wedding gifts suck.

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?