Stay Shiny, My Friends

I promise I've been doing stuff. I even took pictures of some of it, which absolutely proves I've done stuff. I haven't, however, posted the pictures to Facebook, so one could argue that nothing is actually proven.

The stuff I've been doing yesterday and today (aside from the usual stuff of writing and editing and dealing with bored children who don't find their chores sufficiently exciting) is standing in lines getting my girls registered for school. There were fewer and shorter lines since the school district had everyone register online this year and only show up physically to have yearbook pictures taken and to claim a locker. You could even pay the fees online, though a $3 charge was added for the convenience.

Speaking of fees, that's some stuff that made me choke. Considering that we pay property taxes, you wouldn't think the district would need to charge each child so much to attend public school. In years past, we've had to fork over around $600 to send three kids through a year of junior high and high school, and that's just for normal classes and not for any clubs or sports teams. This year, the total only came to around $400, which I still consider an obscene amount when my budget is so tight. I could go on some sort of rant here, but I will control myself for your sake.

As I was going through the whole registration/fee shock stuff, one of the ladies at my bank complimented me on my earrings and then informed me that there was a temporary tent offering $2 jewelry set up in the parking lot by the Little Caesar's Pizza. She happily showed off her very cute new necklace through the drive-up window.

What a dangerous thing to tell me, considering I am a complete sucker for jewelry. I don't own any expensive stuff, as I can't make myself spend more than $5 on any one item, whether it's a necklace or earrings or bangles. I realize that these are completely frivolous and selfish purchases, so I lessen the guilt factor by keeping it cheap. In other words, if you decided to burgle my house, you'd get yourself shot for nothing. So it was with a certain cheapskate pleasure that I bought for $2 a brand name necklace that was originally priced at $30. I'll have to go back to the bank and share a moment with the like-minded teller (girlish giggle).

I was going to veer wildly and without an appropriate segue into something else about Facebook at this point, but my post is already lengthy enough and I'm in danger of deleting it entirely because my hyper-critical editing voice is taking over. You're welcome. But I think that the information about the $2 jewelry tent (which is there until Saturday) should be enough to justify every word you have had to read. Cheap retail therapy and shiny things should never be underestimated.