Food, etc.

Very soon I am going to work up an informative post full of links to my favourite things, as I'm certain everyone will be equally dazzled by all things that strike my fancy. Meantime I'll contemplate the ten free pints of Starbucks ice cream I picked up today, marvel at the fact that each miniscule pint contains 880 calories, pause to note the fact that I still haven't learned how to spell minuscule, and nod my head in wry chagrin at the fact that I can easily down two such pints in a day. Or, to quote Pippin, 'It comes in pints? I'm getting one!'

These Starbucks pints were not the Facebook one, but represent another threshold crossed in my never-ending quest for bargains: for the first time ever (and, I hope, the last) I bought coupons off of Ebay. Including postage, the coupons ended up costing me $0.15 each, and when I actually purchased the ice cream, I turned a $0.20 profit on each one, so it all worked out. I was trying to describe the scenario to Michael, and he finally told me, 'I should be fascinated by all these numbers, but every time you launch into the details, my eyes glaze over.' Very odd, yes, as he's usually the one fond of numbers and math and details and I'm usually the one content not to balance the checkbook, but perhaps my passion for ice cream gave me an unwarranted interest in the case. I should know by now not to bother playing the Guess-how-much-I-paid-for-this game with him, as he simply ends all such conversations with the standard 'You're a marvel, Babe,' whether the outcome be zero or not. Today the score was $4.44, for which we acquired:

10 pints of Starbucks ice cream
2 boxes of whole wheat pasta
2 boxes of Kashi waffles
6 tubs of Smart Balance Butter Blend (good for cooking, not baking, and NOT for fresh eating)
6 half gallons of Smart Balance milk

I still haven't managed to get out of paying sales tax.

Speaking of food and money, I've undergone yet another epiphany about budgeting. For a very long time, my goal was to find the optimal balance between low cost and high quality, and in our carefully scripted budget, the household costs were the ones over which I wielded the greatest power, and in which I consequently found the greatest pleasure reducing. For yea these many years of marriage (71 months today!) we lived simply, spent cautiously, and saved wisely, only to see our nest egg crash and dwindle away to a mere shadow of its former glory (HA!) this past year, just like everyone else's. So now we're in the same boat as everyone else, except that all that time they were eating out and splurging on organic food (or junk food, which is also fun, in its own way) and living in gorgeous houses and going on exotic vacations and watching all the latest movies, while we plodded along like the tortoise, and yet somehow slow and steady has NOT won us the race!! The injustice and the outrage of it all baffles me immensely. The smugness and self-righteousness of the prodigal son's older brother resonates never so clearly with me as at times like these.

Yet I wouldn't trade the last years of prudence for profligacy, because I choose to believe that living as we did was a good discipline for us: I don't want a ridiculously oversized house; we don't need any more Stuff; the skills of living on less will stand us in good stead; etc. etc. etc. So in the end, we made the right choice. But going forward, I am totally disillusioned about saving money and feeling completely cynical about the whole greenback economy. I am not going out and hoarding gold, and I don't want to go off and spend money on frivolous Stuff just to beat out inflation.

The only two meaningful options left in which to invest my money, therefore, are 1) charity (eternal significance) and 2) food. Good quality food will affect our health, improve our morale, and establish sound family traditions. I love the toast - in It's A Wonderful Life - that Mary Bailey gives to the Martinis at their house-warming: something about bread, so that they will never suffer hunger, and wine, for the sake of joyfulness, or some such. We've spent several years dining on bread and water, so to speak, and now it's time to bring on the wine.

(I've told Michael about my changed way of thinking several times now, and he expressed great interest at seeing me turn spendthrift. We shall see how it goes.)