On My Mind

Madge,

I have thought of taking creative writing. I may one day. I do enjoy expressing myself in writing. It's therapeutic.

I was in a bookstore the other day and they have really nice journals with beautiful covers.

Aye are es?
done.

It makes you wonder 'what did we do before technology?' Oh wait...we interact with eachother! We not only enjoy the people we were around but we enjoy just what the day will bring. Remember those days when you woke up just wondering what will happen that day or who will you run into? When people actually looked at you or do I dare say--smile at you! Everybody is busy being busy.
But I have to ask...what will be these people's regrets not getting that prefect picture or that new cell phone or will it be that they missed their lives because it was stolen from them by technology and they never even knew it!!!

Gershun

you should take a creative writing class

So, hubs is not cooperating with filing taxes, he says "tomorrow".
Coachella Music Festival has his full attention.
I am not going to scream.

I’m a widow. No children. My MIL moved in with me to save money. FIL is self pay in NH. Her children and I are frugal so she will hopefully have the funds she needs when her dementia advances to the point she can’t stay at home. We do go out to dinner at a local restaurant that discourages cell phone usage. We enjoy seeing people we know and chatting back and forth between tables. This outing and church activities are our social life. I saw a teenager texting yesterday in church.

Seriously, people have to stop butt dialing me, it's costing me money (I've passed my talk limit)

True that, Send. I've watched in amusement a couple sitting together at the local mall food fair, both with their laptops out not interacting with each other.

I wonder to myself was this the scenario that morning?

Husband, "so, still on for lunch today" as he scrambles to put his coat on with one hand cause he has his cell phone in the other trying to text.

Wife, "yeah, I may be a bit late cause I'm stopping off at Amazon to pick up that order"

Husband, "what order?"

Wife, "you remember, that pop up that came up the other day about prepackaged food delivery, we're starting that today by the way"

Husband, "okay, see you at twelve" not even listening to her answer

Wife, "kay" as she absently stirs little Joey's cereal not even noticing the dog lapping up the milk she spilled.

Fast forward to Lunchtime:

An hour passes, Husband and wife both close their computers. Husband absently mindedly pecks wife's cheek. They barely exchanged three words at lunch. "great we could finally meet for lunch hon" They both dash off in two different directions.

15 min. later: homeless guy happily eating lunch left on trays at foodfair that hubs and wife didn't eat.

Yep, modern society at it's best.

:)

Not even going out to lunch with that person who used their cell phone all during..........never again. It is bad enough when it is an entire family of four sitting nearby, but never at my table please.

Gershun it is a sad thing going on with kids now. Pretty soon, they will not even know how to read or write and can only identify and communicate with pictures.
Gettin' crazier everyday.

So what's been on my mind today is how weird this world is compared to how I remember it being when I was a youth. Don't you feel like kids today are really missing out on real experiences. Is there such a thing as a spontaneous moment anymore? People are so busy capturing things with their cell phones so they can post it on public media sites that I wonder sometimes if they ever really soak up the moment or are too busy trying to get that perfect shot for their instagram accounts. I don't know about the rest of you but I just want to eat my meal when it's served at the restaurant, not take a pic of it.

I guess this generation probably thinks how we did things was weird but I wouldn't trade playing in the backyard with all the neighborhood kids with sitting staring at a computer screen for hours. But, that's just me.

“I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers”. Blanche DuBois played by Vivian Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire.

murphy- if you run away, they will just find you.

if I decide to run away.... don’t tell on me.
( packing bags in my squirrelly mind)

Wasn't that quote from Gone The Wind? Or am I thinking of "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers"?

I saw one that made me chuckle. I don't know who originally said it, but it says, "Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things."

The Godfather?

Al Capone?

Never mistake kindness for weakness.
Whose quote is that?

My mom reuses the same paper plate until I toss it.. and the ILs wiped off the ones at the river house ( tossed those too)

My dH is saving used paper plates and bowls. Still pondering this.

Today, we drove up to a housing development to see the many hills covered with Lupines. The flowers were beautiful! It now appears, but is dark on my avatar, needed to be lightened.

Never will I have, or even strive for a large home, content with what I now have.

Human nature has us thinking.....yeah but....It would be nice. How do others afford it? If I did get a huge home, I think that I could share it with others working hard to keep themselves afloat.

There is great gain in being content with what we have.

cwillie - you give me something to ponder over. One of my best friends is very well off. She and her husband are both doctors. They make good money so they can afford nice things. I, on the other hand, drive a 17 yr old van, live on a budget. I know the feeling you describe. When my friend tells me what nice things she just bought, or nice places they just vacationed at, sometimes I feel a little envious.

I try to count the blessings I have in my life. I take pride in the fact that we have no debt, and we pay off our credit cards every month, and that the house is on track to be paid off. The two vehicles we have are old but paid for. My kids are learning to save up little by little for what they want. We are saving money for our retirement rather than spending it on new cars or iphones.

A few quotes from Dave Ramsey that help keep me grounded.

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."

"Act your wage."

"Debt is dumb. Cash is king. The paid off mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice."

I do feel better. I should as there are many other who are not as fortunate as I am.

I understand the difference in theory, I'm just having a hard time applying it to my everyday life. Most of the time I am satisfied with very little and don't feel deprived, but when I am out with friends who have the newest phone or car or are discussing their latest cruise vacation I feel .... I don't know, left behind, like maybe I '"should" want those things too?

CWillie,
Cheap is not buying that meat you enjoy at the butcher shop.
Frugal is buying just enough, wisely considering the cost, and counting your budget worthy of this expense.

Then I burgered up on the Brat thread~ My Uncle is frugal and my dH is cheap. I shouldv'e said "My cheap dH wouldn't like packages coming to the door from Mexico, of things I purchased and had sent", not frugal.

To be frugal is good. My Uncle wouldn't be where he is now had he not been frugal.

I always associate the word "cheap" with being stingy or miserly, like always expecting others to foot the bill (yes, I have both relatives and in-laws like that). But being frugal to me is just trying to be prudent and a good steward of your own resources, like looking for a good sale or bargain. I like to think I try to be frugal most of the time without being cheap/miserly.

cwillie - Frugal is the term you use to describe your limited spending habit. Cheap is the term you use to describe others doing the same thing. Haha. I'm just kidding.

I always think being frugal is for good reasons, not squandering money. Being cheap is like being a tightwad.

I'm having a hard time differentiating between being frugal and being cheap.

GrannieAnnie, so very sorry to hear about Aunt Rose. Will keep you and your family in my prayers. So very sorry for your loss.