$5 minimum

First it was 31 Flavors, then my favorite bagel shop, and now my local French bakery. Despite the most obvious theme (yes, I have an insatiable appetite for all things terribly high in fat and carbohydrates), what I am reeling over is the infamous "$5 minimum purchase for debit cards" policy. It's stupid.

I don't carry cash. I never have and probably never will. Why should I unless I am going to a garage sale? It's not that I have anything against carrying cash, it just seems so much easier to carry a card- no change, no wadded up bills, no coming up short. But this new thing about forcing me to spend a minimum amount of money is ridiculous. When 99% of the items you sell are less than $5, what do you want a customer to do? No, I don't want a bagel and a coffee, I just want a bagel. No, I don't want a three scoop sundae with extra fudge, I want a cone. No, I don't want 2 dozen cookies! I just want my 3 heart cookies and a couple of tea cakes for Gabe! Ugghh!!!

Maybe it's not normal to become so annoyed by such a minor thing. You might even be thinking that I should just buy an extra something, relax, and move on, but that's not the point! Before walking into a store, I always check for the bright blue and orange sticker that cheerfully tells me that the establishment "gladly" accepts debit cards. If they don't accept them "gladly", perhaps they should not accept them at all. "Cash Only", I get it. I'll go to the bank and make sure I'm loaded with cash. The point is you should not have a sign that you take cards if it is only half-true.

Please don't misunderstand, I am a loyal customer happy to pay for what I order. I even tried to get the bagel store to charge my card $5 even though I was only spending $3 and they said they couldn't, I would have to buy something else! What?

I did a bit of research (if you can count Googling debit card minimums and checking out the first couple of posts research) and it seems that this may not even be a policy that is allowed under a retailer's contract with Visa or MasterCard. It's just something stores impose because they are too cheap to lose twenty cents on my $3 purchase. Whatever the truth is, I'm not happy.

Well tonight was the last straw. When I was told I would have to spend an extra $1.50 for my cookies I walked out. That's right. I left in a huff. I will no longer be a slave to the retail world. But I must say that I am really craving a cookie. : (

image: flickr

Date Night

A funny thing happens when you have kids- it's called date night. Not having kids of my own, this is a totally foreign concept. What do you mean you have to schedule time together? I don't think my sister and her husband have gone to a movie together alone in over 2 years! (No, Disney movies with the kids don't count!) And forget about the 4 of us going out together, it seems someone always has to stay home with the kids. Not this weekend. Date night was in full force. Adult restaurant, adult drinks, adult conversation, and not a pacifier or Thomas Train in sight.
Am I selfish to cherish all of my alone time with my husband? Maybe. And one day I know we, too, will have to schedule our alone time. Until then, however, it's date night whenever and wherever we want and I love it!

Bad days

I had one today. Not the terrible, life changing kind-just the kind where nothing quite goes as you had planned and everything and everyone annoys you. And then Gabe came home. Normally this would be the time where I am in a "take no prisoners", "don't ask me what's wrong or if I'm feeling better" kind of mood, but not tonight. With the turn of his key I put on my "don't start with me" face only to see him with flowers in one hand and frozen yogurt in the other. OK, I feel better now.

Here goes...

Life is sneaky. There you are living life, working, creating, enjoying, complaining and then...wham! All of a sudden another year has passed and you can't even remember what you ate for dinner last night. Where does the time go? What do I have to show for the last six months, year, decade? Am I truly supposed to remember everything?
I have come to the realization lately that my life is flying by without record. I have so many experiences, thoughts, feelings, wishes, observations, and ponderings that come and go with each day only to be left behind as if they never were. Each feeling is overcome by a new one and I find myself trying desperately to take it all in, live each day fully and look toward the future all the while striving to hold on to what brought me to this point in the first place. And so it is that I begin my new journey of chronicling my life as it is. Good or bad, boring or mundane, this is me and this is what I am all about. Maybe you'll read faithfully and maybe you'll just drop by on occasion, but inevitably you, too, will become a part of who I am and who I will one day become.