More cute pictures

Not going back to school yet (I think)

I recently got in touch again with a friend from college. She just got married last year. Since she graduated, she's gone to graduate school at a prestigious university, worked for famous corporations, and travelled all over the world (if you're reading this, Diana, I love you anyway). Jealous a little? Um, yeah.

I told Mark about how finding out about her life stirred up all the why-don't-I-have-a-cool-life longings inside of me. "Why don't we ever do anything fun or ambitious?" I said. Now, now, you might think, surely you occasionally do something just a teensy weensy bit amusing. No, we don't. We sit at home and place bets on which one of us will fall asleep before 9:00 first.

Mark, being the practical one in the family (meaning he sees the obvious while I'm still in dreamyland), said, "Does your friend have any children?" Silly man! Thinks that kids change everything!

But, being me (and the kids having an exceptionally whiny, obnoxious day), I have to look into every possible career and academic alternative to staying at home. I get on the internet as soon as I can and find out about GREs and employment applications. If I wanted to, I could do anything!

Then reality (which is conveniently forgotten in the ambitious wannabe rush) catches up with my dreams. Going to school or work would mean finding child care for two mama's boys. I don't have the money or the heart for that. And work is just that...work. It's hard and stuff. Then, today, the baby was sick and I thought about how glad I was that I don't have to call in to work to take care of him. And that I can write from home, but we're not so broke that I have to write from home.

My life is pretty good right now. But every so often, I have to explore all my options to make sure.

Going too far

I've blogged about some budgeting ideas that make me laugh because they assume someone who wants to spend less money is already spending way too much. Now here are some budgeting ideas that make me laugh because, well, you've gotta have a life. There are some depths to which I will not sink in order to save money.

1. Reusing sandwich/freezer bags.

2. Flushing the toilet less often.

3. Sharing lawnmowers with neighbors.

4. Sharing hygiene items with family members.

5. Disconnecting the internet.

Reality check:

1. Unless we have to live through another Depression and the alternative is starvation, I'm not washing out plastic bags for reuse. I may be miserly, but I can also think of a million other things I'd rather do with my time than save a few cents by rinsing sandwich bags. Sometimes saving time is as important as saving money.

2. Gross. I don't care how much water it uses to flush. Toilets are supposed to be flushed. That's what they're made to do.

3. Sure, it costs a couple hundred bucks to buy a lawnmower. But we have enough trouble finding time in the summer to mow our lawn as it is without waiting in line for our turn.

4. Sorry, honey, Irish Spring just isn't my thing. Ladies' deodorant may be more expensive, but I refuse to go anywhere in public smelling like a man. And if I find you using my pink razors on your face, my hairy legs will kick your butt.

5. Are you kidding? Why not just send me off to live in a cave in the mountains with the children and not let me come back to civilization for 20 years?

Pay the piper

Yesterday, I called the music store and found out that the piccolo I'd been renting and playing for years is now paid off. It's not my dream piccolo, but it is now officially mine. It's strange that I never learned to play it while I was in school, but then after I graduated, I ended up finding all kinds of uses for it in community musical groups.

Also, I discovered why music stores have earplugs. If you want to practice Stars and Stripes Forever enough to play it well and still hear your family talking to you the next day, you need to buy a set of earplugs. And you need a set for each of your family members so they will want to talk to you the next day.

So now I have $35 extra a month to spend on whatever I choose. Mark has a hobby budget allocated to him every month, and I'm tempted to do the same, but there's another little necessity I'm contemplating.

It's called earthquake insurance. It would probably cost close to the same as my piccolo payment, and let's face it, what good are cute little crafts and hobbies for my house if my house is not standing (and not paid for)? We live on an earthquake-prone area, and I know earthquakes are not included in our current insurance policy. It's just sensible. If you live in Mississippi, you should get flood insurance. If you live in Tennessee, you should get tornado insurance. If you have on a fault line, you should get earthquake insurance. And if you live in California, you should get all three.

My plans, if I'm self-disciplined enough to follow through, are to add the earthquake rider to our insurance policy, go through the house taking pictures of everything, and then store the pictures online so the pictures don't get destroyed with the house. After all, the tectonic plates could cause the earth to shake any time now. So could the sound waves from my piccolo. Maybe the planet needs a set of earplugs, too.

My handsome boys

Here they are. If you came to our house, you'd probably see the same thing at any given moment: Liam with his Power Rangers, Kyle with his finger in his nose, and Mark refusing to show his teeth.

Economic stimulus

It looks like Bush's economy-saving idea will pass, and that most families will receive a wad of money from the federal government. This is supposed to revitalize the economy because we will spend, spend, spend it on stuff. This spending will give millions of dollars to business, which will, in turn, encourage businesses to hire people, thus giving them more money to spend, etc., etc.

I have already imagined several ways to spend this money. I could put it into savings. I could make an extra car payment (or a few), or an extra mortgage payment. Buy a flat-screen TV I will not. Sorry, President Bush (and those who signed this law with you), I do not plan to hit the mall when the check lands in my mailbox.

Right now, my husband and I have a little money saved. That's a huge improvement on the rest of the American population. Still, I don't feel that it's enough. If one of us were to fall catastophically ill, for instance, or if Mark were to lose his job, or if our car died and we needed to buy a new one, we'd be in big trouble.

