Things I want…

… but just cant afford. grrr.

So, I am by no means going to make this some political rant or anything, but we definitely fall into that class of people who should be quite well off but wont be for a very long time. We manage to hang on by a thread because I am awesome and because I am stupid. For a while I was only able to get groceries by using a credit card, not something I recommend. We just have too much student loan debt to allow for anything above and beyond the essentials. Leave it to America to offer you to get a higher education only to rob you blind for it and screw you over to pay it back.

Anyway, we do not live the lap of luxury by any stretch of the imagination. You can count on one hand the number of things in our house that are “new”. I put new in quotes because one of those new things is our bed. That we got when we were married. 6 years ago. yeah. Two of the other objects are the crib and dresser/changing table from 3 years ago when Lilly was born. Lastly, Lilly’s bed is new. This is actually the newest thing since we just got that at the end of last year. Notice how 3/4 of that is child furniture? Okay as I was reviewing this I realized there were 2 more things to add that we had to get out of necessity. Our refrigerator when we got the house which was the absolute least expensive, non-frill fridge we could find. and our stove which we just got because our other one died. Also an amazing find at just $320 after a $100 giftcard and sale/discounts.

The rest of our house is filled with something like 5th-hand items or things I acquired from craigslist. The craigslist item that was a good deal is our oak dining table with leaf and 4 chairs. Of course, the chairs are one use away from crunching beneath the person, but still.. it was a steal at $100. (also 5 years ago).

The only reason I give the back detail is because anyone could come into our home and see that we don’t have careless spending sprees where we buy new furniture, electronics, or other toys. To some extend I realize it doesn’t make sense to have nice things because we have a three year old and a baby. Let’s face it, those nice things might not last long. At the same time I would LOVE to just splurge and get some nice things just for the sake of getting them. Okay, it would be a bonus to have some things that make it look like we have a little class or at the very least cleanliness.

Here are some things I would enjoy owning without feeling guilty about spending money… not that I have money to spend. So, here are some things I would love to HAVE the money on which to spend.

*awesomely amazing lenses for my camera hobby like this one (which isn't even that awesome, but it is affordable. The awesome one is $1800…)

*to join the current century and own a flat screen TV. doesn’t even need the 3D crap.

*curtains. yeah, we don’t actually have real window treatments, just the sheer ones that go under the nice decorative curtains.

*An IKEA couch. 5 years ago we got a slip cover for this because it was clearance. So we just need the couch. maybe some year…

*REPAIRS. we need a new garage door opener, driveway, deck and while doing that we need to repair a crack in the foundation of the house, kitchen cabinets, garage insulation so the rooms aren’t freezing, a new mailbox, and some bathroom remodeling would be nice.

…yeah that list isn’t long and expensive or anything…

*I could stand to sign up for a personal trainer or weight loss program. then after all of the weight I lose and awesome body I have I’ll need a new wardrobe

*a car for Paco. His is getting to the questionable point. Today he said it took him 15 minutes to switch the gear shift from park to reverse because it has a huge crack in it and it sticks. It has has the check engine light on since we have owned it and the tires are completely bald. So, a new car would be great. a new-used car that is. Heck if I’ll ever buy a brand new never driver car.

So that’s it. Most of it isn’t even a lot to ask. It should just be a given, but alas I feel guilty and anxious spending money on groceries. This is one reason I still have some Christmas/birthday money. I have yet to figure out what is really worthy of being purchased. I have also already forfeited some of it to the sake of gifts for others or groceries. sad.

oh and p.s. I need to throw some more pictures up here. how boring am I?? I will have to do that. I need to pull some from my memory cards.