Practicality Wins

I turn 30 in less than two weeks. And I think it's safe to say that for the latter part of my 20s, practicality has been the name of the game. I guess for the most part, I've always been fairly practical. Although I did spend $120 on a pair of shoes my senior year of high school on a trip to New York City. And after I finished breastfeeding Cate, my present to myself for going past the year mark was a totally awesome, and totally expensive, pair of Rock Republic jeans. And there was that pricey hotel for our five-year anniversary. And I have been known to pay a pretty penny for a good show. I guess some things in life are worth splurging on.

But with two kids, practicality wins. I traded my sporty little Caliber for a minivan. I traded sun-tan oils for sunscreen. I started doing pedicures at home (allowing myself to indulge only every great once in awhile). We rarely bother with the expense of seeing a movie in the theaters. And this weekend? Well, I got some new wheels. My racing bike just isn't practical for riding around town, either next to Cate or pulling a trailer. I love riding it, but it's pretty much sat unused for a good 18 months. The time had come. It's part beach cruiser (big comfy seat and handlebars) and part hybrid (thinner tires and it actually shifts gears, unlike a typical cruiser). The rack on the back is commuter friendly. And it has a bell so I can warn people to move before I run them over. It also hauls children like a champ. And let's face it, if gas prices go where they say they're going, I'll probably be hauling groceries too.
My husband has the men's version. It's the most practical bike purchase we've ever made. We both love to bike and in the past we were gear-hogs who wanted awesome mountain bikes for trail riding or road bikes for racing up, down, and around the river valley. We had the specials shoes, shorts, jerseys, helmets, cycle computers, etc. It was actually weird to bike around this weekend in our normal clothes and tennis shoes. And fun. And well...practical.

I know there will come a time in our future where we'll be out on those long road rides again. But, again, with two small kids, that time is still far away. And I'm okay with it. I kind of like this practical stage. It scores $15 sundresses:And restaurant.com gift certificates that we can use to go kill a bowl of 50 wings with friends (totally did that last night-- 50 wings between the four of us-- definitely gonna own it) and pay less than $30 for the dinner out. And grandparents that are nice enough to take our children for the night so we don't have to pay a babysitter.

I'm sure my 30s will continue the trend of practical thinking and purchasing-- although I'd definitely call our upcoming Disney vacation a splurge. And there are plans in the works for a 10 year anniversary trip. And I am splurging and getting my hair highlighted in a week and a half (to celebrate this new decade, y'know).

While some may call the iPhone a splurge, I will lump it in the practical category. I use it to find cheap gas prices, keep up with the news, email, and take cute pictures and videos of my kids when lugging around my good camera just isn't well...practical. Like this one:



Happy week to you all!
~Melody :-)

PS...If you didn't already know, we spent the better part of last Tuesday night in the ER. Eric did a number on his left index finger while chopping veggies. There wasn't enough skin to stitch together, so they had to use this foam stuff to get the blood to coagulate. He'll be fine and it's healing wonderfully, but his finger won't be back to normal for about a month (ie...he won't be playing much guitar until then).