Before

Before P: Cheerios? For breakfast? Just Cheerios?

Now: I have eight boxes of cereal on top of my fridge, including but not limited to Froot Loops, Banana Nut Crunch and Raisin Bran. When they go on sale at the Rite Aid, I get excited. 2 for $4!

Before P: Breakfast - $3.50 + Lunch and coffee - $10 = broke by end of the week

Now: We brownbag PB+J sandwiches or turkey+provolone wraps and tapioca pudding. None the richer but at least I'm trying.

Before P: Whatever's on TV for entertainment including America's Next Top Model

Now:

Conclusion: Now is better.

What your time's worth

I took the rest of the summer off from school and two weeks off from work so since last week I've been waking up mostly after noon (gasp!). I had no big plans this year. I opted out of a glamorous fabulous week-end with my peeps to save money, so I've been splitting my time between Crooklyn and Jersey.

Last week I hung out with P and family. We went to the movies (Hancock) and visited various stores (Raymour and Flanigan, Costco, Shop Rite, Target, etc), some several times, and played poker and rummy with the kids. At night we went for walks on the boardwalk and had kiddie scoops on sugar cones (mint chocolate chip, vanilla peanut butter, coffee, banana). Pretty much epitomized the words "relax" and "chill," which I don't think I've ever used as much I have been.

Took a day in between for a doctor's visit, during which I was simultaneously cleared of breast cancer, told I might have adenomyosis, and strongly encouraged to have a baby. My doctor is a short Filipino woman ("ang Pilipino magaling sa kapa!") who has pictures of children tacked all over her walls next to numerous certificates, plaques and awards. When I told her I was single and didn't plan to get married soon, she said, "Just have a baby! I don't care if you're not married!"

Speaking of weddings, my college roommate got married last week underneath a tree up a hill in a park. She had ordered a dress online but there was some kind of shipping problem, so two days before her wedding she bought what will go down in the books as the cheapest wedding dress of all time. She looked radiant.

The rest of the week flew by. Went to the beach a couple of times, even went in the water in the midst of riptide currents. One sunny day we checked out Allaire State Park. We rode the steam train as everything else was closed and saw some deer grazing on the open field. Early one morning (by this I mean before ten) I took a walk to Ocean Grove, where the famous Nagles is, by myself and checked out the shops. Ocean Grove is a dry town, meaning no alcohol is served there, and was a popular Methodist camp meeting town for years.

All in all, a pretty good vacation, if I may say so myself. Bonded with the kids via Family Guy. P and I snuck away for a late walk one night and saw fireworks in the distance, just close enough to see and far enough so it seemed like we were the only ones watching them.