When Do You Say, "I Won't Pay That Much"

I just saw a mascara listed for $70. Holy crap!  Who would pay that much for mascara?  That is just plain crazy.  It did get me thinking, what is the limit that you would say, "That is way too much?"  What would you pay a lot for?  


I think I'm a pretty frugal person.  I hate paying retail for anything.  I bargain shop, check ads, go online and compare prices.  If I really want something, I try and find a good deal for it.  But, there have been occasions that I paid more than normal for a product.  


What is too much?  I guess it really depends on what the item is.  It also depends on whether that item is really needed or if it's just a want.  I'm sure there are a lot of things that I have, that I may have only paid $5, for, but since I didn't really need them, you could say I overpaid.  


It really makes me think. I have probably overpaid for more things that I even realized.  At least I can say I never paid $70, for some mascara.

A Little Frustrated

I'm actually writing this in between my sons school lessons, so excuse me if my thoughts seem a little broken up.


I am frustrated right now.  We are in Week 3 of school and I am really getting the hang of this.  I have a schedule down and teaching the lessons is getting easier.  I am building more confidence in myself and I am starting to know my own strengths and weaknesses as well as my sons.  


I wake up every morning with a positive outlook on the day. I am chipper and happy, (the extreme opposite of my normal demeanor in the morning). I try really hard to make this a pleasant experience for both my son and myself.


The problem is, my son.  He wakes up in the morning grumpy, (he doesn't wake up until 9:30am and we don't start school until 10am).  He gets upset at me when I try to explain things to him, or even when I want to help him.  He gives me crazy attitude throughout the day.  He daydreams and when I tell him to pay attention, we freaks out and tells me he's working.


Just to clarify, my son is not a problem child.  We are not homeschooling because he was in trouble at school.  We are homeschooling because we don't like the schools in t his area and felt he wasn't getting the education that he deserved.  He was, and still is all for homeschooling.  I just think he may be having a hard time with me being his mom and his teacher.  A mom/teacher is much more strict than a school teacher.  All my attention is focused on him instead of 30 other kids in a class.


Anyway, back to my frustration.  I try really hard to make this experience fun and enjoyable.  I come in everyday with a positive attitude and I try my best to help him as much as possible.  I just can't stand the snotty attitude he has with me sometimes.  The way he acts has a huge impact on the way I act.  Yes, that sounds childish, but when he's shitty, it breaks me down.  It upsets me and therefore, I am shitty.  


I want to make this work.  I want to have a good experience with this and I want Cameron to have a good experience with this too.  I want this to be fun, better than traditional schooling.  I just don't know what to do to make this better for him.  I figured by now, we would both be in a good groove and it would be getting easier.  


I guess I'll just take it day by day and home that things get better for him.  Maybe he just needs a little more time to adjust to this.  I hope that's all it is, because if his attitude doesn't get better, I may have to start beating him.  That was a joke, for those of you who don't know me.  I don't beat my child, and obviously, don't condone that.


Think happy thoughts for me!

My Soapbox For The Day (Original Post 06/06/2009)

Sometimes, I feel the need to stand up on my soapbox and vent about things that bother me. Today, is one of those days. You really don't have to read this if you don't want to. It is just me complaining.

Anyway, I was reading through some entertainment articles and it got me thinking. Why are some of these people 'celebrities'. They don't do anything. They are 'famous' (I use the term loosely) for being rich. They are certain people out there that are 'celebrities' because they have money, or their parents have money and they are in the limelight. Now, I'm not going to name any names, (not that I have a lot of people who read this blog, but I still don't want hate mail because I called someone's celebrity status ridiculous or useless, which I do believe in a lot of cases).

I just find the whole thing to be sad. We are going to have an entire generation of kids that look up to these people and think that if you are wealthy, then you can be a celebrity, and that you need to have money to be someone. This is ridiculous and I will say it again, sad.

It is bad enough that kids are made to feel inferior if they don't have the right clothes, backpack, shoes, notebook, pencil, whatever. But, now we have so-called celebrities that kids look up to because they have money, making it harder and harder to raise your kids with the values that money isn't everything and you can live a fabulous life without having to spend an arm and a leg, or by throwing your money around.

