A handbag of happiness

Yesterday Clara and I went outside for the first time in three days. Everyone and their dog has been going on and on about how ridiculously freezing it is out there and, since I'm no dummy (if I do say so), I decided to bow out of battling the cold weather and plugged in our hot chocolate maker instead. Even Tom came home from school one morning and admitted, "It's cold out there." Coming from a guy that tries to get away with wearing shorts all winter long, I believed him and didn't ask any further questions. Besides, the little miss and I are both on the mend from way-too-long of being sick so heading outside would just be taunting that nasty ol' bug to return. However by yesterday afternoon I was quite sure that I would implode if I didn't get out of my apartment.

So I bundled us both up—which ended up being completely unnecessary because by then it was really not that cold at all (it's not like my nose hairs froze or anything)—and we headed for Target. Clara and I go there so much that by now I'm sure at least 20 of its employees know our names. While there I fell madly in love with exactly 3 totes (same style just different fabric) and it just seemed easier not to buy any at all rather than try to decide which one I liked best. I'd offer you the link however I can't seem to find these particular glorious specimens on Target.com. And while I was searching for said link, Tom caught me perusing through all the Target purses online. So I figured it was as good a time as any to announce that I had fallen in love with a hand bag and that I had full intentions of bringing one home with me. At once he pulled out his always-illogical argument of, "Well if you get a purse then I get a video game."

We actually reason with each other in this manner quite often.
Season: "Fine. If you get a new pair of shoes then I get three new t-shirts."
Tom: "If you're getting that candy bar then I at least deserve two."
Season: "You can't get that DVD unless I can have some new jewelry."
Tom (while at Costco): "I know you said we need to stick to your list but the question is, what are we going to get for me?"

But anyway. Back to my purse. Tom said, "No, we can't afford it," and I said, "It's only 12 dollars!" and he said, "Well right, but a video game will make it just that much more expensive." (Tom and I have at least a dozen ridiculous conversations a day.) Anyway. I'm thinking of giving it to myself for Valentine's Day because I've started this awesome tradition of using the nearest-approaching holiday as an excuse to buy myself something.

But let me use that as a segue into an article that my sister sent over a few weeks ago. I thought it was interesting. And it made me think because although the last few years of my life have been some of the happiest years I've had, I still always seem to want something whenever I go, well, anywhere. And, despite our happy comings-and-goings Tom and I still experience a normal dose of discontentment whenever we start dreaming of being done with school and coming home to a house that doesn't have neighbors upstairs that throw furniture at each other every morning at 2 a.m. But we're happy. All things considered. So where is the line, I wonder. And would you look at that—I just turned all philosophical.

Anyway. Whatever the case may be—I still want that purse.