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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

I Confess

I have a confession.

I used to be a shop-a-holic.

Ok wait, I still am. It's just that all of my credit cards are either cut off, closed, or maxed out, so there fore I am a recovering shop-a-holic. Ugh.

Impulse shopping was my worst, especially on make up. I'll admit, I have a closet full of clothes and some are expensive, BUT, I wear them. I love them. With makeup, I have so much sitting brand new (probably expired), that I just had to have because of cute packaging. I'm a sucker. I do wear the clothes though.

Or at least those that..ah-hem... don't seem to have shrunk. What's that about? ;)

Anyhow, I can't impulse shop anymore. Or shop at all for that matter. We're trying to get finances in order and this time I am trying to stay committed. I rarely shop here, mainly because we have no money and I am sure husband would kill me if he knew I used a credit card. Some of them I just refuse to cut up, like Old Navy. It's the only thing that allows me to shop at Gap without having to buy one piece at a time, and without having to apply for their credit card. We have to have it for kids school clothes, summer clothes, etc. But, I still haven't been using it though it kills me to have that available credit.

Well in light of my attempt at not shopping, I have developed a new (bad?) habit.

I am an impulse traveler.

If you recall last week, we planned a Girls Cruise this fall. I already have plans of using my birthday money to pay for it. Then husband finds this. A ferry service on a small cruise ship from Ft Lauderdale to Freeport Bahamas. The poor guy was just trying to research an option for a family vacation that we can actually afford, and showed that to me. I mentioned it to my grandma in passing, just making conversation, and she got so excited about it that I felt like I need to take her. About 6 years ago my grandpa had open heart surgery. He's probably more healthy than anyone else his age (78), but mentally he is just not. He is 100% competent, they drive themselves, etc, but he is just in a funk. I guess it's part of getting old, but he just likes to sit around and sleep. So they never go anywhere, and I feel bad about that. They used to be heavy travelers, they've been so many neat places. Before we moved away, we took my grandma with us everywhere- well, we invited her, she wasn't always able to go. I feel bad because she is SO lively (at 76 years old!) and healthy, but feels like she need to be home with him.

So when I told her about the ferry she went on and on about how she'd LOVE to do it, especially since with good planning it could be done in a 3 day weekend, which is about as long as she will come down for. She doesn't like to leave him alone long, though he is fine.

I got the wheels turning and now my two kids, mother in law, grandma, and myself are headed to Freeport Bahamas at the end of July. I know I sound like I'm complaining, I'm really not. Once you've been to the Bahamas once though, I think most people see no need to go back just because there honestly isn't much there. So we compromised on a one night trip- just so we can say we went to the Bahamas for the weekend. It always makes me feel good to do something for her, to make her smile. I wish, daily, that I could just convince them to move down here and move in with me, so I could take care of them. They can take care of themselves, but you know, I could just be there. I am probably most close to them than anyone else in my family, and my world will be very dark when they are no longer in it.

Ok anyhow, before I upset myself for totally unnecessary reasons, we booked the trip. We are all excited, everything is mapped out and I must say that I think I had some hiden travel agent skills. It took quite the arranging to get them down here, to the bahamas and back within a 4 day 3 night time span, including reserving 5 different hotel nights at 2 separate locations, 5 ferry tickets and 2 airline tickets.. With my birthday money already spent on the girls cruise, my only other thought is

How the hell am I going to pay for this??

I'll get back to you on that one, as ideas are still forthcoming. Actually I have no ideas, so hopefully some will come forth. :)

I could always use that massive tax credit that we will get in paychecks now. A whopping $15 per paycheck. I'm sorry, I realize that over the course of millions of people, this equals a lot of money being pumped back into the economy. But seriously, $15 per paycheck? What does this do for the average family who is struggling and already so far behind? Notta, in my opinion. Something is better than nothing, but $15 isn't going to go far. Especially when you have to air condition a 2 story house in the summer in FL.

OK that's all that I have to say for now. It's another stormy night here, so I won't be sleeping for quite awhile. Ugh. I seriously hate storms, it is my one major turn off about living here. When you move away from mountains, a thunderstorm on flat land is a whole new experience. Lightening lights up for miles, the thunder never seems to end. Why can't it storm during the day when I can keep a better eye on things??

2 comments:

Karla said...

Well, the Bahamas for the weekend sounds heavenly! It's hard to make all the necessary adjustments though isn't it? Most people are making changes, you are not alone. And I agree, $15 just doesn't cut it.
Have a happy day!

Bridgett said...

Sounds like a fun trip! I've never been to the Bahamas...so I'll go with you too. Think you could arrange it for me, Ms. Travel Agent? LOL

XOXO