planning for purchases

Today has been quite hectic. I have been trying to figure out everything that I need to do before I leave for San Francisco on Sunday. I am taking some book making classes on Tuesday and Wednesday at The San Francisco Center for the Book.

Last night I made a list of emails that I needed to send. This afternoon I ran out to do a few errands and only marked half off my list. I didn’t make it to the studio because I needed to make a correction to an image. I really need a laptop, which is now at the top of my wish list. I know that I just bought an iPod last week, as a gift to myself for finishing the Remembering Life web site. (Plus I already had a $75 gift card for signing up for our cable when we moved in August. That shows a lot of restraint. Right?) Anyway, it would be so easy for me to make a simple change at a cafe or on the metro instead of having to return home. Plus just think of all the work I could do on a cross-country flight. At least it is something to work towards buying.

When I was close to entering middle school, I found this peach compact of Bonne Bell makeup at Hick’s Pharmacy. I loved it. The colors were bright and beautiful. It included teal and purple eyeshadow, plus a pearl highlighter, a couple of soft pink blushes and maybe a lip gloss. I really wanted it. But I didn’t wear makeup. I don’t know that I wasn’t allowed, but I was not forward enough to ask for those things. So I saved up the money to buy the compact. I wrote down how much it was and would subtract off a quarter here and a dollar there. I remember the feeling of when I actually had enough money, that it was not as exciting as actually slowing pulling together the money. I guess that I still do this today, but for much larger purchases. Although I am sure that I would love my soon-to-be new iBook as much as my Bonne Bell compact, which I am sure still has to be somewhere in my parent’s house.