, people). Later, she came back for yet another dress because she needed a dress to put on when she changed out of her wedding dress. So, she bought another wedding dress. It doesn’t really matter how much the second (ahem, third) one cost because the other one was $11.000!

I’m sure that these amounts of money seem like nothing to some people, but I can barely comprehend being able to do that. In fact, I can’t comprehend it.

Often, Cardo and I muse about the possibility of being stinking rich one day (this isn’t one of our goals and neither of us are on the path of getting us there, but we sometimes wonder about it anyway). We wonder, “How much will we change if one day we are rich?” (And, our ideas of what rich is, is tremendously different. Cardo has much loftier ideas about what rich is than I do.)

Will we still buy our big furniture items from Craigslist and Goodwill? Will we still clothes shop at Savers? Will we continue to mainly only buy used books? Will we still buy store-brand (Kirkland Signature) toilet paper at Costco?

I think that we will. This kind of second-hand and bulk buying is just a part of how I live.

I think that what would change the most is our current lack of travel. I would love to travel to so many places and that’s just not all that possible for us right now. Oh, and I’d like to be able to pay for all of Pic’s college (if she goes and as long as she’s putting in the effort). I, possibly somewhat hugely naively, believe that our everyday lives would be pretty much the same.

Oh, I almost forgot, though…I’d finally get my hybrid (or other alternatively-fueled car).

What would change for you guys if you were suddenly stinking rich?

moving on...but, why?

Today, Coach J, Destructor, Pic and I went to hang out for a bit. Coach J had invited me to go see HMS Pinafore last night, but I was slightly freaking out about the mess here and the reading and packing that needed to be done. I was thinking to bail on today's outing also, but I thought, "I'm going to need to get out of the apartment tomorrow, regardless." So, we went.

The kids were great. They shared sips (one of Destructor's new words in his enormously-speedily growing vocabulary) of apple juice and bites of a lemon poppyseed scone. We walk around and gifts for an upcoming birthday were bought. Then, we took the kids to Williams Sonoma where we salivated over kitchen gadgets we might not ever be able to afford (we found a copper KitchenAid mixer I love, but it costs $899!). After window shopping a bit more, we ended up at Johnny Carino's for lunch. The kids sat next to each other and shared toys and food.

I needed to get out and I'm glad that we went.

It's been so great being able to see Destructor grow from, well, fetus (okay, so I didn't actually see this...other than the sonogram pictures on Coach J's fridge) to the running around, talking, active boy he is now. Most of the time, the kids get along pretty well. And, while the kids play, I get to hang out with my friend, which is always good.

So, after days like this, I wonder what I'm thinking moving. I know that people say that I'll form a new support group wherever I end up next, but really, it's taken me so ridiculously long to form the one I have here. I hate the thought of Pic and I spending most of our time with just the two of us because I tend to be a hermit.* I also hate the thought of being three years in before I form a new support group and then having to move two years later anyway. Sometimes I wonder why I even form attachments anyway.

Okay, so that last thought is horribly pessimistic, I know. I'm just not a huge fan of the whole uprooting thing right now. Part of this is just nervousness about me having to start somewhere new and unknown. I'll get over it, I suppose I will (because I'm the queen of wishful thinking).

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P.S. Yes, I know that I whine about this upcoming move a lot, but, well, this is my blog, so I'll whine about it as much as I please.

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* I recently spent an entire semester using the term "eremite" because I couldn't for the life of me remember the freaking word "hermit." Sleep is a beautiful thing and I obviously need more of it.

insanity

Does anyone else have those moments of pure irrational breakdown.

Something along the lines of, "I can't find my friggin' book. Screw it, I quit grad school"? Hmm? Something like that?

A couple of weeks ago, I was frantically searching for my book for class. I put it aside, I swear I had just seen it and then, suddenly, poof!, the friggin' thing was gone. I frantically searched for about forty-five minutes before I decided I was making myself way crazier than I should be. I was so entirely not amused with myself.

Losing my book is clearly a rational reason to chuck it all, no?

I have a feeling I'll be having plenty more of these days in the very immediate future.

home means nevada

The RN&R has a feature on holiday gifts we can buy from "local, indie businesses." One of the first items listed is a "Nevada-shaped copper cookie cutter, ($12.95) -- for all those raging Nevada Day parties, we suppose."

Back when I first started on my current path to mental breakdown and utter exhaustion, I took a class with Dr Turkey in the Straw (such a better pseudonym is needed, I know this). He was a bit hung up on his baking skills, which were fabulous, by the way. At the end of the semester, he made us cupcakes topped with piped-icing flowers. He also made us un-iced, wonderful sugar cookies, in the shape of Nevada. Someone had bought him one of the above-mentioned cookie cutters and he had wanted to try it out.

I don't know that I can think of another instance of a prof baking for my classmates and me [not "I" but "me" thank you very much]. Although, Dr Jones did bring in some cookies one of his students had baked for him once. Tainted cookies.

Hmm. I'm going to go peruse the rest of the article.

mind numbing

Once, when Poke and I were in high school, we were hanging out at her house with her mom. This was pretty common. Poke's mom owns a massive amount of movies. Seriously...she could open up a video rental program from her home. Anyhow, we were sitting around, enjoying some quiet time, I suppose (what's quiet time? please tell me it will return someday), when Poke's mom decided she wanted to watch a movie.

A stupid movie.

Yes, this is the desire she voiced. Poke and I totally didn't get it, but we went along with it. After several minutes of searching, we pulled out Johnny Mnemonic. We popped the neon orange tape into the VCR and began to watch the movie. Poke and I were somewhat at a loss for words due to the utter stupidity of the movie. However, I guess that stupidity was the point, yes? I'm pretty sure Poke and I never finished watching the movie.*

Tonight, I rented Baby Mama. I need mind-numbingly stupid and I already know I can't handle the Keanu Reeves flick. We'll see how this works.

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*Although, one night, I spent the night at Poke's house and we started watching Biodome rather late in the night. Poke was smart enough to fall asleep, but I watched the whole moronic movie...which probably makes me a moron.

take a look at my girlfriend

season's greetings

I just wasted a bit of precious nap time playing with Vista Print's holiday card maker. Poke sent out caricature cards like these, from Vista Print a couple of years ago. They were very cute.

Apparently I don't really know what my family looks like, though. Oh, and messy, unstyled hair was not an option for either me or Pic. Oh, and Pic's somewhere between "baby" and "girl" in their categories, so I stuck with baby.

Also, too (haha...okay), that's me sticking my tongue out because I'm not good with serious pictures, even when I'm a cartoon. And, Pic doesn't have twigs growing out of the side of her head, that's her hair. The end.