PlazaJen: Passion Knit

James was laughing at me last night, as I was chattering on about my birthday present to mahself, which I bought with Christmas money I'd tucked away. (It sounds far more noble that way, and, bonus, it's true.) I was talking about what additional things I'd like for it, and he asked how much those cost, and I quickly tabulated "about $75. And I am WORTH $75, James." Oh, he noted quite quickly, I'm worth much, much more. ;) He laughed about me having a "birthday week" and I immediately corrected him: "Birthday MONTH, my friend."

So here it is - I got one helluva deal on this, too.


It's the KitchenAid 6, which is the biggest one they make. (Well, I think the parent company makes industrial mixers, but really, we'd have to convert the dining room into a bakery. And have a serious discussion about upgrading the oven!)


Anyway, I got it in the color shown above, pearl metallic. I bought it at my local Mar-Beck, which is a treasure trove of refurbished items, and it came with the same warranty as if I'd bought it new. They told me most of the mixers they sell have just had dinged-up boxes or missing a beater or something, and besides, they're the place it goes if it has to be fixed under warranty, anyway. The price was fabu, AND I had a coupon! I know they are offering free shipping on orders over $200, so if you're in the market for one of these, consider buying from them. It's bad-ass. I can't wait to make some dough and not hear the sad grinding of my little KitchenAid's motor. I may save the mixer to give to one of our nieces one day, just to keep it in the family, or else we'll see what CraigsList can bring us...speaking of which, SOMEone is now the proud owner of a fishing boat! Yep! James came out while I was floating in the pool (yes! A pool! I'm spilling all our purchases) and informed me he'd found his dream fishing boat. He did a little negotiating, and in keeping with our plans to stay-cation, we spent the money on something that will be around for years and didn't make us feel queasy to buy it.

For whatever reason, a trip to Mexico just left me nervous...queasy... it just didn't quite feel right. So, the first compromise on staying home was to buy one of those inflatable pools. Of course, that in of itself required compromise, as I wanted something like this:



How can you not love a pool called the "Parthenon"??? Ok, OK, it's a little ... big.

SO, I came home from Wal-Mart with this pool:


It's 12' wide, it's 36" tall (but the water is about 29" at the deepest spot - we have a concrete patio that's slightly slanted for runoff). Relaxing and fabulous. I've been in it every day since we put it up - yep, even when it was just being filled, straight from the hose! I've always been a water junkie. I love pools, I love swimming, tubs, water in general. Something peaceful and transcendental happens when I float around in a tub of water, and I decompress. It's nice. I've always wanted a pool, my whole life, and would lobby for a motel with a pool whenever we traveled. I even wanted a pool more than I wanted a moped, which is saying something. Alas, it was never to be.

So there you have it. We've actually been pretty frugal lately - dining out has taken a nose dive, and it helped that all of the above were really good deals. Someday - maybe someday - we'll have the Parthenon, but that will require a pool boy. (I'll work on the application process! And we'll have to convert the workshop into a pool house.) OH, and before you even ask, NO, the dogs are not allowed in the pool. It would be fun for about 30 seconds and would turn into a major nightmare, not to mention the fact they'd tear up the vinyl with their claws and there goes the pool. It's just high enough that they can't really see in it, and they've left it alone. So, here comes Summer, and for once, I'm ready.