Diaries I Read:
All of this house stuff is getting out of control. Absolutely out of control. I have GOT to stop spending money! I feel like that�s all B and I do is go out and spend money on the house. It�s getting ridiculous. I�m surprised B hasn�t absolutely put his foot down yet. That�s part of the problem, actually. Even though I can tell he�s nearing the limit, he�s still going for these big purchases. And when he�s going along with it, I�m just riding this wave as long as I can. But we have to be nearing the limit at this point. To tell you the truth, the thought of spending money is starting to make me feel a little sick. But despite all that, I�m still doing it. In fact, I just went out during lunch and spent another $40-some. I have to stop. I have to stop going in stores, because they make me buy more than I planned on buying. I go in there with an idea of one item I need/want, and I come out with three or four. This is what we did this weekend: spent money. Thursday our dining room table and chairs arrived! They are SOOOOOOOOO beautiful! I love them love them love them. That cost a big chunk of change. That night we went to Lowe�s and bought patio furniture because it was on clearance. Granted, we did get a really good deal. BUT because we were getting a good deal, we bought more than we would have otherwise. Not only did we get the table and six chairs and umbrella and umbrella stand, but we also got two chaise lounge chairs and a little table to go in between them. THEN, because we had a 10% off coupon that we were using for the patio furniture, we decided to buy everything else we could think of that we needed from a hardware store. So, we got a ladder, an avocado tree, flowers, a hose attachment, caulking stuff, a hoe, a shovel, some stain, and maybe a couple of other things that I�ve forgotten about. Needless to say, we bought a lot of STUFF for our big new BOX. Then on Saturday we went to the swap meet because I was sure they�d have the bookshelves we had tried to buy a week ago but were sold by the time we got to the store. Guess what � I was right � they had that exact kind of furniture. But of course they didn�t have the shelves we wanted but they said they had them in their showroom so we went there and no, they didn�t have them but we ordered them. So there�s another chunk of change. They�re supposed to arrive in a couple of weeks. Then my mom and I went to the mall to pick up this little hallway table I had ordered. That was $130. I had bought a vase for our mantle but then found some other things I liked better so I was going to return that vase. So I did. But then, while we were looking around, we found this flower arrangement (in the same vase) that would look awesome in my dining room. The problem? The big magnolia flowers in the arrangement cost $7 apiece! And I needed several. And I needed two of the arrangements just because of the way our house is set up. And them my mom found a great table runner. So I re-bought the vase plus one more plus six $7 flowers plus some other filler flowers. I wasn�t sure about spending the money, but I had seen how much pre-made flower arrangements cost at the swap meet ($100 or more!), so I figured maybe I was coming out on top anyway. But I was prepared to return everything if B freaked out. He didn�t. So I�ve got my two arrangements and they do look GOOD! On Sunday I don�t think we spent much money. I think we pretty much hung around the house gardening and stuff. We went to the little church again. Did I tell you about it? I had wanted to check out this giant church last Sunday, but B didn�t get back from running until about 9:45 and the service started at 10. I knew there was a church service held at the elementary school down the street from us, so I drove by to see what time it started. It started at 10, too, so B hurried to get ready and we walked over there. We really enjoyed it! It was a very nice service. There were only about 30 people there, at most, so when I say small I mean it. Anyways, we went back yesterday and it was very good again. I think we�re going to go there a couple more times and then check out a few other places before making a final decision. But back to spending money. Yesterday we went to get a picture framed and that�s going to cost another $120. Then we went to Home Depot for flowers and sandpaper and ended up dropping an additional $100-plus. See what I mean? It�s getting crazy! We�re living like we�re made of money and, believe me, we�re not! So it has to stop. I have to stop. Because even though B enjoys all the things we�ve been getting, most of it is my idea. It�s like a disease, though! The more I buy, the more I think I need! And the more I shop, the more I want! And the more areas of the house that I work on and get looking cute, the more I want to decorate! I need help! And I�m afraid of what we�re going to do when we�re finished with the house! What am I going to do with my time? We�re not going to be able to afford to do anything, so we�ll just have to sit around in our very pretty house. And then I wonder why I�m doing all of this? Why is it so important to me to have a perfect-looking house? Who really cares? Who am I going to impress? Who am I going to entertain? Speaking of entertaining, we went to a neighbor�s house for BBQ last night. This is the couple that were the first people to introduce themselves to us when we moved in. My first impression of the guy was that B would like him. He just seemed like a young, easy-going, active guy that B would have something in common with. B�s first impression was exactly the opposite: he didn�t care for him from the start. My first impression of the woman was that I wouldn�t really care for her. She weighs about 100 pounds, and 40 pounds of that is boobs. She has bleached white-blonde hair and she just didn�t strike me as my kind of gal. But actually, after spending a bit more time with her, I do like her. She�s nice. We�re not going to be best friends, but I think we could get along well. Anyways, B and I decided last night that these people are just plain weird. I can�t even tell you exactly what it is about them, but they just put both of us on edge. I do not feel comfortable with them. Like I said, I like her, but I don�t really care for him. B�s instincts about him were right on. I think B�s onto something when he says that they just don�t have any sense of humor. You know, you joke around a little, and they just look at you. It makes you feel like an idiot. So I don�t think we�re going to go out of our way to spend any more holidays with them. But you know, I think I just answered my question about who I�m trying to impress with this house. It�s people like this couple. It�s my neighbors. Isn�t that stupid? I don�t even know them. Well, I guess it is for me and B, too. We�re enjoying the house. We enjoy having it look nice. And we will enjoy entertaining our friends there. And maybe raising a family there some day. OK, I feel better now. Something you don�t know about me? I basically only drink water. OK, I often drink coffee in the morning (but not real coffee � I�m not enough of a grown-up for that � it�s International House fat-free sugar-free Suisse mocha mix) and an occasional alcoholic beverage, but most days, all I drink is water. I�ve just never liked soft drinks so I�ve never gotten into the habit of drinking them. On occasion, a root beer or Dr. Pepper sounds good, but not often. I really dislike cola drinks. I�ll drink a lemon-lime drink like Sprite over cola. Also, B gave up soft drinks like last December or something, so we don�t even have them around the house. So anyways, I only drink water, really. I still probably don�t drink enough, though. Bzzzzzzzz.
Working at home - Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004
Toronto - Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004
On the way to Toronto... - Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2004
A Good Day - Monday, Nov. 08, 2004
Another letter - Thursday, Nov. 04, 2004