Moving (Inshallah)

We are moving. Not far. A block away.

I am so excited, it's all I think about nowadays. We are moving into a glorious little brick cottage, with two bedrooms and a breakfast nook and beautifully-painted walls. And a FENCED. IN. BACKYARD. WITH A GARDEN. Can you tell I'm a little excited?!

Two things stand in our way now: one, being approved by the management company, but I don't imagine any difficulties. Two, selling our contract to our current apartment, and I'm hopeful about this as well. We've had 4 or 5 couples already come by and look today, but no definite answers. Hopefully it will work out. I'm getting nervous. I think I'll gussy the place up a bit and make it look real nice to convince someone. I mean, it's definitely not the best apartment out there, but it's functional and cheap.

Our new place: not cheap. But I'm slowly releasing the frugalness inside of me. It all started with our IKEA mattress... now we have a KitchenAid and soon a BlendTec (that's what I've decided on.... I'll blog more about it once I actually buy it). Life is too short to be a cheapskate, you know? Mind you, I'm not going to be throwing money away left and right... I'm not a shopper and don't anticipate ever being one. But there are some purchases I've been delaying but contemplating for a while now and I'm finally deciding it's ok to take the plunge. I think a big part of me is hesitant to buy things because I always consider the money I spend could be better spent elsewhere. I feel so guilty about sleeping on a $300 mattress when some kid in Cambodia is sleeping on car tires in a dump. I just look at the inequality in the world, and it makes me so sad and I feel helpless to stop it and it frustrates me. And even though we're considered low-income in the US... I still feel incredibly rich most every day. But I've got to release the guilt of spending money and stop over-analyzing every single little purchase and thinking the money could be better spent. Money is money is money. The world sucks. But me not spending money and buying cheap-o, unethically-made, commercialized produced lame stuff and food, and not being content with my life (ie, living in a tiny basement apartment and obsessing over coupons) will NOT make the world a better place. It'll just make my and my family's world a little more tense and the earth a little more abused.

So, here's to buying local and handmade and living in beautiful little cottages with backyards and gardens! Even if it means spending more money.