And Then I Found Five Dollars.

Good news abounds over here at Our Little Apartment!

1. YOU GUYS. I cannot believe I haven’t told you about this yet, because Lord knows I’ve told my husband, like, five times already.

I’m a Targ-a-holic, right? I’m not in denial –I’m fully aware that if I give myself an excuse, “Oh I need a pair of hose,” then it’s like a gateway drug into the wonderful red and white world that is Target. I’ll plan on getting a pair of hose and come out with nearly a $100 worth of $1 specials, red tag clearance, and clothes made in Guatemala. So I lie to myself to make it more bearable – just getting a bottle of shampoo, but, oh wow! Look, this hair dye is on sale CLEARANCE (oh, how I LOVE CLEARANCE), must get some! And check out that lip gloss, more clearance! And so on.

Last Friday, I was going down that road. I get out of work at noon on Fridays (BEST! PART! OF! MY! JOB! Oh…wait, the kids are great, too.) and was planning on replenishing my hair product and contact solution supplies, since I was running low due to the Buy Nothing challenge in April. I planned on swinging by Target to pick them up; using the excuse that Target has super cheap contact solution – never mind that Target is 13 miles away from my work. (What is the DEAL with all my excuses?) I had daydreams of gliding my red shopping cart down Targets aisles, going wild with the ability to finally SHOP! Imagining myself guilt-free, grabbing things off the shelves and throwing them in my cart. I envisioned finding an adorable spring trench coat, whirling around in it and enjoying how cute I felt.

Do you believe that I have an addiction now? I’m hallucinating, people. About Target. Oy.

Anyway, as I was looking up directions on Google maps* (far superior to MapQuest, let’s be honest) and calculated I’d be driving about 23 miles, or a gallon of gas, just to feed my addiction. In reality, all I needed was some contact solution and miracle curl spray to get by (“Need” and “Get by” are obviously relevant terms). A red cart full of unnecessary crap was, well, unnecessary. It was painful to admit this to myself, but I DIDN’T NEED TO GO TO TARGET. (!) In fact, I’d be wasting gas and spending more money if I went to Target. I decided to stop at the drugstore on the way home and see if I couldn’t fulfill my “needs” there. CVS? Had their contact solution on SALE. Booyah. My only splurge was the clearance Burts Bees lip gloss. And four bucks is a lot less than the damage Target would have done.

Pretty excited that I was able to withstand Target’s magnetic forces. I guess consciously not purchasing anything for a month made me at least a little stronger against complete consumerism.

2. PLUS!! My post about my experience with Buy Nothing and tests has been chosen (by the wonderful Tipp) to be a part of the 20 Something Bloggers Carnival, Third Edition. I’m SO psyched about this, so please go check out my entry and the other winners. And be my friend on 20SB while you’re at it – it’s a pretty fantastic group of people.

3. And want to know MORE good news? This is a three day work week; because I have a work retreat I’m going on Thursday and Friday. It’s a FUN work retreat – I get to see my siblings, too, because they’re only 30 minutes from the retreat. (Side note: Yesterday, I called my mom to talk about coming up and spending the night tonight, and my freshman college sister who’s home for the summer tells me my parents are leaving for BRUSSELS that afternoon. News to me! But I guess that’s our family rolls, as I’ve traveled to Vancouver and London before without letting my parents know ahead of time.) For the 3.5 hour drive up tonight, I picked up some chick lit on CD to keep me entertained as I drive. (NPR is usually my choice car companion, but for longer trips I like to fill my head with fluff.)

4. With last weekend’s trip to the in-laws and this retreat, I have an apology that’s in order:

Dear Fellow Bloggers,
I am a wee bit behind in my Google Reader (66 posts to read, to be exact)– meaning my comments have been really sparse lately. I won’t kid myself saying you miss them, but I feel guilty because you’ve written some really great stuff! So, *mwah,* I love you, you’re awesome.
I’ll be less busy soon, I promise.
Ashley

5. Thanks for the fantastic, helpful responses to my last quandary. It made me think about my blog and who reads it. I'm really considering sharing it with more people that I know...But we'll see. I guess it's better to tell people than for them to find it on their own, right? I'll just voice my complaints through What the Hell!? Wednesdays. :) But, I know I definitely do NOT want to have my blog link on Facebook. Or, at least, I think I don't....

*Enviro Tip: Don’t print off your driving directions if possible – just write them on scrap paper! (Or at the very least, PRINT them on scrap paper.) J C’mon, it’s not that hard!