"In our rich consumers' civilization we spin cocoons around ourselves and get possessed by our possessions."

There's a dirty, dirty rumor going around that I have will-power of steel. What, with my frugalness and such.

Let me put those rumors to rest.... here's a list of far from frugal things that I can't give up...

1. The iPhone. I heart my phone. It's expensive, even after switching to a lesser plan... Around $150/month for two lines. We kept our number from Florida for our families, so it's still a local number for them. I use the map constantly. The apps... ohmygod the apps. I can check class times at the gym, movie times, restaurant recs, AIM, Facebook, weather, lolcats, Epic Fail, Pandora, IMDB, my white noise for sleeping, FML, Craigslist!!! So much... and the pictures. Lord. Granted, the camera really could suck less (no flash? Really, Apple?!), but when it works, it's a great shot.

2. Disneyland. We have annual passes for the kidlets and myself. Mine I paid for up front, and.... actually is coming up for renewal soon (note to self). But for the girls, we just did the monthly payment option for SoCal residents... Comes to $20, and we go probably once a month. We loved Disney World in FL, and while this is a distant, distant runner up in the awesomeness race, it's a great way to kill a day.

3. Starbucks. I have cut back, from a bazillion trips a week, to just once or twice. But it makes me sad.

4. Perfume. I love love love Michael Kors, and just dropped $70 on some (even after my $25 gift card). But, in just 2 business days, I'll smell oh so pretty. (I mean, I smell fine right now, but. This stuff is pure magic.)

5. Internet. We could have dropped the internet when we dropped the cable... our neighbor has unsecured network, apparently. But... I'm not an interwebs stealer.

6. Going out to eat. I love it. LOVE it. If I could swing it, I'd eat out all day, every day. Sadly, neither my wallet nor my waistline would appreciate it. So... we still do this, once or twice every few weeks. The H prefers to keep it down to once a month. I think Sunday breakfast out is heaven on earth. We compromise and head out about once every 2 weeks. Sigh.

So. That's it. My deep, dark, non-frugal secrets.

Now, if I wanted to, I *could* cut those things out but.... why? Why would I? I mean, I could if I NEEDED to... I have and I would again. But I'd be pretty pissy about them ;)

And in full disclosure... I don't do this out of some sense of nobility, or responsibility, or anything else good. If I had my way, I would own heaps of stuff. HEAPS. I would do LOTS of things, and stay in pretty, shiny places. This is done out of necessity. It's a necessity I've come to terms with, despite my protests.

So... it's not MY ideal situation. I recognize that I have more than enough to survive, and I'm pretty lucky in that respect. I also recognize how shallow and... well, elitest I could be. I'm not even entirely sure I don't WANT to be shallow and elitest.. I kinda think it might be fun. But that's not where I am... THIS is where I am.

And if THIS means that I have 3 great kids, and cars that run comfortably to get me to a job I like, and a home to live in that is SAFE, and food to eat at the end of the day... I'm gonna make the best of THIS.