I probably need to go back and read the manual

In my quest to single-handedly save the world through my thoughtfulness and frugality and recycling and and being careful? I think I'M the economic stimulus. Didn't mean to be but it has crossed my mind in the past week that there might should be a breathalyzer on eBay.

I'm just sayin'.

You know about the refrigerator dying. What was REALLY funny was that the one I ordered? That I sent back? The second one was $300 cheaper and they wrote me a check for the difference. Oh, yeah. Like I'm gonna mention that? Do I LOOK stupid? So I have this extra cash in my account, and I'm looking around.

Background here...my ONLY extravagance in my entire life has always been a good camera. A really good camera. Not the BEST camera but a good camera that captures moments to a tee. So three weeks ago, I broke down (actually I didn't break down...I had two margaritas at lunch and this is at my margarita HAUNT and they love me and my margaritas are NOT yellow. They're brown. If you don't know what that means? That's okay. You didn't buy a Nikon SLR at lunch.) and I bought the Nikon SLR I have been coveting for over a year. Just walked in and bought that sucker. I LOVE THIS CAMERA. Absolutely LOVE this camera.

The problem is that the REASON I wanted this camera is that it takes spectacular sports shots and I have a spectacular sports child. Except? THE LENS I NEED COSTS MORE THAN THE CAMERA. What I needed is a 70-300 mm lens. Oh, yeah. They are just GIVING those away. So I haunted eBay and I checked out CraigsList (carefully) and I haunted Amazon and...no one was coming off the price of that lens.

So I bought it anyway.

And then, while I was at it, I bought a monogramming sewing machine so that my kids will stop losing all their stuff...particularly their nice little Catholic school UNIFORM stuff which, trust me, doesn't come cheap.

So...in the past six weeks I've bought two new sets of tires and had the front-end bouncy things in my car replaced. I've bought a camera, a lens and a refrigerator. The world is going to hell in a handbasket, our retirement is down 35% but BY GEORGE. I have cold milk. I have great pictures. And I have a sewing machine I don't know how to use.

The Great American Dream. You gotta love it.

Comments

wineandroasts said…
My $1,200 sewing machine that I bought on 'time' several years ago and is still worth more than my car? It monograms. I don't know how to make it do that, but it does it. All I need it to do is sew straight lines, blind hems and button holes. But it was on SALE, and, and, and it's so pretty....

I also have a serger. If anyone in the blogosphere knows how the hell to thread it, I'll pay you to come to my house and set it up. It came with a video. Let me say that slowly. A VIDEO. VHS. We no longer do VHS in this house so I am SOL. But that's okay, because I got it used, from a friend, for $200. Too bad the friend now lives 2 hours away and, anyway, doesn't remember how to thread it because SHE only used it twice.
wineandroasts said…
PS - We dropped $800 at Lowes yesterday on two dishwashers for the rental houses and a buncha lumber so Hub can finally build a cabinet around my washer/dryer.

Obama would be SO proud.
Country Girl said…
Honey, you and I are IT. When will our stimulus money be here?
fatboyfat said…
You are a one-woman stimulus package.

Hmmm.

That could be misconstrued.
Country Girl said…
Not in this house. I KNOW my place.
Anonymous said…
Oh, God, I'm glad I'm not the only one. That tax refund came in and I lost my shit. Seriously. Almost every day the UPS boyfriend, I mean man, visited me. Most of my purchases were under $50 each but then I got the boys a Wii and me a Wii Fit. YIKES. Home Shopping Network hearts me now.
Merisi said…
In this time,
with the economy what it is,
I am sure the President will award you a Golden Consumer Heart medal any day now -
the economy needs people like you!
Somebody needs to buy to keep other people's jobs safe.
So, thank you! :-)

Congratulations on David's Post of the Day Award (I think this is a good sign, the GCH award should come any day now!).
I do love it and feel sooooo much better about the guitar we didn't actually need :-)

Congrats on a well-deserved mention at David's place!
Unknown said…
LOL!
Congrats on being a Contender for POTD!
Glennis said…
Congrats on POTD!!! Great post, BTW - I love your writing voice.

My husband put $20 on the horse that won the KY Derby, so we won (less his other bets on long shots) about $400, which means we'll be spending some stimulus money, too!

I've noticed a certain low-grad longing for a sewing machine in myself - totally weird, since I have absolutely no time for crafting and I haven't sewn in 20 years......is the desire to craft one of those biological clock thingees, like wanting to have a baby, only it happens to empty-nesters?
♥ Boomer ♥ said…
Congrats on POTD!!!!!!!