July 4, 2009

playing “fair”

I almost considered counting today as “entertainment” when it comes to the Penny Pinching Pantry Raid, and thereby eliminating my $17.40 Denny’s Dinner from the $100 budget. But you know what? No. I am counting it. We ate it, and so it COUNTS. I feel okay about it – I know that we’ll get ourselves back on an even keel by Wednesday.

Tonight we went with my parents to the Salem Fair, and because we were there in the evening, and because it was already after 9 o’clock by the time we left the festivites, we stopped at Denny’s and had dinner before heading an hour back home. Had we been closer to home, I could have made it back here and saved ourselves money by whipping up some dinner. But life isn’t always going to work out like you hoped, and I am here to prove that you can live your life, go to fairs, parties, etc. and STILL get by on less than you ever imagined. I’m gonna prove it. Watch me.

There was no way I was going to deny my little boy a trip to the fair. Just look at that little face! He was such a big boy – he even rode a couple of rides by himself, as apparantly Carnies don’t really care if your child is 36 inches tall or not. And maybe it’s just me, but here are two things I came to realize tonight at the Fair.

One – teenagers are very strange looking these days. Who taught them to dress? It kind of looked like a Halloween party, except without the Apple Bobbing. Funky hair colors, Converse sneakers that lace up to the knee, chains and tattoos and crap in their faces…It was disturbing.

Two – have Fair Rides always cost this much? Seriously? We paid $25 for 20 tickets so that Seven could ride a few things. MOST rides took 5 tickets. That’s craziness. It took 6 to ride a Ferris Wheel. Not that we rode it. For 3 of us, it would have cost 18 tickets – or $22.50. Good God Almighty. We didn’t want to BUY the Ferris Wheel. Robbery, I tell you. Inflation is one thing. But $22.50 will almost buy you half a ticket to Busch Gardens for the entire Summer – and they have GOOD rides there. Freaking Carnies.

That being said, we had a great time taking our little guy to see all the animals, the rides, the colors and the freaky teenagers. And so we spent $17.40 on Dinner. Life is good.