And, unlike the government, we can't just borrow money from China if we decide that we need it. We choose not to keep a budget the way the government does--we like the idea of a household surplus.

So, President Bush, I'm sorry if putting the money in a savings account or paying for purchases already made doesn't fit with your idea of stimulating the domestic economy. We'll stimulate our real domestic economy first.

cute cousins

Liam trying out the timer feature on our camera.

Liam with his cousin, who came over to play with us Thursday.

Home Alone

Today, I asked Mark to take the children somewhere far away. He did, and I realized it was probably the second time since we moved in that I have been alone in the house.

It's a strange feeling. I can hear the fridge and the computer humming. I can eat lunch and no one demands to eat whatever I'm having. I can sit down on the couch or in the computer chair, and no one wants to get on my lap. I can read my book and no child wants me to read to him. I can watch TV without worrying about what corrupting effect it might have on their innocent little minds. I can write if I want to!

Now, I often spend some daydreaming time wishing I had more time to write. I've read disgusting stories about novelists who produce their entire first drafts in six weeks. Oh, yes, I could do that, too, I think, if I had unlimited time and less demanding children. If I worked on my as-yet-untitled novel for five hours every day, you can bet I'd be zipping along on page 197 or so by now. I could even do some freelance magazine work. It's just those kids who need so much attention that keep me from doing anything productive.

While being physically alone in the house is rare, I do occasionally get a break. When Kyle naps, Liam knows that he must not disturb me if he wishes to avoid personal injury. But as soon as I sit down in front of the computer,my brain fills up with dread. Maybe I'll just check my email first. If only I had a laptop, I'd be so much more prolific. Maybe I'll think about that for awhile. Maybe I'll rest my eyes for a minute. Maybe I'll check the election results. I need to get in the writing mode first. Surely I don't need to write for a whole hour. Maybe if I can just get one page of writing done today, then that will be enough of an accomplishment for now. Or maybe I can skip it today since I'm so tired, and then tomorrow I can write an extra page to make up for it.

Darn kids. They've prevented many an aspiring writer from making it big. Where are they, anyway? I hope they come home soon.

You lucky Americans

Most of the time, I am proud of the country where I was born. I am glad I was born there and that I grew up there. But I no longer live there and so, all you Americans, today I'm a wannabe. That's right, it's Super Tuesday in one of the most exciting elections in American history. And what am I doing? Sitting at home, asking my husband on the phone who he voted for (dirty rotten patriot), and helplessly watching the results on the internet. I have plenty of political opinions, enough for another blog. But I wasn't born here and I have not yet taken the test or paid the hefty fines.

There are other ways to participate in the political process, of course, but it's not the same as standing in line shivering while they search for you on the computer, listening to the computer's certainty of your non-existence, sweetly presenting your ID because you know well enough to bring it after the last fiasco so that you can touch a screen and get your vote lost somewhere in the vast reaches of cyberspace.

Because even if you contribute to your favorite candidate's coffers and volunteer to interrupt people's dinnertime with campaign calls, every single voter still has that nasty variable called choice, and that's what calls the shots. Could we have the first black, female, Mormon, ordained minister, or doctor as the president after these elections? You decide.

I'll be sitting with a remote in my hand, waiting to find out.

You call that budgeting?

I get really annoyed sometimes with budgeting articles whose best money-saving tips are "Get rid of your maid service" and "Stop buying Starbucks coffee on your way to work".

Before I rant, I will admit that I'm very blessed. We have a house, and some truly poor folks might see our recent purchase of a second vehicle as a major indulgence. To me, however, (a mother with two children who does not relish the idea of pushing the huge double stroller through Main St.'s unshovelled winter sidewalks), some former luxuries are now necessities.

Having said that, purchasing said vehicle gives us a newfound sense of poverty. Our financial management strategy consists of figuring out which bills are due before the next paycheck and avoiding bouncing rubber checks off the bottom of our bank account. In other words, there's not much fat to trim.

So here are more budget-trimming ideas I commonly see and find truly amusing:

1. Cut off your landline. Since everyone in your family has his or her own cell phone, you could save about $50 a month and (poor you) have one less phone number to remember.

2. Eat out less. We know you're too lazy to cook dinner most of the time, but eating out at restaurants every night will seriously dent your cigarette fund. So stop it! Start buying groceries and make dinner at least twice a week.

3. Take cheap vacations. Your idea of a good time may be to fly first class all the way to your chalet in the Swiss Alps, but you can probably cut back and still have a good time. Fly coach. Have your wine brought to the refrigerator in your room.

4. Do your kids really need those designer clothes? Kiddie boutiques can be pricey. Rest assured, your snobby children will still have friends in Levi's. Just don't tell their mothers that you bought their outfits at the mall so you can have friends, too.

5. Get a cheaper cable package. We know your 500 + channels look great on your new 50-inch flat screen, but you can't watch all those channels at once. You can find a reasonable cable package with over 100 channels for much less.

Reality check.

1. We don't have any cell phones except for the one Mark uses for work, issued to him by his employer.

2. Eating out? What's that? Is that what people do when they go to Wendy's and get something from the dollar menu?

3. I remember we took a vacation to Canada once, about two years ago, when my generous mother paid for two of the plane tickets.

4. Consignment stores and department store clearance shelves are the new cool, baby.

5. Rabbit ears on top of in-laws' reject TV.