Why I Can't Have Nice Things

I am notoriously rough on my possessions. Clothes have to be able to survive both the washer and the dryer to live in my house. My shoes generally only last a year or two. I've dropped my phone three times now in the 6 months I've owned it. It's not that I mean to destroy things, I'm just clumsy and unthinking sometimes.

I've owned my beautiful Canon Elph camera for only about a year and a half. I've been careful with it. I've never dropped it. Tried to keep it clean and dry. I've even kept it out of my purse so it won't hit against my wallet. Seriously I've babied this thing. And...it's broken. I took it out to the lake a month and a half ago to take some early morning bird shots. I turned it on to have the lens instantly retract. Lens Error. I started it again...and again...and again. When I finally got the lens to stay out, the zoom won't work at all and all of the images are vignetted. I looked for camera repair places in town with no luck. And Canon will charge me $190 to send it in for them to fix. Sooo...

Meet my new camera. I've been chomping at the bit for over a month now to get a new camera. Going without has been hard. My phone just doesn't cut it. I've been reading reviews to find something in my price range. And I've been focusing on getting something that's a bit more rugged. Meet the blueberry. It's a Fujifilm FinePix XP70. It's waterproof to 33 feet, dustproof, freezeproof to 14 degrees F, and most importantly shockproof at 5 ft. Which means that I might have a chance of keeping it working for a couple of years. I played with it for a couple hours last night right after picking it up and I think I'm going to like it. The photo quality is very good, it's simple to use, I like the feel. The zoom isn't anywhere near as good as my previous. But it's a fine camera that going to be great to get outdoors with. I'll even take it snorkeling and diving with me. It isn't quite as amazing as my Elph was, but it might, just might be Catproof.

A Penny Saved...

I have to brag a bit. Like the time my nephew sat down at the dinner table and asked me what I'd been reading lately, my young nephews have again surprised me.

We went out to dinner last night with my brother and his family. Jeff and I arrived at the restaurant first. When my brother's family got there, the middle child Keith immediately claimed the seat next to me. He looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. The conversation went a bit like this.

"Hey Keith, how are you?" (Keith is 10 by the way)

"I'm great. I bought a new toy today."

"Ah, nice. What did you buy?

"It's an iPod Touch." He said as he pulled the treasured item out of his pocket. He was grinning and clearly excited. "It has all sorts of games and apps and can connect to the internet."

"That's awesome Keith. Wow nice toy." I looked over at my brother and sister-in-law. I said jokingly. "I want an iPod Touch too."

My brother said. "Don't look at me. He bought it."

"Wow, what's his allowance? I want to be your child too."

"He's been saving for two years now."

I'm sure my mouth had dropped open at this point. I can't come anywhere near affording an iPod Touch at this point in my life. But I guess Keith had decided he wanted one. He had been saving his money for the last two years to get one. Birthday money, gift money, allowance. All of it he had saved for years in order to buy his new toy. I complimented him again on his new purchase but this time it was with a bit of awe. And he was clearly proud, not just of the toy, but of his accomplishment.

I remember when I was a kid and trying to save up enough money for something I wanted. It seemed to take forever and I think the longest I ever had to go was only two months. Two years is an awfully long time for a kid. I'm impressed with his determination and fiscal responsibility. I've heard that the younger generation has no idea about delayed gratification. This is a shining example for me about how that isn't the case.

Car!!!

As if my 2010 hasn't been filled with enough excitement, our older car started giving us fits on Thursday. Over the last two years we have plugged a ton of money into the car and we were starting to see diminishing returns. The car is just not getting any younger. So when it acted up on Thursday we decided that we weren't going to bother to fix it. It was time to look into a new car.

On Thursday night we settled down with Car.com and found a couple dealerships that had vehicles we liked. We've been wanting a hatchback and there were a couple newer ones that were available. So Friday afternoon, Jeff went out test-driving. He found a couple he liked but nothing amazing. After breakfast on Saturday he dropped me at home and again went out looking. This time I had given him my permission that if he found something to put in an offer.

About three or so, he texted me to say that he had found a Nissan Versa that was perfect. He loved the feel, he loved the driving, and he flat out loved the car. Low miles, newish vehicle, and a price within our budget. I told him to go ahead. So last night, in a flurry of activity, we cleaned out the old car, drove it down to the dealership, and picked up our new car. All within two hours. I didn't ride in the car (or even see it) until after I had signed the papers and collected the keys, it happened so fast. And I'll have to admit, Jeff did well. It's sitting in the driveway right now and I keep looking at it, wondering whose car it is. It's the exact right car for us. As much as this was not the time for us to be buying a new car, it worked out well enough. Now I'm starting to look forward to getting a chance to drive it myself. We'll see if I get the go ahead at my Dr. appointment on Monday.