A window into the life of a professional geek, wife and mother (and nonni), stitcher/designer, bibliophile, old-school gamer, and whatever other roles she finds herself in.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Decisions, decisions...

So I have two big decisions to make within the next couple weeks, and I am struggling a bit with them.

The first and more pressing matter is...what do I want for my birthday? DH asked me last week what I want, and I had to answer honestly that I had No Idea. Seriously. A glance at my amazon or stitching wishlists reveals that there are a LOT of things I wouldn't mind having. But none of them are pressing wants or needs at the moment, and there aren't really any particular things that are calling louder than any others.
A query of friends brought forth the suggestion of a spa day - after all, every woman deserves a little pampering. But honestly, I feel a bit uncomfortable with the suggestion and I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's that I would feel uneasy knowing a large sum was spent on me for no tangible reason. Or that I've never had most of the services before - facial? manicure? pedicure? Never had any of them in my life. Now, a deep tissue massage sounds good, as does a hot mud bath like I've seen on Dirty Jobs, but I also know I'd feel guilty about it. Don't know why. I'm just not a high-maintenance type gal. And the kind of money involved would buy a number of things off my wishlist.
Another popular suggestion is jewelry, especially with my birthday so close to Valentines Day. DH has given me a number of beautiful pieces worthy of a Duchess over the years, and I cherish every piece, but I rarely wear them - they're too elegant for daily wear and I'd be afraid of losing one of them. I don't really wear much jewelry on a daily basis - just my rings and my cross and medals. Occasionally earrings, but less often than I used to. DH keeps threatening to get me diamond studs but I'd be deathly afraid of losing them! And he already got me a beautiful amethyst and diamond necklace for our anniversary anyway, which fulfills my desired jewelry quotient for the next several years!

So I don't know. I've toyed with the idea of a bike, that's more of a Christmas-sized item. Gift certificates to needlework stores, maybe. Chocolate or tea are always nice little items - suitable suggestions for my kids.

But really, just a nice dinner out with my family and a decadent dessert or a pint would suit me just fine. Good food and good company, what more do I really need?

My other big decision is what to do for Lent, which starts on March 1 this year. The past few years I've been both trying to give up something, and start something. Last year I gave up sweets (which was tough while we were in Germany!) and said I'd do an examination of conscience daily (which went right out the window due to time constraints). Previous years I've given up caffeine (done that multiple times), and swearing (just once, but my language is much cleaner). I don't eat all that many sweets, so I don't think that would be much of a sacrifice. Caffeine would be, but I do that almost every year.

My latest thought is to give up...the snooze button. I confess my use of the snooze button borders on abuse some mornings. So setting my alarm a tad earlier and NOT hitting the snooze button would certainly be both sacrifice, and a good thing. And with getting up earlier, I could do the daily readings in the morning instead of cramming them in at the end of the day. And then I could be better about making time to walk in the evenings. That would be a good thing.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions for either of the above...

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