we're not a rich family... like most adults, we have our share of bills and a mortgage that is higher than necessary... and i'm not an expensive wife... give me a good cup of coffee and a few bucks for paper, i'm straight... give ramel a few bucks to buy a used video game and a jug of gatorade, he's straight... diego and isabella are quite content with a new toy to suit their current enjoyment... and we don't ask of these luxuries daily...
so frivolous spending is not in our budget... it's not to say we don't have those conversations of "what would you do with a million dollars?" we have
SERIOUS conversations despite the fact we never discuss WHERE this money came from... as we chat, i have already paid off the house and our credit cards as well as bought a new car that is safe, fully insured, and can seat two car seats perfectly... the house has been painted and all holes in the wall are fixed professionally... new gutters have been installed and a pretty fence replaces our rotting one... a new garage sits where the old one leaned sadly to the right... we have a new bedroom set with furniture that isn't falling apart from the child who jumped off everything...a new couch and a bigger television sit in a refinished living room where the 70's wooden panels have been ripped off... all windows have been replaced and pretty curtains hang on curtain rods that don't fall off... a new stove that works and new chairs that don't make your bum hurt sit in our kitchen... there are closets for us to hang our clothes and there are places to store our shoes perfectly... yep, all that has been taken care of [including paying someone to refinish our basement and guarantee it bug-free forever]
so far, we haven't received a million dollars so most of this remains to be done... [like the painting and fixing the holes]... i haven't had my own paycheck since i was pregnant with diego.... being a stay-at-home mom is wonderful but it's been far too long since i requested a few extra bucks to spend on myself... it's been even longer since i've shopped without a twinge of guilt that this money should go towards one bill or another... after some odd years, the time finally came when there was extra money... and guess who got to spend it?! >grinning wildly< BOY, DID IT FEEL WHOPPIN' WONDERFUL!!!
i finally bought new clothes without thinking "do i really need this shirt?" and sticking it back onto the rack... i still bought from the clearanced section but
there was no guilt... and makeup!!!! now, i rarely wear more than mascara and light lipstick... but it was time to get some new colors and a wee bit of blush [not trying to look like
mimi in the drew carey show].... the last time i bought the stuff was back in high school so this moment of splurging was
long overdue... add new jammies, slippers, shoes, and a couple other girlie goodies and this momma was happy! it felt good to shop without the kids and it felt even better to stick more than just toothpaste into the shopping cart...
i even got a haircut!!! do you know when i last went to the salon to get it cut??!! 1998, right before the first year of college... after that, i chopped it all off myself.... TEN YEARS!!! i waited TEN YEARS to sit in a salon chair and have a young gal ask me "what sort of style do you like?" i waited TEN YEARS to tell her "short-ish, layered and IN STYLE!" hehe... i got to walk out of that place smelling like expensive hair products and feeling like i was the best looking gal in town...
and after the haircut, i went PAPER SHOPPING!!!! yeah, greenbeanbaby doesn't need more paper but what is a treat to her if she can't splurge on some?! it just so happened to be the same day as a whopping sale... 6 sheets of paper for 96¢.... so i got about $10 worth :)... and paper pad stacks?! those were all half off so guess who walked out of that store with 3 packs?!! yep, this grinning mama with her hair cut and her new lipstick in her purse!!!
>breathes a sigh of relief< i'm telling ya- it felt good!!! less than 2 months worth of our phone bill was spent [and it didn't come out of the phone bill]... so while i managed to splurge freely and guiltlessly, the piggy bank didn't break... it was well deserved... i mean, every mom deserves a treat right?! sure, it's wonderful to receive gifts and it's awesome to see the bills paid... it's beautiful to have the chance to stay at home with the kids and it's nice to own this home... but with our snowstorms keeping us indoors and children getting sick, a mother needs a chance to LEAVE her home... grocery shopping, not included... well, i finally had my chance :)
now, to put these papers to use for the march 28th grand re-RE-reopening of the etsy shop