The biggest problem for an unemployed, self-confessed shopping lover, is the inability to SHOP. Seriously, we all know the adult thing to do when faced with the prospect of less money coming into the house, is to stem the flow of money going OUT of the house. That means no “shopping”. Oh don’t get me wrong, there’s still the shopping for necessities. And I am doing an admirable job of satisfying myself with grocery bargain hunting.
But. Shopping. REAL shopping. The kind where you can buy WANTS rather than NEEDS. That is what I am longing for.
And so, in an attempt to appease the voices in my head, (I am 60% evil, after all)…I am populating a list with all the things I want RIGHT NOW…and why I want them.
1. Watercolor Pencils & Water Brush – I want to start art journaling. I have just discovered these items…and I want to try them out! It is entirely possible that D has a set in his old art case in the garage. But I want MY OWN.
2. Copic Markers – Have you seen these? Way cool markers for the artsy-fartsy types. Am I an artist? No. Can I draw on my own? Well, ok not really. I can copy though. I mean, I can take a line drawing picture, and I can free-hand copy it. Haven’t done it in years. But I want to get back into it.
3. An Art Journal – I want a mixed-media journal to hold my new doodlings. They have them at Michael’s….and I have a $25 gift card burning a hole in my pocket, thanks to my BFF.
4. Stamps & Ink Pads – I had a couple stamps as a kid, but never used them. I didn’t want to make them dirty. Now I know you can clean stamps. So I want to try…in item #3.
5. RIFT – Why do I need another MMO in my life? I don’t. I love WoW. It’s on my list of all-time favorite games, right there with Civilization, The Sims, Clue, and Othello. (Why won’t anyone ever play that last one with me?) But RIFT just looks darn COOL. D and I want to try it so badly.
6. iPad – Well…I dunno. Just because.
7. New Mattress Cover – We have a waterproof one on the bed, and it is so dang hot and uncomfortable. Seriously, I was going to buy a replacement in January. Then I got laid off. Blah. There’s nothing wrong with the one we have…just that it’s HOT. I’ve slept without covers all winter because of it.
8. New Bath mats and Towels – Because it’s the only way a change-hater like myself can change-up their bathroom decor. New textiles. I had the ones picked out that I wanted, too. Squishy ones from Bed Bath & Beyond.
9. Silicone baking mats – You know those inserts that go into the baking sheets so things don’t stick? Want it. My mother-in-law got me new baking sheets for Christmas and I refuse to use them without the silicone mat thingies. I have a set of baking sheets already that I have pretty well messed up. The Orida french fries that I bake in the oven insist on sticking to them. I get them “clean” but they’ve got weird brown marks on them that won’t go away. Blah. I won’t ruin another set.
10. BOOKS – I have a whole Amazon cart full of them. Real books and Kindle books. Novels and art books. Self-help and philosophical study. I just want some books. Not that I’ve been reading or anything. I just realized I have a Nevada Barr novel on my Kindle that I haven’t read yet.
And there in lies the problem here. I just want to buy stuff. I don’t have to. I don’t necessarily NEED this stuff. In most cases, I already have perfectly good versions of these things that I could be using. Even the game (I have others to play.) Or the art supplies (I have a large Scrapbooking stash). It’s just I WANT to shop.
But I’m not. I’m waiting. Watch out when I find and start a new job though. My fun money is mentally spent for the first 3 months.
