Good Times .... Good Friends .... Sticker Shock

Last night I attended the local high school football game, like I have done for the past 4 years. Only this year was suppose to be my year OFF! My son, Derek, was in the drumline of the marching band for the last 4 years. He graduated in May and is now attending college. However, my 13 year old (8th grade) daughter, Leah, is still in Jr. High band. I forgot that every year the Jr. High band gets invited to play the National Anthem on the field during one of the home games. Last night was that game. So of course I lugged along my stadium blanket and camera (gotta turn it into a scrapping adventure!) to sit in the stands and watch. It turned out to be a beautiful evening, not too hot, not yet those too cool football weather nights. One of my best friends, Jane came to the game. Jane and I have known each other since I was a pre-teen. We grew up in church together, taught Acteens (teen girls) together and just hung out together. Her sister, JoAnna came too. I used to work with JoAnna at the local Electric Co-op. So it ended up I had someone to chat with while they played the first half of the football game. LOL Leah thought I should stay to see this year's halftime show. So I chatted and waited, while 2 teams battled it out on the grassy field down in front of me.
Lucky for me, I saw another childhood friend, Melanie, there to attend her 25 year highschool class reunion. We engaged in a short conversation exchanging the tidbits about our children and our lives.
After the halftime show, I hugged my daughter and left with 'our' team way ahead in points. Leah stayed to enjoy the rest of the game with her father.

Today Jane and I got up WAY too early for the weekend and headed off to Atlanta to visit Archiver's and Circuit City. I have been to 3 local scrapbook stores buying up paper for my mini albums however, I still wanted a wider selection. After a few traffic woes we arrived at the mother of all scrapbook stores. I grabbed a shopping basket and began filling it with this paper and that paper. I ooooooo'd and ahhhhhhh'd over it all. Jane, a non-scrapper, followed me around amazed by all the 'stuff' and carried the increasingly heavy shopping basket, so I could 2 hand snatch the paper from it's display. Now would probably be a good time to say that I NEVER spend more than about $20 at one time in a scrapbook store. I am a divorced mom, raising two wonderful children and a budget watcher. I am ever the frugal shopper with everything.
Of course, I knew my stack was adding up, still I was shoving more paper into the little basket. I told Jane that I might have sticker SHOCK when I saw the total. Indeed I did! Jane, every the wonderful and wise friend, convinced me that I was making an "investment". LOL And even though she didn't admit it, I know she was also in shock over the amount I spent today.

After I signed over my life to the cashier IN blood, I decided that I need nourishment to just be able to make that hour plus drive home. So we headed over to Macaroni Grill. My very first visit to the restaurant. It was a good meal. Our lunch conversation revolved around 'budgets; With me telling Jane that I had blown my budget and that I really didn't think we should stop at Circuit City to look at the digital camera I had been trying to figure out how to purchase without having to eat black eyed peas and corn bread for the next 6 months. Of course, we laughed a lot about it all too. But I do think that Jane felt so bad that I had paled over the spending spree that she sprung for lunch! And what did we do after lunch but decide that I could at LEAST go 'look' and touch the camera. So off to the store we went...it was right next door to there anyway.

Yep, you guessed it. I ended up getting the camera too! Plus the extra memory AND a new camera case. It's a Fugifilm A350. Not an 'upscale' digi, but I hope at least a good one. It's a 5.2 megapixel. I am so NOT an expert at cameras. I just wanted one that worked...that I could print pictures from and usually nothing larger than a 5x7, so I was told this one will be fine. My regular 'film' camera is a Fugifilm and I've been happy with it. Yeah, I would have liked a rebel, but they would have taken my 1st born child for that amount of money! And I am kinda fond of him. So Christmas came in September for me. I'm stocked with a HUGE paper supply and a new digi camera. I enjoyed a night and most of today with a dear (and yes old, but we are really not THAT old) friend. I spent too much money, ate too much food (it might be my last 'good' meal for a while!) and I will re-work the budget tomorrow. *grin*

Now I am heading back to my scrapbook corner to work on one of those mini albums I hope to sell really soon!