Day 179: Gas, Gifts, & More

Posted on | February 27, 2008 |

Not to sound like a broken record, but it’s been a long day.  And did I mention, I’ve been sick?  No, not just sick.  I mean sick. Really sick.  Ill.

We all got up at 6am to celebrate The Daughter’s 16th birthday.  It was so fun to give her gifts she hadn’t expected.  It was really a lovely day and both of my children made me so proud today.  I hope to share the events of the day and some of the reasoning behind The Daughter’s gifts — but not tonight.

Costco — $25.31
We went hoping to find a copy of The Audacity of Hope which is what The Son wanted to give his sister for her birthday.  Of course, we already have a copy but The Daughter really wants a copy of her own so she can feel free to highlight and makes notes in the margins, etc.  Naturally, they didn’t have a copy.  So we simply picked up a case of Capri Sun 100% Juice ($7.55) and a mega pack of Bounty paper towels ($16.49).

Costco Gas — $42.48
Filled up The Tank with 14.455 gallons @ $2.939 per gallon; the odometer read 120,991.

Hobby Lobby — $1.80
In my effort to teach The Son the finer points of gift-giving, I suggested that in addition to the book he planned to give his sister he also come up with some sort of little bauble or sweet.  The book was an excellent idea because it was an item she specifically wanted although it hadn’t occurred to her (or even me) that it would be a good gift idea.  So I applauded The Son for choosing it.  But I’m trying to teach him some of the more subtle gift-giving techniques of adding a little unexpected something.  Those little “accessory” gifts can be the icing on the gift-giving cake especially when the main gift is something as non-personal as a book by a presidential hopeful.

So The Son decided to find some type of inexpensive container or receptacle and fill it with chocolate or candy.  After a quick perusal of everything Hobby Lobby had to offer, he chose a cute little red glass vase.

Barnes & Noble — $12.57
A copy of The Audacity of Hope.  Now we have two copies.  I’ve finished reading my copy and the son is reading it now.  The Daughter will have to wait a few days before digging in because she has to finish The Grapes of Wrath for school first.

Target — $2.01
A bag of plain chocolate M&M’s to finish off The Son’s second birthday gift.  It was a much larger bag than was nececessary but they don’t seem to carry the small bags.  Besides, I seriously doubt that either The Husband or the kids really objects to having a couple extra M&M’s around the house.  The knowledge of what they’d do to me (due to food allergies) makes it very easy for me to not be in the least bit tempted.

Cello Teacher — $131.25
This check covers 5 lessons.  I need to look through my records to figure out exactly what dates this check will cover but I believe it takes us through March.

Wendy’s — $3.00?
I’m unsure of the actual amount because I can’t find the receipt.  It must have been left in the bag.  It’s not the same amount as usual because the order wasn’t The Son’s usual Wednesday Wendy’s order.  In celebration of The Daughter’s birthday, the plan was to meet somewhere for dinner after orchestra rehearsal.  The Daughter chose Red Lobster — probably less because that’s where she wants to eat and more because it is the only restaurant (literally) where I can actually eat something off the menu.  [I can eat the steamed crab legs as long as nothing else touches the plate; I can't even have their clarified butter.]

Anyway, in light of the fact that we’d been dining out a mere 2 hours after his lesson, I figured The Son would forego his usual Wendesday Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and save his appetite for crab legs and/or lobster.  I underestimated, once again, the appetites and logic of a 13-yo boy.  Yes, he did still want to stop at Wendy’s but rather than order his typical meal of 2 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and a medium soda, today he ordered The Baconator and a medium soda.  Naturally, he snarfed that thing down like it was a mere morsel and went on to do his dad proud with crab legs and shrimp scampi at Red Lobster.

Target –$32.41

Different trip, different Target, much later in the day.  I bought a new room humidifier to replace one that was old and no longer functioning properly.  We desperately need to keep a few small humidifiers running in our house — if for nothing else than to help protect the cello — but I’m not willing to put my wood floors in danger of water damage for the sake of eeking a few more months out of a well-used machine.

Related Posts for Further Reading

• $$: Coyote Sighting Edition
• Day 126: Gas, Flannel PJs, Mouse Traps, and Ground Beef
• Day 106: Car stuff, Church stuff, Christmas stuff and a big Stupid Tax
• $$: NPR, Gas, Groceries, Health Care, & ….. Paint
• Day 263: Crocs, Lemonade, a Book & Gasoline (ouch!)
• Day 229: Groceries, another Lampshade, a Genie, and more

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