Well, that is the end of my rant. I am just sad that 'celebrities' don't have to have any talent anymore. They can simply be famous for their wealth. 

Realization

If you're a friend of mine, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you would know that my husband works long hours and last week and now this week, will work on Saturday too.


This has made us both pretty upset.  Last Saturday was my birthday and those birthday plans were cancelled.  I had a good weekend, but wasn't able to do what I wanted.  This weekend, because we told my son twice now and cancelled, were suppose to go to the drive in.  I actually promised him we would go.  I never break a promise. Promises are serious business in my family.  I can't take my son myself. The problem is, we have one car and my husband goes to work at 4am.  Watching a movie in the dark is only going to put my husband to sleep.  Not fun.  


After spending almost an entire week now, just pissed off, I came to a realization that sort of helped me, not be so upset.  I hope when I talk to my husband, he'll feel the same way.  What is the realization, you ask?  Well, this is peak season for selling ice cream.  It is hella hot here California and people like ice cream when it is hot.  It is just like working retail during the holiday season.  You work a lot of hours.  


It is going to die down considerably during Winter.  My husband will have shorter hours and less money will be coming in.  Then we will be bitching that he is working too little.  I'm going to start thinking more positive about this.  No, I'm not happy that I don't see my husband because he comes home and goes to bed, and that he only has one day off.  I am going to be happy that he does have a job and that he is making good money. After the peak season, I will see more of him.  


You have to take the good with the bad.  Sometimes, we let emotions get the best of us and forget to think clearly.  Emotions sometimes cloud our judgement and we can't see past them.  So, I will accept that, it is what it is.  I'm grateful that we are so fortunate to be able to have money coming in.  We are all healthy and when we do have time together, we choose to spend it as a family.  


I'm not saying the bitching will end, but I am going to try and be more positive about the situation.  In a few months peak season will end.  


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Ugh!

I just had one of those days. Had no sleep, I'm tired and cranky, my husband came home sick today and found out he has to work on my birthday. I was really excited, for years, my husband worked retail and was never able to get my birthday off because it is two days before July 4^th. This year he has a new job and has weekends off, so that means, my birthday off. Yay! Without getting into what happened, that dream was crushed this year.

I find myself in my f*ck it mode. I am so tired of pretending things are alright, when all I want to do is hide in bed and cry. I just want to give everything up, pack up my family and necessities and move. Just start over. Fear of not making it stops me.

Can you really be happy living with the f*ck it attitude? Can you make it through life with a Coke and a smile? Should I try...again? Money isn't everything. Stuff is just stuff. Do I want to barely make it? I don't know. All I know is I am tired of waiting for things to be better. I usually try and find good things out of bad situations, but I just don't see it. I hate seeing the ones I love unhappy. It makes it difficult for me to be happy.

I guess there is one good thing that comes out of this. It makes me angry and it makes me fight. I fight for what I know is right. You push me or my loved ones and I tend to push back. That is my drive. The boxing gloves are on and I'm going to come out swinging.

Writing this changed my attitude. I went from a f*ck it attitude to a f*ck you attitude. HaHa, it took writing things down to help. That's a good thing. My head is cleared and now my mind is working again. Thanks for listening. 

Mascara Ads

I hate mascara ads.  The ridiculously long, full lashes that you see on the models in the TV and magazine ads.  Really? Even with my favorite mascara, my lashes never look like that.  Yesterday, I was looking through a magazine and came across an ad that you could plainly see that the model was wearing false eyelashes. Then in the same magazine a few pages back there was an ad for a different mascara that stated the model WAS wearing false eyelashes.  


This irritates me.  I want to see what the mascara really does. A before and not enhanced after picture would be great.  Who do these advertisers think they are fooling?   I don't expect to suddenly have these amazingly long lashes or that the mascara is going to grow more lashes with a wand.  It's mascara not a magic potion.  


With that said, I would just like to see a little more truth in their advertising.