my cousin is getting married this weekend.
in iowa, of course, where all the rest of my family resides. we're not attending the wedding, mostly because we weren't invited. we didn't make the list for the wedding, just for the reception. (ouch.) the wedding ceremony is going to be held at a covered bridge somewhere in marion county, and there's limited parking so the guest list for the ceremony had to be trimmed significantly...seems the out-of-town cousins get whacked off without a further thought.
even if i sound bitter, i am going to send them a card with some money in it but i'm really puzzled as to how much to enclose.
$25 seems appropriate in my mind, but a little nagging thought pops up and says, 'maybe $50 would be better?' after all, $25 doesn't buy much anymore...a dinner at a restaurant, 1/2 a tank of gas, 1/2 of a cell phone bill...on the other hand, i really don't want to give them $50.
the last family i sent money to never sent me a thank you card and i'm HUGE on proper ettiquette when it comes to thank you cards. in my mind, there's no reason not to send a thank you. everyone knows where the post office is and i print my return address very neatly, so that couldn't have been the issue. it was for a wedding gift for my cousins on the other side of the family, and suprise! the check was cashed on the very day of their wedding. (rolls eyes) this is also the couple who got married in may and their firstborn arrived that december. whatever. you can be damn sure i didn't send them a baby gift.
yes, it's an old-fashioned attitude but along with thank you cards, i'm a big believer in baby announcements. most of my family has email access, why is it so hard to put together a mass email of the actual name of the baby and the birthdate? i like to know these things about the new members of the family.
anyway, enough of my mind wandering. $25 or $50. cheapskate or too much. an oddball amount like $35 seems a little weird.
you know, now that i think about it...both the bride & groom are employed full time, living together, and i haven't even seen my cousin (the groom) in years. $25 sounds about right. shall i enclose a stamped, pre-addressed thank you card as well?
6.25.2009
6.24.2009
summer is a little anticlimactic.
we're on day 5 of summer vacation (i had to open up my calendar to actually count the days, they already seem to run together) and i'm over it. as we speak the kids have been camped in front of the TV for the last 48 minutes. at least it's PBS, that's the only effort i'm making lately. they can watch TV all day, as long as it's PBS. but when did PBS start slipping in all the commercials? sure it's a 10 second spot of a product because the company paid for the airing of the show, but isn't that technically a "commercial?" arg. makes me think i should start donating to public broadcasting, but living in northern VA..really i'm unsure who the money should go to. we get (and watch) maryland and virginia broadcasting. maybe alternate year by year? although it seems like maryland's PBSkids is a little bit better.
anyway, those above dilemmas are the silly things that occupy my brain these days.
over the last few days, it's been "i should really sweep and mop the wood floor." which is followed by "but then the kids will just get it dirty again" or "it's supposed to rain tomorrow, then the dog will track in mud and i'll have to scrub it again." however, if the kids and/or dog did happen to get it dirty again, you know i really wouldn't go to all that work and mop it again. clorox wipes are heavily used in this house. i've had to order rob NOT to use them to clean our 2 year olds' hands after a meal. good thing she doesn't wear diapers anymore, i'd be afraid to leave clorox wipes in the house with them.
so...today, we shall head to target. i'm not sure WHEN, since it's already after 11am and it takes me about 45 minutes to shower & get dressed, and that brings us smack into lunch time. lunch truly is its own time suck.
feeding kids really is too much work. there's the work of making a choice, prepping the food, waiting for them to eat (holy crow does it take forever for them to just EAT IT already!), reminding the kids to put their dishes in the dishwasher, and then cleaning 6 hands and 3 faces and the island, the counters, and the table. it annoys me that i have to do this THREE times a day, and it further annoys me that experts recommend that all meals should be sit-down meals at the table and adults should try to carry on meaningful conversations with their kids during this time. really, do i have to?
sigh. we're working on 78 minutes of PBS now, just in case you're keeping track.
we're on day 5 of summer vacation (i had to open up my calendar to actually count the days, they already seem to run together) and i'm over it. as we speak the kids have been camped in front of the TV for the last 48 minutes. at least it's PBS, that's the only effort i'm making lately. they can watch TV all day, as long as it's PBS. but when did PBS start slipping in all the commercials? sure it's a 10 second spot of a product because the company paid for the airing of the show, but isn't that technically a "commercial?" arg. makes me think i should start donating to public broadcasting, but living in northern VA..really i'm unsure who the money should go to. we get (and watch) maryland and virginia broadcasting. maybe alternate year by year? although it seems like maryland's PBSkids is a little bit better.
anyway, those above dilemmas are the silly things that occupy my brain these days.
over the last few days, it's been "i should really sweep and mop the wood floor." which is followed by "but then the kids will just get it dirty again" or "it's supposed to rain tomorrow, then the dog will track in mud and i'll have to scrub it again." however, if the kids and/or dog did happen to get it dirty again, you know i really wouldn't go to all that work and mop it again. clorox wipes are heavily used in this house. i've had to order rob NOT to use them to clean our 2 year olds' hands after a meal. good thing she doesn't wear diapers anymore, i'd be afraid to leave clorox wipes in the house with them.
so...today, we shall head to target. i'm not sure WHEN, since it's already after 11am and it takes me about 45 minutes to shower & get dressed, and that brings us smack into lunch time. lunch truly is its own time suck.
feeding kids really is too much work. there's the work of making a choice, prepping the food, waiting for them to eat (holy crow does it take forever for them to just EAT IT already!), reminding the kids to put their dishes in the dishwasher, and then cleaning 6 hands and 3 faces and the island, the counters, and the table. it annoys me that i have to do this THREE times a day, and it further annoys me that experts recommend that all meals should be sit-down meals at the table and adults should try to carry on meaningful conversations with their kids during this time. really, do i have to?
sigh. we're working on 78 minutes of PBS now, just in case you're keeping track.
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